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2021/2022

Marketing Communication

Code: 102357 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2501572 Business Administration and Management OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Pedro Suarez Ramirez
Email:
Pedro.Suarez@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
spanish (spa)
Some groups entirely in English:
No
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
No
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
Yes

Prerequisites


It is recommended that the student has passed the Marketing I and Marketing II subjects.

Objectives and Contextualisation

Commercial Communication is an optional subject of 6 ECTS credits within the Degree in Business Administration and Management.
										
											
										
											The main objective of the subject of Commercial Communication is to provide the student with a much deeper and specialized vision of one of the main tasks of marketing: commercial communication. In this sense, it is intended to convey to the student the meaning and purpose of the commercial communication policy of the company as an instrument that is part of the marketing strategy, and this within the company. For this, the student is provided with the widest possible vision of the various tools and techniques available to the company to communicate with its different audiences, with the aim of highlighting both the difficulties and complexities, as well as the richness and breadth , of the communication possibilities that can be developed
										
											
										
											The most concrete objectives are:
										
											
										
											Understand the role that communication plays within corporate management and marketing management.
										
											Understand the importance of integrated marketing communication.
										
											Understand the process of commercial communication and know the different communication tools available to companies, on and off line, and the need to coordinate and integrate them properly to achieve synergistic benefits.
										
											Know the logical and appropriate decision sequence in the company's communication planning process.
										
											Know how to establish objectives and allocate budget for the mix of marketing communication activities, as well as for each of them.
										
											Learn to assess the relevance of the context when decisions have to be made about commercial communication, at the same time as knowing how the attributes related to the receiver, the message, the medium and the sender interact to produce effects.
										
											Know, understand and handle the main techniques and general instruments used in commercial communication, emphasizing an integrating approach in this regard.
										
											Know the new tools of social communication and its use within the communication strategy.
										
											Be able to select and use the appropriate tools for solving specific problems of commercial communication.
										
											Knowing how to design an integrated marketing communication plan and monitor its results, as well as identify and adequately resolve possible ethical dilemmas.
										
											Know how to design a communication in social media (Social Media Plan).

Competences

  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Apply theoretical knowledge to improve relations with clients and suppliers, identifying the advantages and disadvantages of those relations for both sides: company and client or supplier.
  • Capacity for adapting to changing environments.
  • Capacity for independent learning in the future, gaining more profound knowledge of previous areas or learning new topics.
  • Capacity for oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which enables synthesis and oral and written presentation of the work carried out.
  • Demonstrate initiative and work individually when the situation requires it.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the processes for the implementation of company strategies.
  • Organise the work in terms of good time management, organisation and planning.
  • Select and generate the information necessary for each problem, analyse it and take decisions based on that information.
  • Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  • Take decisions in situations of uncertainty, demonstrating an entrepreneurial and innovative attitude.
  • Transmit company, department or work objectives clearly.
  • Work well in a team, being able to argue proposals and validate or reject the arguments of others in a reasoned manner.

Learning Outcomes

  1. A capacity of oral and written communication in Catalan, Spanish and English, which allows them to summarise and present the work conducted both orally and in writing.
  2. Apply the concepts of strategic marketing to achieve market-oriented organisation.
  3. Assess the importance of long-term commercial relationships with clients (relationship marketing).
  4. Assess the main marketing concepts and tools.
  5. Capacity to adapt to changing environments.
  6. Capacity to continue future learning independently, acquiring further knowledge and exploring new areas of knowledge.
  7. Critically analyse the principles, values and procedures that govern the exercise of the profession.
  8. Demonstrate initiative and work independently when required.
  9. Establish strategies of innovation and development of new products.
  10. Evaluate the major concepts and tools of communication (offline and online).
  11. Formulate and design different strategies of growth and differentiation.
  12. Identify the differences in the marketing applied to different economic sectors or types of organisations.
  13. Identify the different elements making up a marketing plan, and draw up a marketing plan.
  14. Identify the different elements that make up a communication plan and develop a communication plan.
  15. Make decisions in situations of uncertainty and show an enterprising and innovative spirit.
  16. Organise work, in terms of good time management and organisation and planning.
  17. Perform an analysis of the market and of competitive structures, and determine a strategic diagnosis for the company.
  18. Propose projects and actions in accordance with the principles of ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights, diversity and democratic values.
  19. Recognise the different directions a company can adopt.
  20. Select and generate the information needed for each problem, analyse it and make decisions based on this information.
  21. Students can apply the knowledge to their own work or vocation in a professional manner and have the powers generally demonstrated by preparing and defending arguments and solving problems within their area of study.
  22. Translate strategic goals into specific marketing-mix programmes.
  23. Translating strategic objectives into concrete programs of communication.
  24. Understand the importance of strategic marketing as a source of competitive advantages for the organisation.
  25. Work as part of a team and be able to argue own proposals and validate or refuse the arguments of others in a reasonable manner.

