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 finding the right message but also choosing the right channels (those that maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of your resource), as well as crafting 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 use 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 business nowadays. The course adopts a problem-based learning approach; 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.

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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 perspective of the consumer 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 medium 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.

The modules of the course will cover the following topics: • Marketing Communications: Definition and Planning Process • Competitors Analysis, Targeting and Communication objectives • Brand Choreography, Buyer Personas and Customer Journey • Media POE and key metrics • Advertising online and media planning process • Budgeting and measuring campaign effectiveness • Advertising & creativity • Semiotics in the world of goods • The Consumer Brandscape • Narrativity approaches to branding • From traditional branding models to Cultural Branding • Cultural Innovation

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, Harvard Business Press (ch. 2, 5, 9) • Holt, D. (2020) Cultural Innovation. The secret to building breakthrough businesses, Harvard Business Review. • Ruiz Collantes FX, Oliva M. "Narrativity approaches to branding". In: Rossolatos G, editor. Handbook of brand semiotics. Kassel: Kassel University Press; 2015, p. 89-150.

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 be confronted with: • Mix synchronous and asynchronous • TA consultations • In-group assignments • Individual exercises • Case Studies • Research papers • Textbooks • Project Work

Students will be evaluated on the following activities: • Advancing with the PJ- 10% • From Theory to Action - 10% • Weekly Mock-up Question - 10% • Interactive Interview - 6% • Participation - 4% • Final Exam - 20% • Project Work Delivery - 30% • Poster Session - 10% Non-attendant students Final exam (100%) Students will be assessed through an in person written exam, made up of: • 15 Multiple choice questions • 3 Open ended, case-based questions Non-attending students must study all the recommended readings, as the exam will be based on this material.

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