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Commerical Communication

Code: 43405
Credits: 10
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Strategic Planning in Advertising and Public Relations OB 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Ana Beatriz Valli Casado
Email :
ana.valli@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Cristina Martorell Castellano
Maria Leonor Balbuena Palacios

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

There are no pre-requisites to undertake this module.

Objectives

1.- To identify creative strategies in the field of marketing.

2.- To apply media planning techniques in the field of advanced commercial communication.

The module is, therefore, divided into two blocks: a) Advertising and Communications' Strategy; b) Media Planning.

Competences

Marketing

  • Address business situations and/or problems that imply an ethical dilemma on the basis of critical reflection.
  • Develop communicative skills in oral presentations before critical audiences.
  • Display a wide-ranging knowledge of commercial communication tools in their current context.
  • Generate innovative, competitive ideas and solutions.
  • Plan and conduct advertising campaigns.
  • Provide innovative solutions to commercial problems.

Strategic Planning in Advertising and Public Relations

  • Analyse market data (competition and brand image) and, in accordance with the advertiser's briefing, design a strategic communication plan.
  • Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • Design and carry out market research.
  • Display determination, curiosity and creativity.
  • Set communication objectives and design strategies that are suited to the dialogue between brands and consumers.

Learning outcomes

  1. Establish communication objectives in line with business objectives,
  2. Design original and innovative strategies for integrated communication.
  3. Distinguish the elements of advertising-campaign planning.
  4. Apply the methods of means planning.
  5. Recognise the internal and external elements of the creation process in advertising.
  6. Present views on a topic under discussion before an audience.
  7. Manage and lead a discussion on the set topics.
  8. Identify creative advertising processes and techniques.
  9. Design creative advertising strategies.
  10. Identify the processes and techniques of means planning.
  11. Tackle communication problems with determination, seeking out creative, innovative solutions.

Contents

a) Advertising and Communications' Strategy
- Communications in Marketing
- Sources of information and analysis: product-brand-target-market.
- Hollistic vision within the marketing plan.
- Managing touchpoints.
- Creativity in the strategic vision.
b) Media Planning:
- Marketing information systems (SIM).
- Marketing mix and its relation to the media strategy.
- Work process: negotiation, follow-up and optimisation, evaluation and conclusion of the campaign.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Analysis, presentation and resolution of real case studies 25 1 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 11
Reading materials and case studies 100 4 3, 7
Lectures (masterclasses) 75 3 3, 5, 8, 10

The module includes classes of 4 hours which will contain lectures, activities in class and activities to be completed autonomously and to be presented in class.

Innovative teaching methodologies like design thinking and flipped classroom will be used throughout the module.

A detailed schedule outlining the content of each session will be presented on the first day of the course and will be available on the course’s Virtual Campus, where students will find all teaching materials and necessary information for e ective course monitoring. Should the teaching modality change for reasons of force majeure according to the competent authorities, the teaching sta will inform students of any modifications to the course schedule and teaching methodologies.

NB:the contents of the course will be sensible to the aspects concerning gender perspective and the use of inclusive language.

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.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Final project delivery and content 30% 20 0.8 2, 4, 6, 7, 9
Partial project deliveries 30% 20 0.8 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10
Active participation 40% 10 0.4 6, 7, 11

The subject consists of the following evaluation activities:

- Activity A, active participation in class (40%).

- Activity B, partial project deliveries in class (30%)

- Activity C, final project presentation and content (30%)

To be able to pass the subject, it is necessary to obtain a minimum grade of 5 in activities A, B and C and to attend to a minimum of 80% of the classes. The evaluation will be continuous, based on the above, therefore there will not be a final exam of the module.

This module does not provide for a single-assessment system.

In the event that the student commits any irregularity that may lead to a significant change in the grade of an assessment act, this assessment act will be given a grade of 0, regardless of any disciplinary process that may be initiated. If multiple irregularities occur in the assessment acts of the same subject, the final grade for that subject will be 0.

The student who performs any irregularity (copy, plagiarism, identity theft...) will be qualified with 0 in this assignment or exam. In case there are several irregularities, the final grade of the subject will be 0.

