Communication has always created value for people, businesses, and organizations. In recent years, it has evolved enormously, thanks to technological advances, becoming increasingly complex to manage. Knowing how to communicate today means not only finding the right messages, but also choosing the right channels (those that maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of your resources). This course will teach you exactly this: how to set up a compelling communication strategy to convince the recipient and make the best out of the available resources. Follow this course to learn how to develop realistic, actionable marketing communication plans grounded in the latest theories and methodologies. 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 brand. This course adopts a problem-based learning approach; therefore, you will have the opportunity to apply theories and models to real brands and companies to develop realistic, actionable communication plans. *Attending to at least 70% of the sessions, supported by the BEACON system, is required to be considered an attendant student. Attendance is also essential to properly prepare for the final exam.

This 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 be able to: Knowledge and understanding: • Know the appropriate terminology to define marketing communication activities. • Understand how the marketing communication planning process works. • Understand the characteristics of the different channels (Paid, Owned, and Earned media) to plan effective and efficient communication campaigns. • Know how to make the message effective, considering the different touchpoints on which an integrated marketing communication plan is structured. • Understand the role that a cross-cultural environment plays in marketing communication. Particular attention will be paid to inclusivity. • Know the sources to find the information to set up a communication budget. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: • 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. • Calculate the main media planning KPIs. • Define the most appropriate advertising appeal for the specific communication plan. Independent judgment: • Effectively research, collect, and interpret data for the purpose of planning an effective communication marketing campaign. • 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. • Students will also be able to judge if an advertising approach is consistent with the communication objectives and the strategy. Communications Skills: 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: • Acquire the analytical and creative skills necessary to evaluate and manage integrated marketing communication processes, also from 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.

• From Marketing Mix to Communications Mix. • Integrated marketing Communication planning process. • How to define a communication target group and buyer personas. • Communication objectives. • Customer journey and touchpoints. • Paid, Owned, and Earned Media: main characteristics. • Key media planning metrics (online and offline). • How to plan and buy offline and online media (focusing on digital advertising). • Advertising. • Cultural trends. • How to define a communication budget. • How to measure marketing communication effectiveness.

Required book: Pelsmacker, P. D., Geuens, M., & Bergh, J.V. D. (2021). Marketing Communications (7th ed.). Pearson International Content. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781292327938 All the students must study all the slides, handouts, and other materials provided during the course and available on the eLearning platform. Suggested readings: • 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: 122–145. • Katz, H. (2025). The media handbook: A complete guide to advertising media selection, planning, research, and buying. Routledge. • Burgess, C., & Burgess, M. (2020). The New Marketing. SAGE, London. • Tufte, E. R. (n.d.). Books by Edward Tufte. Edward Tufte. Retrieved January 14, 2025, from https://www.edwardtufte.com/books/

TEACHING METHODS: Frontal lessons, case studies, project work, and formative assessment via online games such as Kahoot.

The assessment of the ATTENDANT student will be structured as follows: 1. Group Project (33% of final grade, graded on a scale of /30): IMC Capstone Project This Project will be developed in collaboration with a guest company, which will present a real-world communication challenge to the class. The company will provide a brief that includes market context, objectives, and constraints. All student work must be grounded in these details. The work has three components, each graded on a scale of/30: Component 1 (15%) – Insight & Strategy Foundation (Written Report) Detailed guidelines will be provided in class. Deadline: Thursday, April 9, 2026, to be submitted during the session on MyLuiss. Component 2 (15%) – Creative Strategy & Activation Detailed guidelines will be provided in class. The guest company’s representatives will attend all students' presentations to provide feedback. Deadline: presentations will be held on Wednesday, April 29 (14:30 -17:30), room TBD Component 3 (3%) – Peer-to-Peer Evaluation ( Group Presentations) student rates the contributions of the rest of the team on a scale of 1 to 10. Then the average is computed across all the scores for a given student. If this average score is below 7.5, the student is deducted some points from the starting point, which is the average of the first two components. Details will be provided in class. Note. Students cannot reject the grade they receive. 2. Final written exam: (67% of the final grade, graded on a scale of /30) 60 minutes for 15 closed questions (worth 1–2 points each; 0 points if incorrect) and 3 open-ended or calculation-based questions (with a maximum value of 3 points each). To pass the exam the student must have scored at least 15 points on the written test. The written test aims to discover the level of knowledge and understanding of the course program. To pass the exam, students must have a grade of 18/30. Note. Students cannot reject the grade they receive. Students can only withdraw from the exam before or during the exam. The assessment of the NOT-COMPLIANT AND EXEMPT students will be structured as follows: 1. Final written exam (50% of the final grade, graded on a scale of /30): 30 minutes time for 15 closed questions (worth 1–2 points each; 0 points if incorrect) and 3 open questions (with a maximum value of 3 points each). The written test aims to discover the level of knowledge and understanding of the course program. 2. Final oral exam (50% of the final grade, graded on a scale of /30): The oral test aims to assess the student’s level of understanding and ability to apply knowledge to potential real-world marketing scenarios related to the course topics. To proceed with the oral exam the student must have scored at least 15 points on the written test. To pass the exam, students must have a grade of 18/30.Students with a grade below 18 in the final exam automatically fail the course, regardless of the score obtained in the continuous assessment. Note. Students cannot reject the grade they receive. Students can only withdraw from the exam before or during the written portion. Clarification Note. Students must actively participate in at least 70% of the lessons to be considered ATTENDANT students. During the semester examination session, students are assessed differently depending on their status (attending, exempted, non-compliant). During the examination sessions following the semester of delivery(retake sessions) ALL students are assessed only on the basis of the final exam, which account for 100% of the overall final grade obtained.

Motivation: Strong interest in marketing communication and social phenomena on the web. To get the thesis, the applicant must submit a written project including a research question, intended methodology, index and basic bibliography.