Content


1. Introduction to commercial communication. The communication process Public involved. B2B and B2C communication. The communication mix The integral communication of marketing. Communication on i off line. Buzz marketing. The necessary internal and external analysis. Commercial research applied to communication.  

2. The commercial communication strategy. Definition of objectives. Description of the target audience in B2B and B2C markets. Importance of the roles in the decision process. Positioning as a key aspect Emotional vs. rational communication. The essence of the brand, the personality and the tone of communication. Design of the Communication Plan.  

3. Creativity. Main considerations Basic creative paths. The creative briefing.  

4. Advertising. Utility, benefits and limitations. The process of advertising planning. The elaboration of the advertising message. Advertising on and off line.  

5. The sales promotion Utility, benefits and limitations. The mix of the promotion. The strategy and promotional tactics. Analysis of results.  

6. From direct marketing to relational marketing. Utility, benefits and limitations. Importance of databases. Benefits of CRM.  

7. Communication at the point of sale. Packaging, POS and merchandising. Utility, benefits and limitations.  

8. Public relations. Nature and public relations concept: external and internal. Utility, benefits and limitations. Public relations techniques. Crisis management  

9. Sponsorship. Type of sponsorships: Sponsoring and patronage. Utility, benefits and limitations.  

10. The corporate visual identity. Utility, benefits and limitations. Subordination to strategic positioning. Corporate homogeneity on and off line.  

11. Communication in social media Evolution of the Internet and social media (Social Media). The Social Media New concepts of Social Media. The company in Social Media. The impact of Social Media Marketing on SEO.  

12. The Social Media Plan Surrounding analysis.Strategy and Tactics in Social Media. Metrics (KPI). Control. The Social Media Plan. The corporate online reputation. The new professional figures: the Community Manager  

13. New communication trends The importance of engagement. The importance of personal branding. The Storytelling. Mobile marketing Other tools of last generation.

Methodology

Teaching will be offered on campus or in an on-campus and remote hybrid format depending on the number of students per group and the size of the rooms at 50% capacity.


The subject of Commercial Communication will use a combination of teaching methodologies to enhance learning by the student. 1) Lectures: in these sessions the professors will develop the main concepts and notions of the subject. 2) Realization of practical activities and exercises: the students must solve autonomously or with small work groups the practices and exercises proposed. Some of these activities will be done in the classroom and others will not. 3) Complementary activities: reading press articles that help illustrate and clarify relevant aspects of the content of the subject. 4) Face-to-face tutorials: the student will have a few hours where the teachers of the subject will be able to help him to solve the doubts that are presented in the study of the subject and / or in the resolution of the problems.

 

The proposed teaching methodology may undergo some modifications according to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities on on-campus courses.

