Storytelling in Branding and Content Marketing

Storytelling in Branding and Content Marketing

This course is part of Branding: The Creative Journey Specialization

Instructor: Pedro Cifuentes Huertas

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Assessments

4 assignments

Taught in English

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This course is part of the Branding: The Creative Journey Specialization

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There are 5 modules in this course

Storytelling in Branding and Content Marketing is an IE University course for professionals who want to learn how to produce memorable content through quality storytelling.

Students will go through a learning process that will start with a deep understanding of the term Branded Content and its main differences with traditional advertising, simultaneously creating an effective storyline based on strong brand values and messages. The course analyses the production of quality journalism and explores how to create memorable and long-lasting connections with a given target audience in a world of constant content surplus. It concludes with a deeper insight into the term of Brand Entertainment, giving them the opportunity to amplify their knowledge about how to produce a good call to action and retain the audience's attention.

In the first week of the course, we will get an overview of the main differences between Branded Content and traditional advertising. There is a new ecosystem of permanent distraction and content production, which is leading to new business models. We will learn how brand values should have an influence over the storyline.

What's included

10 videos3 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt

10 videosTotal 40 minutes

Introduction to Module 11 minutePreview module
A Brand New World (and a crazy one)3 minutes
‘Every top company becomes a media company’3 minutes
The Content Market Revolution3 minutes
The Change in Media Consumption Habits3 minutes
Consumer Saturation: People Generally Ignore Ads: Interview with Jorge Martinez – Head of Publishers at Outbrain10 minutes
Who Is the Target Audience?4 minutes
The Need for Meaning in the ‘Liquid’ Era3 minutes
Customer Logic vs Company Logic3 minutes
Don’t Write What You Know3 minutes

3 readingsTotal 75 minutes

*** Important note before starting the course5 minutes
Suggested Reading: The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains - Nicholas Carr60 minutes
Compulsory Reading: A Study on the Branded Content as Marketing Communication Media - Min-Wook Choi10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Test your knowledge on Module 1!30 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

The Democratization of Content Distribution10 minutes

During week two, Professor Cifuentes will introduce the main differences between good and bad journalism. The purpose is that we understand the process to go from a declining newspaper industry to the creation of high quality Branded Content. You will also learn how to develop quality headlines; the main element to attract the reader’s attention.

What's included

11 videos2 readings1 assignment1 discussion prompt

11 videosTotal 64 minutes

Introduction to Module 21 minutePreview module
The ‘Death’ of Newspapers4 minutes
Branded Journalism’s Rising Prominence in Media3 minutes
‘Brand journalism is veracity and public interest’: Interview with Ivan Pino - Associate and Senior Digital Director at Llorente y Cuenca10 minutes
Headlines, Clickbaits and Deception3 minutes
Trust with content is the same as in any other relationship : Interview with Juanjo Montanary9 minutes
Where are the stories?5 minutes
‘We search for stories in the brand’s legitimate conversation area’: Interview with Ivan Pino- Associate and Senior Digital Director at Llorente y Cuenca10 minutes
Newsworthiness for Marketing Purposes5 minutes
Thinking as a Good Journalist: Quality5 minutes
Transparency and Credibility: The Road to Earned Media4 minutes

2 readingsTotal 40 minutes

Compulsory: A once unimaginable scenario: No more newspapers - Douglas McLennan and Jack Miles:20 minutes
Compulsory Reading: Journalism That Stands Apart (NYT Report)20 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Test your knowledge in Module 2!30 minutes

1 discussion promptTotal 10 minutes

Are alarms about ‘the death of newspapers’ exaggerated?10 minutes

In week three, you will have the chance to understand how brands today are in need of stories. Pedro will explain the main elements that make a good story and how different story formats are applied for different purposes. We will address the elements behind storytelling and how to achieve emotional connections through relevance in stories.

What's included

9 videos1 reading1 peer review

9 videosTotal 38 minutes

Introduction to Module 31 minutePreview module
What’s old is new again5 minutes
Nothing Is Beyond the Scope of Human Interest3 minutes
Unique Stories: Connecting With the Audience3 minutes
Stories and Saturated Audiences2 minutes
What Makes a Good Story6 minutes
‘Brand storytellers should work more in the street and less in the office’: Interview with Juanjo Montanary - Branded Content Consultant6 minutes
Style and Coherence: Different Companies, Different Media, Different Stories3 minutes
Inbound Marketing: A Long-Term Publishing Strategy3 minutes

1 readingTotal 60 minutes

Suggested Reading: Alan Moore's Writing for Comics, Avatar Press, 2003 - Alan Moore60 minutes

1 peer reviewTotal 60 minutes

Brand Journalism: Finding and Building a Story for a Brand60 minutes

We have made it to the last module of the course. In this section, we will get a deep insight of the Brand Entertainment field through the eyes of respected professionals in the area. We will be able to amplify our knowledge in how to produce an effective call to action and how to preserve the audience; a key and complex factor in nowadays ocean of never-ending content.

What's included

14 videos4 readings1 assignment

14 videosTotal 88 minutes

Introduction to Module 42 minutesPreview module
A Multiplatform Transmedia Challenge6 minutes
What is Branded Entertainment: Interview with Jaime Dezcallar - Creative and Filmmaker9 minutes
Content Discovery2 minutes
Prolonged User Attention: Interview with Jorge Martinez - Head of Publishers Outbrain9 minutes
Movies in the Service of Brands3 minutes
Self-sufficient plots to build long-lasting connections: interview with Ana Folgueira - Production Director at Llorente y Cuenca4 minutes
Audiences, virality and new gatekeepers: Interview with Ana Folgueira - Production Director at Llorente y Cuenc11 minutes
We Don't Own Our Stories Anymore2 minutes
‘In social platforms you can really segment the message that you’re sending’: Interview with Dani Marote – CEO at Hydra Social Media10 minutes
Choosing the Right Format for a Piece of Content7 minutes
Success Stories in Branded Content7 minutes
‘Our only pattern is finding how we can give value to the user so we can get their attention and then a call to action’: Interview with Dani Marote – CEO at Hydra Social Media10 minutes
A Wrap Up From Professor Pedro Cifuentes0 minutes

4 readingsTotal 85 minutes

Compulsory Reading: Branded Content: The What, Why, When and How - The Mission Podcasts20 minutes
Optional Reading: Mythologies of Creative Work in the Social Media Age: Fun, Free, and “Just Being Me” - Brooke Erin Duffy, Elizabeth Wissinger45 minutes
Compulsory Reading: The ultimate step-by-step guide to understanding gamification10 minutes
Playing for Keeps: How Brands Should Use Gamification 10 minutes

1 assignmentTotal 30 minutes

Test your knowledge on Module 4!30 minutes

What's included

3 videos4 readings1 assignment1 peer review

3 videosTotal 10 minutes

Introduction to The Project4 minutesPreview module
Instructions for the Capstone Project4 minutes
Brand and Content Marketing Conclusion1 minute

4 readingsTotal 33 minutes

Instructions10 minutes
Defining Branded Content for the Digital Age3 minutes
The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing10 minutes
How to Design a Brand Study That’s Ethical and Entertaining- Gaudette Emily (2019)10 minutes