Brand Management and how to Communicate about Brands

Full course description

“As I woke up this morning and stumbled to the bathroom to refresh, I barely noticed the brand of toothbrush and toothpaste I used. I couldn’t escape the brand of breakfast cereal though, because it screamed at me in huge typeface to enjoy my “coco-pops”…On my way to the train station I passed numerous signs, billboards and shop windows…It was only 8.00 am, but by now I had been exposed to over 250 commercial messages ranging from brand names and packaging to billboards, television ads and sponsored events. And of course, none of these messages had in any way affected me…” (Fennis, 2010, p. 2).

As customers we are surrounded by brands and marketing messages the entire day. In this course we cover the foundations of brand management and integrated marketing communications. We will take a strong consumer-based perspective, studying consumer behavior and consumer psychology literature and frequently applying the acquired knowledge in team assignments to a chosen brand. In the first 3.5 week we will focus on brand management addressing the nature of brands in consumers’ minds, the concept of brand equity and which instruments can be used to build and leverage brands. In the second half of the course, we will focus on integrated marketing communications by having a look at the concept of Integrated Marketing communications, the communication process and theories of consumer behavior and response.