Integrated Marketing Communications (GRAV033)

Marketing communications are undoubtedly a vital part of building and maintaining relationships with prospects, customers and other stakeholders in marketplace transactions. It helps moving products, services and ideas from manufacturers and services providers to end users. While the primary communication form that is necessary for transaction is price, it is often not enough to establish a dialogue with customers as well as sustain and grow business.

Over the last decades businesses began taking a broader perspective of marketing communications and recognized the need for a more strategic integration of their promotional tools, which led to the emergence of integrated marketing communications (IMC), which involves coordinating various promotional techniques and other marketing activities, so that all work together as a unified force.

How does IMC process work in the marketplace? What are the challenges when planning IMC strategies and implementation? What are the latest trends of today’s digital and international communication environment?

In order to address these questions, this course aims to provide an understanding of IMC through the combination of the appropriate theories and real-life application.

Over the duration of the course, students will work in groups to develop IMC strategy for a real client. The lectures will provide inspiration for the group projects in the following ways:

• It will discuss key theories and their application in marketing communications planning and implementation.
• Guest speakers from the industry will share their insights about daily challenges they come across when planning and implementing IMC strategies.
• Students will be introduced to the key functions of a communication services agency and will learn how communication disciplines should be aligned according to client‘s needs.

This course aims to provide students with a systematic knowledge and understanding of the core concepts of integrated marketing communications.

• Understand how Integrated Marketing Communications fits into the overall marketing mix and marketing strategy;
• Understand how the communications process fits into and works with consumer behaviour with emphasis on the consumer decision making process;
• Develop an awareness of the connection between marketing communications tools, and how each can be used effectively- individually or in an integrated mix;
• Obtain a practical, real-world application of Integrated Marketing Communication theory;
• Gain a critical awareness of best practice in reputation management and sponsorship on corporate context.