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Defense of works 17 0.68 1, 25
Theoretical-practical classes 32.5 1.3 7, 2, 24, 9, 11, 13, 12, 18, 21, 17, 19, 22, 10, 4, 3
Type: Supervised      
Elaboration of supervised report / Tutorials 5.5 0.22 24, 12, 15, 17, 22, 3
Type: Autonomous      
Completion of practices, exercises and individual final work 20 0.8 5, 1, 6, 8, 24, 11, 13, 16, 15, 17, 20, 22, 4
Internship, exercises and final group work 21.5 0.86 2, 5, 1, 6, 8, 24, 9, 11, 13, 12, 16, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 25, 4, 3
Study 50 2 2, 24, 9, 11, 13, 12, 16, 17, 19, 4, 3

Assessment

The evaluation of the subject Commercial Communication will take into account the following components:
										
											
										
											Evaluation activity 1: Communication plan (35%)
										
											Evaluation activity 2: Personal Social Media Plan (15%)
										
											Written test: exam (50%).
The evaluative activity 1 (35% of the grade) will be a group work that will consist in the realization of a communication plan for a certain company applying the knowledge and sources of information acquired throughout the course. The evaluation of this work will consist in the delivery of the written work and the oral presentation of the same. The evaluative activity 2 (15% of the grade) will be an individual work that will consist in the realization of a personal social media plan. The works or the resolution of cases that for the different subjects and proposed by the teacher the student carries out (evaluative activity 1 and 2 and participation in class), either individually or in a group (as indicated by the teacher), in addition to the Use and application of the contents of the subject will also assess the skills and abilities in: the search, analysis and selection of information, the ability of oral and written communication, teamwork and participation. The total or partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered a failure of the whole subject and not only of the plagiarized exercise. Plagiarism is copying from unidentified sources of a text, be it a single phrase or more, passing itself off as its own production (this includes copying phrases or fragments from the internet and adding them without modifications to the text that is presented as its own), and it is a serious offense We must learn to respect the intellectual property of others and always identify the sources that can be used, and it is essential to be responsible for the originality and authenticity of the text itself. If a student does not obtain a minimum grade of 3.5 in the final exam it is suspended. However, if the grade is between 3.5 and 4.9, it may be submitted to the recovery.   The student will be evaluated as "Not evaluable" as long as he / she has not participated in any of the evaluation activities. Therefore, if a student performs ANY of the evaluation activities, it can no longer be considered as "Not evaluable".

Grade revision process

After all grading activities have ended, students will be informed of the date and way in which the course grades will be published. Students will be also be informed of the procedure, place, date and time of grade revision following University regulations.

 

Retake Process

"To be eligible to participate in the retake process, it is required for students to have been previously been evaluated for at least two thirds of the total evaluation activities of the subject." Section 3 of Article 112 ter. The recovery (UAB Academic Regulations).Additionally, it is required that the student to have achieved an average grade of the subject between 3.5 and 4.9.

The date of the retake exam will be posted in the calendar of evaluation activities of the Faculty. Students who take this exam and pass, will get a grade of 5 for the subject. If the student does not pass the retake, the grade will remain unchanged, and hence, student will fail the course.

 

Irregularities in evaluation activities

In spite of other disciplinary measures deemed appropriate, and in accordance with current academic regulations, "in the case that the student makes any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an evaluation activity, it will be graded with a 0, regardless of the disciplinary process that can be instructed. In case of various irregularities occur in the evaluation of the same subject, the final grade of this subject will be 0"Section 10 of Article 116. Results of the evaluation. (UAB Academic Regulations).

The proposed evaluation activities may undergo some changes according to the restrictions imposed by the health authorities on on-campus courses.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Activitat appraisal 1 35% 1 0.04 7, 2, 5, 1, 6, 8, 24, 9, 11, 14, 13, 12, 16, 15, 18, 21, 17, 19, 20, 22, 23, 25, 10, 4, 3
Activitat appraisal 2 15% 0.5 0.02 5, 1, 6, 8, 14, 20, 23, 10
Exam 50% 2 0.08 2, 1, 24, 12, 22, 10, 4, 3

Bibliography


Basic bibliography:

Bigné, E. (2003). Promoción Comercial. Ed. ESIC, Madrid. Last Edition

Marquina-Arenas, J. (2012). Plan Social Media y Community Manager. Editorial UOC, Barcelona. Last Edition

Zunzarren, H. y Gorospe, B. (2012). Guía del Social Media Marketing. Ed. ESIC, Madrid. Last Edition

E-book "Conectados por redes sociales": https://elibro.net/es/ereader/uab/57768

 

Software

Excel, Power Point, Word