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 messages, but also to choose the right channels (those that maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of your resource). 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. 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 be given the opportunity to apply theories and models to real brands and companies in order to develop realistic and actionable communication plans.

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 does the marketing communication planning process work. •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 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 and buyer personas; • Communication objectives; • Costumer 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.

The material for attending and non attendant students is the SAME. All the students are required to study all the slides, handouts and other materials provided during the course and available on the eLearning platform. 1. Pelsmacker, P. D., Geuens, M., & Bergh, J.V. D. (2021). Marketing Communications (7th ed.). Pearson International Content. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9781292327938 2. 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; Reference text (optional): Katz, H. (2016). The media handbook: A complete guide to advertising media selection, planning, research, and buying. Routledge.

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

The assessment of the attending student will be structured as follows: 1. Continuous assessment (20%): 3 quizzes on Luiss Learn during lectures. 2. Group Project (50%): marketing communication plan on a real case presented with a keynote and a report (Day of presentations: Thursday, May 8th. Final submission day for report and presentation: Saturday, May 17th). The criteria used for the evaluation of the project work are expressed in a rubric with scores (maximum 30) provided at the time of the briefing. The topics of the project work will be defined during the course. Groups ranking 1st, 2nd and 3rd (according to the teaching team and the company evaluations) will receive bonus points (2, 1.5 and 1, respectively) in the final written exam – to be added to the grade in thirtieths. Peer Evaluation The Peer evaluation is scheduled twice in the semester, in the middle and in the end. Only the last one might affect the group project grade. Those evaluations are online and individual. Each student rates the contribution of the rest of the people in the team from 1 to 10. Then the average is computed among all the scores for one student. If this average score is below 7.5 the student is detracted some points out of the groups project grade according to the following rule: Average peer evaluation > 7.5: same grade as the team Average between 5 and 7.5: -2 marks compared to team mark Average between 2.5 and 5: -3 marks compared to team grade Average < 2.5: -4 grades compared to team grade Students who received a peer evaluation lower than 7.5 will not receive the bonus points that come with being the 1st, 2nd or 3rd best group for the project work. 3. Final written exam: 30% (graded on a scale of /30) 30 minutes time for 15 closed questions (worth 1 or 2 points each, if correct – worth 0 point if incorrect) and 3 open 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. Note1. Attendant students who are dissatisfied with the grade or students with a grade is not sufficient to pass the exam, can take the final comprehensive exam (100%) during the retakes (retake 1 between August 25th – September 6th, 2025). The assessment of the non-attending student will be structured as follows: 1. Final written exam: 50% (graded on a scale of /30): 30 minutes time for 15 closed questions (worth 1 or 2 points each, if correct – worth 0 point 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% (graded on a scale of /30, on the same day of the written test) The oral test aims to discover the understanding and the level of applied knowledge and making judgments of the student related to the topics of the course. 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. Note 2. Students who will not be attending courses of the semester need to communicate their status through the Graduate School module. If no communication is given to the program manager, students will be automatically considered as attending students.

Performance: Course final grade of 29-30 out of 30. Maximum of 1 absence to lectures and sessions. Peer evaluation grade of 9.5 out of 10. Being proactive, organized and resourceful. 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.