PURPOSE
The overall purpose of this module is to equip learners with a comprehensive knowledge of marketing communications both from the consumer’s and the marketer’s vantage point. As businesses seek ways of communicating more effectively and efficiently with their targeted audiences, marketing communicators are continually challenged. They must use communication methods that will break through the clutter, reach audiences with interesting and persuasive messages that enhance brand equity and drive sales. In meeting these challenges, businesses increasingly embrace a strategy of integrated marketing communications whereby all marcom elements must be held accountable for delivering consistent messages and influencing action. This course is designed to emphasise and discuss the importance of integrated marketing communications in enhancing the equity of brands and provide thorough coverage of all aspects of an integrated marketing communications program.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
• To comprehend the fundamentals of integrated marketing communications (IMC), how it enhances brand equity, influences behaviour and achieves accountability.
• To critically evaluate marketing communications’ (marcom) role in achieving acceptance of new products, how marketing communicators facilitate product adoption and diffusion, brand naming and the role of logos.
• To appreciate and explain the role of environmental marketing, regulation and ethical issues when conducting marketing communications.
• To gain insight and knowledge for understanding the nature and function of marketing communications by providing practical and theoretical overviews of four fundamental marcom decisions: segmentation, targeting and positioning, communications and consumer behaviour, marcom persuasion, and objective setting and budgeting.
• To be able to examine and discuss various facets of advertising management and media choices, such as how to create effective and creative advertising, using different message appeals and endorsers, as well as how to use traditional and non-traditional media including digital media (online, mobile and app advertising), social media advertising and other advertising media, media planning, analysis and media buying and measuring the effectiveness of both messages and media used.
• To gain insight into trade- and consumer-oriented sales promotions by identifying and explaining the most widely used trade- and consumer-oriented promotions.
• To appreciate the nature and role of marketing public relations, word-of-mouth influence, viral marketing and sponsorship marketing (including event and cause sponsorships).
• To appreciate the nature and role of marcom’s tools of packaging, point of purchase (POP) communications and signage.
CORE CONTENT
• The practice and environment of integrated marketing communications (IMC): overview of IMC, it’s role in enhancing brand equity and accountability, achieving acceptance of new products, adoption and diffusion of new brands, brand naming process and role of logos, protection of intellectual property, environmental marketing, regulation and ethical issues in marcom.
• Fundamental IMC planning and decisions: segmentation, targeting and positioning, the communications process and consumer behaviour, role of persuasion in IMC, objective setting and budgeting.
• Advertising management and media choices: importance of advertising and its functions, effective and creative advertising, message appeals and endorsers, advertising media including traditional advertising media, digital media – online, mobile and app advertising, social media advertising and other advertising media, media planning, analysis and media buying, measuring advertising message effectiveness.
• Sales promotion management: trade and consumer sales promotions.
• Public relations: Marketing public relations, word-of-mouth management, viral marketing, sponsorship marketing including event and cause sponsorships.
• Packaging, point of purchase communications and signage.
Evaluation criteria
100% Continuous assessment:
• 2x Semester tests (Final mark weight = 40%)
• End of Study Unit Quizzes (Final mark weight = 15%)
• 1x Assignment (Final mark weight = 10%)
• 1x Class test (Final mark weight = 5%)
• End of module assessment (Final mark weight = 30%)
MODERATION
Internal.
Prerequisites
• Marketing Management (EBMV201)