INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATION

Communication has always created value for people, businesses and organizations. In recent years, it has evolved enormously, thanks to technological development, becoming more and more complex to manage.   Knowing how to communicate today means not only to find the right message, but also to choose the right channels (those that maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of your resource), as well as crafting a consistent storytelling across them to promote your brand.  This course will teach you exactly this: how to set up a compelling communication strategy able to both convince the recipient and make the best out of the available resources.  Follow this course to learn how to develop realistic and actionable marketing communication plans, following the most recent theories and methodologies. You will also learn the basic components of storytelling and how to use it effectively in a branding perspective  Whether you want to become a successful entrepreneur or work in the marketing department of a multinational company, knowing how to set up a communication plan is essential for the success of any bran, nowadays.  The course adopts a problem-based learning approach of this course, therefore you will be given the opportunity to apply theories and models to real brands and companies in order to develop realistic and actionable communication plans.  

None.

Knowledge and understanding: The course offers advanced theoretical and methodological tools necessary to understand the concepts, strategies and means necessary to design and implement a coherent and integrated marketing communication campaign. By the end of the course, students will know.: •The appropriate terminology to define marketing communication activities •How does the marketing communication planning process work; •The characteristics of the different channels (Paid, Owned and Earned media) to plan effective and efficient communication campaigns; •How to make the message effective, taking into account the different touchpoints on which an integrated marketing communication plan is structured; Deepen the relationship between culture, brand heritage and consumer behavior •The role that languages in a multimodal perspective play in marketing communication of organizations, both in traditional media and in the context of social networks. Particular attention will be paid to the different modalities and articulations that the investigation on languages can assume with reference to the marketing implications (Semiotics of marketing and business communication); How to apply the research process of marketing semiotics to analyze brand equity and develop an effective content strategy •Where to find the information to set up a communication budget. Applying knowledge and understanding: Upon completing the study program, students will be able to: •Set up a marketing communication strategy; •Define the communication objectives to achieve the business objectives; •Select the appropriate media for an effective marketing communication plan; •Use basic semiotic tools to analyze branding processes and evaluate the quality of creative ideas in relation to communication objectives Use marketing semiotics to support marketing communication actions taken by brands •Set up a communication budget request document. Making judgements: Upon completing the study program, students will be able to: •Effectively research, collect and interpret data for the purpose of planning an effective communication marketing campaign. •Furthermore, students will develop a critical spirit to observe the role of marketing communication not only from the consumer perspective but also from the perspective of corporate reputation management. In order to encourage critical thinking, comparative analyzes of marketing communication campaigns and their impact on corporate reputation will be proposed. •They must also be able to understand if one media is more effective or efficient than another in the context of a communication strategy and if a communication plan is professionally set up. Communications Skills: Upon completing the study program, students will be able to: •Effectively communicate the result of research, data collection and content production in a clear, complete but concise way, using the most appropriate terminology. In particular, they will strengthen the skills necessary to produce comprehensive and effective analytical reports and presentations. Learning skills: Upon completing the study program, students will •Acquire the analytical and creative skills necessary to evaluate and manage integrated marketing communication processes, also in a multicultural perspective •Be able to orient themselves in the macro-sector of media planning, know where to find information and choose the most useful data sources for carrying out their work, •Have a knowledge base that can easily allow them to update in a highly strategic and innovative sector.

Course topics: From Marketing Mix to Communications Mix; Integrated marketing Communication planning process; How to define a communication target group; Communication objectives; Costumer journey and touchpoints; Paid, Owned and Earned Media: main characteristics; Key media planning metrics (online and offline); The media planning process; How to measure marketing communication effectiveness; How to define a communication budget; Advertising; The notions of sign, symbol, text; Metaphor and metonimy; The notion of narrativity Marketing Semiotics; Cultural branding;

Slides, materials and research papers will be listed and made available on the e-learning platform. Recommended readings are as follows: Pelsmacker P. De; Geuens M., Van den Bergh J. (2017) Marketing Communications: A European Perspective, Prentice Hall; 6th Edition (chapt. 1; 4; 5; 7; 13). Keller K.L., Bathra R. (2016). Integrating Marketing Communications: New Findings, New Lessons, and New Ideas. Journal of Marketing: AMA/MSI Special Issue Vol. 80: p. 122–145; Katz, H. (2016). The media handbook: A complete guide to advertising media selection, planning, research, and buying. Routledge. Oswald L. (2012) Marketing semiotics. Signs, strategies, and Brand Value, Oxford University Press (Introduction and ch. 1; 3) Holt, D. (2004) How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding (ch. 2, 5, 9) Holt, D. (2020) Cultural Innovation. The secret to building breakthrough businesses, Harvard Business Review.

The study material will be organized as Asynchronous, Synchronous, Individual Study and Research-Based Project material. In particular, the following will be the main teaching methods students will confront with: Mix synchronous and asynchronous TA consultations In-group assignments Individual exercises Case Studies Research papers Textbooks Project Work

Assessment Methods The verification of student's learning takes place in integrated and complementary ways, and it will include different kinds of activities based on the status chosen by students (attendant/non attendant).   Assessment Methods - Attendant students Continuous assessment (42%) The continuous assessment includes a series of activities, some of them to be performed on a weekly basis. Among the assignments, you'll be asked to perform: Syllabus quiz (2%): to be performed once Mock up exam questions (9%): to be performed on a weekly basis, individually Interactive interviews Assessments (5%): to be performed three times along the semester Advancing with the Project Work (9%): to be performed four times along the semester From Theory to Action (9%): to be performed in the second part of the semester Students' attendance will be recorded in two different occasions: Attendance to the TA session (4%): to be recorded during the 6 mandatory sessions (during odd weeks) Attendance to the synchronous sessions (4%): to be recorded each week during the synchronous session Project work presentation (30%) During the semester, students will engage in a challenging project work with Eataly. After the conclusion of the semester (week 12), students will be asked to present their project work to the employer. This session will take place during Week 15. Final exam (20%) Students will assessed through an online exam, made up of:  15 Multiple choice questions 2 Open ended, case-based questions These questions will look like the mock exam questions students will be assessed with throughout the semester.  Poster session (10%) During the summer session, students will be asked to present to the audience in Luiss University the results of their project work through a poster session. This will take place in June.    Assessment Methods - Non-attendant students Final exam (100%) Students will assessed through an online exam, made up of:  15 Multiple choice questions 3 Open ended, case-based questions Attendance Policy The student is offered with the option to follow the course as attendant or non-attendant, impacting the the criteria on which the final mark will be determined. The list of all attendant and non-attendant students will be collected at the beginning of the course. About attendant students: Attendant students have their final mark as the sum of various learning activities they will take part to, as mentioned in this page. The reference textbooks mentioned above in this page are only suggested readings, except for eventual papers explicitly requested during the weeks. Attendance to the synchronous sessions is mandatory as is the participation to the asynchronous activities.​ Only in case of serious justifiable personal matters students can put forward a request of exemption to the Program Directors. The request must be granted by the Program Directors at the beginning of the semester and will be valid for all courses in that session. Program Directors and the Faculty will define an alternative assessment modality for such exceptional cases. About non-attendant students: Non-attendant students have their final mark 100% determined by the in-person written Final Exam + Syllabus Quiz. All of the reference textbooks and papers mentioned above in this page are mandatory and will be object of evaluation. Attendance to the synchronous sessions is not mandatory.

Active attendance at the course; Quality of the proposed issue for the thesis; Rigorous thesis project and focus on qualitative methodology.

Yes.