Students will be entitled to reassessment in the course if they have been evaluated on a set of activities accounting for at least two-thirds of the total course grade. Notwithstanding, the final project for the module (30%+30%) is an evaluable assignment that cannot be retaken if failed. The reason is that doing a project of this nature is practically impossible to complete within the time we have for the retake.

According to point 9 of article 266 of the Academic Regulations of the UAB, \"when it is considered that the student has not been able to provide sufficient assessment evidence, this subject must be qualified as non-evaluable.\" This occurs if the student has not attended more than 50% of the module sessions.

In this module, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed as an integral part of the development of the work, provided that the final result reflects a significant contribution from the student in analysis and personal reflection. The student must clearly identify which parts have been generated with this technology, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and the final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered a breach of academic honesty and may result in a penalty on the grade of the activity, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.

Bibliography

1) Consultation of specific studies related to the evolution of the market, consumption trends, target market lifestyle, media consumption for a given target market (to be determined for any given project).Example of general sources:

- Spanish General Media Study: http://www.aimc.es/-Datos-EGM-Resumen-General-.html

- IAB Digital Media Study: https://iabspain.es/estudio/estudio-de-inversion-publicitaria-en-medios-digitales-2024/

- Advertising Spending studies: http://www.infoadex.es/estudios.html

- Optimedia studies: http://www.optimedia.es/optimedia-intelligence/

- Spanish Statistical Office: www.ine.es

- MAIMC Media research: http://www.aimc.es/-Marco-General-.html

- Statista:https://www.statista.com/

- Nielsen Insights: http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports.html

2) IAB (Interactive Advertising Bureau) specific research: http://www.iabspain.net/investigacion/

- Ecommerce: https://iabspain.es/wp-content/uploads/estudio-ecommerce-iab-2018_vcorta.pdf

- Programmatic Advertising: http://www.iabspain.net/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2014/09/Libro-blanco-de-Compra-Program%C3%A1tica-y-RTB.pdf

- Affiliate Marketing: http://www.iabspain.net/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/07/12_LB_Marketing_afiliacion.pdf

3) Mobile Strategy:

- ASO Manual: https://pickaso.com/guia-aso

- State of Mobile: https://www.data.ai/es/go/state-of-mobile-2024/

4) New business models in the digital era: http://www.dosdoce.com/upload/ficheros/noticias/201409/modelos_de_negocio_pdf.pdf

5) Specific tools for competitive analysis and brand positioning:

- PESTEL Analysis: Business Environment Scanning Task (Aguilar, 1967)

- Web analysis tools: SEMrush, PageRank, Mention.com, Google Keyword Planner/Trends, etc.

- Online reputation analysis: http://carlosvictorcosta.com/2011/modelo-de-gestion-integral-de-la-reputacion-online-corporativa/

- Study on Digital business & e-commerce conversion: https://www.flat101.es/app/uploads/2023/04/Estudio-de-Conversio%CC%81n-2023.pdf

- Dashboarding: https://datastudio.google.com

- Social Media Ads formats: https://www.adsmurai.com/es/recursos/guia-formatos-social-media

6) Business Model Canvas. Osterwalder, Alexander. “Value proposition design: How to create products and services customers want” (2014)

8) Traction book http://tractionbook.com/

9) “Estrategias de comunicación” according to Patti and Frazer (1988)

10) Webloyalty. Online Shoppers: http://www.slideshare.net/Ikusmer/estudio-online-shoppers-2016-sistemas-de-ahorro-online

11) How to create buyer personas: https://www.40defiebre.com/como-crear-buyer-personas

11) How to Plan triggered email campaigns: http://www.smartinsights.com/email-marketing/behavioural-email-marketing/how-to-plan-event-triggered-email-campaigns/

12) Design Thinking methodology and Design Principles. Stanford University. Oct 2013. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/design-thinking-a-quick-overview

13) “Talking to humans”. Giff Constable. 2018 https://www.talkingtohumans.com

14) "Key Askpects of the AI Act": https://www.mosaicfactor.com/key-aspects-of-the-european-ai-act/

15) "Explainable AI": https://youtu.be/UEleunqh2_k?si=ohukvRy4kxipm-36

Software

  • Moodle
  • Microsoft Office & Google Drive suite
  • Trello
  • Google Analytics, Ads & Studio

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TEm) Theory (master) 30 Spanish second semester afternoon