CM/IB 340 - Digital Marketing and Communication

The impact of digital technology on business and on society is so deep that within two decades, whole industries have been fundamentally disrupted, not to mention the lives and behavior's of consumers and business decision makers.

The result is a competitive global marketplace dominated primarily by a few ‘tech giants’ including Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Microsoft, Alibaba, etc. Each of these, although originally specialized - data management (Alphabet Google), retail (Amazon), hardware and software (Apple), social media and information (Meta) - have progressively enlarged their scope so much that today there are no sectors unaffected. In addition to the above, a series of digital startups like Airbnb, Uber, Dropbox, Coursera have emerged with entirely new business models disrupting their respective markets.

Retail, Media & Publishing, Entertainment, Financial Services, Education, Transport, Travel, basically no sector has remained unaffected. Meanwhile the progress of technology continues artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) continue the disruption of both B2B and B2C markets. 

At the same time, social media has become the main source of information for billions of people, online advertising has recently surpassed TV ad spend, and the lines between online and offline are becoming increasingly blurred. Digital influencers can decide the success or failure of products and companies, while the omnichannel approach to commerce has blended ecommerce and traditional brick-and-mortar retailing.

This Module will provide an overview of digital marketing and ecommerce and from a communications perspective. Analyzing current Internet, mobile, and multi-media campaigns, we will evaluate evolving marketing techniques and promotional technologies and find ways to integrate them into an effective communications strategy. Emerging media channels and cases will be analyzed to predict future trends. Class projects will emphasize current trends and propose an outlook into the new marketing landscape. The course is enriched by relevant case histories, practical exercises, and guest lectures held by digital entrepreneurs, designers, technologists, and investors.