Formation/Cours

At the end of the course the student should be able to :
1. Have a deeper understanding of what exactly a brand is and how to develop a successful brand;
2. Understand the concept of brand equity and its major components;
3. Understand the importance of strategic marketing communications in branding;
4. Define and analyze both traditional and contemporary (i.e., modern) brand communication tools and strategies, especially in the offline environment;
5. Understand the underlying mechanisms that drive the effectiveness of these offline marketing communication tools;
6. Learn the importance of integrating these offline tools with online marketing communication tools;
7. Apply the acquired insights to create appropriate brand communication strategies and to develop an integrated marketing communication plan.
Thus, the learning objectives reached with this course are: mastering the appropriate offline communication techniques and display expertise in their field + being effective communicators (make professional quality oral presentations using adapted tools).

In this course, we will learn why it is important to develop a strong brand, what exactly constitutes a strong brand, which branding strategies can be applied, what brand value is (i.e. brand equity), etc. Moreover, building and supporting strong brands cannot be realized without strong marketing communications. That’s why the major part of this course focuses on brand communication tools and strategies. However, this course differentiates itself from other courses by focusing on the offline (versus online) environment. The reason for studying this is that offline tools are still heavily used by many companies and still pay off. Not only traditional offline communication but also more modern communication (e.g., product placement, buzz marketing, celebrity endorsement, sponsorship, etc.) will be covered in depth. By means of real-life examples, class discussions, and case studies we will analyze the power and (dis)advantages of these tools to enhance brand value, discuss which tool is most appropriate in which situation and to reach which objective, how to integrate it with online tools, learn how to develop an integrated marketing communication plan, etc.