GRA 6433 Marketing Communication
GRA 6433 Marketing Communication
Communication is a fundamental part of most marketplace transactions. In its purest form, price communicates the information necessary for a transaction. In most cases, however, marketers have to communicate more than just price in order to establish, sustain, and grow their business. So how does communication in the marketplace work? How can marketers succeed in nowaday's fast-paced, digital, and international communication environment? In order to address these important questions, this course aims to provide a deep understanding of marketing communication, both in terms of real-life application, and as a field of scientific research.
Over the duration of the course, students will work in groups on a communication-related project for a real client. The lectures will provide inspiration for the group projects in two ways:
1) We will discuss concepts and theories in marketing and consumer psychology that are relevant to marketing communication. These insights may be used in the project. We will also pay attention to theoretical and methodological challenges in these research areas.
2) We will meet guest speakers holding various key functions in marketing communication (e.g., on the client side, the agency side, the media side). These practitioners will provide insights into the daily business and the current challenges of marketing communication.
Upon successful completion of this course, the students will have a sound platform of knowledge on:
- the science of marketing communication: After completing the course, students will know about three relevant scientific literatures: First, theories of sensory perception, attention, memory, and emotion explain how consumers process marketing messages. Second, theories of attitude change and persuasion help us understand how consumers are influenced by marketing communication. Third, models of communication effectiveness and planning give insights on how to design communication strategies and allocate budgets. We will critically discuss these concepts and their potential to guide managerial decision-making. In addition, we may take deep dives into more specialized fields of research.
- the practice of marketing communication: By working on an applied project for a real client and getting feedback from communication professionals, students will learn first-hand about best practices in marketing communication.
Upon successful completion of this course, the students will be able to
- address managerial challenges of marketing communication in an analytical manner
- tackle a real-life marketing communication project in a team and under pressure
- present a communication strategy in a clear and convincing way (written and oral)
- critically evaluate and apply scientific insights in the field of marketing communication
After successfully completing this course, students should be able to
- appreciate key factors that affect the effectiveness of marketing communications
- critically assess marketing communication activities from the perspective of a marketer, but also in their role as consumers, and from an ethical perspective.
The topics below are exemplary and subject to change.
- The structure of marketing communications (client, agencies, media channels)
- Managing marketing communications (budgeting, measuring impact, integrating marketing communications)
- Message strategies and execution
- How marketing communications work (psychological models of how marketing communications work, persuasion)
- Understanding consumer information processing
- Multisensory marketing communication
The course combines lectures, in-class discussions and exercises, and out-of-class project work.
Class attendance is expected and may be checked. It is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.
Come to class well prepared (i.e., make sure you have read the assigned readings and completed any assigned tasks).
Electronic devices: Out of respect for fellow students and faculty, please do not use laptops, iPads, cell phones, or other gadgets in class (unless requested by the professor).
This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam elements will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades when the course starts.
At resit, all exam components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.
All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have specific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.
Covid-19
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be deviations in teaching and learning activities as well as exams, compared with what is described in this course description.
GRA 4145 Brand Management or equivalent.
| Assessments |
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Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 45 Grouping: Group (4 - 7) Duration: 1 Semester(s) Exam code: GRA 64331 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Invigilation Weight: 40 Grouping: Individual Support materials:
Duration: 2 Hour(s) Comment: Written examination under supervision. Exam code: GRA 64331 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
Exam category: Activity Form of assessment: Class participation Weight: 15 Grouping: Individual Duration: 1 Semester(s) Comment: Assessed through activities that evaluate successful engagement with class materials. Exam code: GRA 64331 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.
Business representatives will look at the presentations.