The course has the following objectives:

• Learning about the history of brand management
• Developing an understanding of key terms and models in brand management
• Understanding different theories in branding
• Gaining an understanding of the role of brand management in marketing strategy
• Introduction to several topics of brand management
• Introduction to the role of advertising and communication in branding
• Studying how the effectiveness of branding initiatives can be measured
• Learning about new developments in branding
• Actively applying the acquired knowledge by working on a real life branding and communication problem

"Brand Management" is a specialized course positioned in the marketing major of the IB and EBE program. The course gives an in-depth view of brand concepts and covers several aspects of marketing communication.

The starting point and primary topic of the course is How brands can be managed. We will study what a brand is, which elements constitute a brand, and what needs to be considered in brand management. We will discuss brand measurement as well as the basic branding strategies related to brand systems and brand extensions.

For building brands, advertising and communication are perhaps the most important instruments and deserve explicit attention. Advertising and communication seek to influence consumer behaviour; therefore, understanding the basic aspects of that topic is important for studying brand management.

For bachelor students at Maastricht University, the course is part of the Marketing Major. But it can also be chosen as an elective and may therefore be interesting for students who plan to focus on another business area. For example, accounting students learn about the background of an important intangible asset. Strategy students dive into one particularly important strategic issue. Further the course is of interest to anyone who wants to get experience in bridging theory and practice and who wants to learn more about the thrilling world of branding and advertising, which is around us anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

A detailed literature list will be available on the course website