Lecture 1: Intro to Marketing Communications:

Key concepts:
Marketing communications (comm. Brand msgs) and IMC
Brand concepts: Brand, branding, brand elements and brand equity
Consumer perceptions: why is it impt for marketers to understand consumer perceptions
o explain consumer behvaiours, influence, alter msg to fit them
Actual product vs communicated product
Brand encounters: explicit/implicitly planned, and solicited/unsolicited planned
Message sender and message distortion
Models of communication: conventional, 2-step, new media communication
New communication paradigm: more 2-way, pull than push
Brand conversations: why is it important for mkters to engage in conversations with consumers and
relevant stakeholders?
o How do marketers build and keep dialogues?
o Diff strategies and tools, SoLoMo, WoM, globalisation
Lecture 2: Consumer behaviours and marketing communications
Comprehension
Can you elaborate the two major perspectives of consumer behaviour as discussed in class?
o Social Being & Decision makers
When does a need state arise?
Do you understand five informational motivations and three transformational motivations?
What is the hierarchy of needs?
o What does it mean, implications
Explain four modes of consumer decision making: short or long-term, ELM
MAAMs: Multi-Attribute Attitude Models
o Draw table to calculate effectiveness or likelihood to buy smartphone
What is cognitive dissonance? What can marketers do to reduce this state?
o Reinforce the good decision that consumer made
What is the hierarchy-of-effects model?
o Not always from awareness, can begin from behaviour
How do social/environmental factors influence consumer behaviour?
Class activity: Watched Digital Nation and discussed the changing media environment
Lecture 3: Positioning
Positioning and STP
Triad of competitive positioning
Perceptual mapping
Absolute and relative positioning !!!!
Different positioning strategies
o Central dominant, competing parity, competing differentiated, innovative late entrant, etc
Positioning tactics in different marketing situations
o For brand awareness and brand association
o For existing/emerging markets
o For mature markets
Class activity: Application and analysis of Silverado
Lecture 4: Strategy and planning
Comprehension
Define what IMC is and explain why marketing communications should be integrated
Explain each step of CAMPAIGN planning framework and apply the framework to IMC campaign
planning

Lecture 5: Advertising
Comprehension: Message strategies and tactics
Do you understand the goals that advertising can achieve and the straategies that can be used to
achieve different objectives
Can you discuss various tactics used in advertising to grab attention and to enhance consumer
learning/conviction
Comprehension: Media planning