Advertising 3.0

Learning outcomes

The course is intended as a deepening, integration and advancement of the Advertising 2.0 course, present in the first year of the three-year Communication and Digital Media program. By the end of the course each student will have acquired the ability to produce creative - i.e., interesting, engaging, effective - ideas that are functional for the commissioning brand, with a focus on digital campaigns (social media, viral audiovisuals, augmented reality, etc.).

During the course each student will be able to practice and test, alone or in groups, different creative ideas, never in an abstract way but always with reference to concrete briefs from tourism communication, territorial marketing, social and institutional communication in the field of health and environmental sustainability, commercial communication in the agribusiness sector, and marketing of business, political and trade union associations.

Expected learning outcomes

• integrate strategy and creativity in the development process
• analyze a brief and define the goals of an advertising campaign
• create effective personas based on data and qualitative research
• conduct empathic research on consumers and generate meaningful insights
• develop a creative strategy focused on the needs, desires, and aspirations of the target audience
• ideate both storytelling and experiential engagement concepts
• design and prototype creative solutions across different formats and media
• test ideas and evaluate their effectiveness in terms of impact and brand coherence

Course contents

Through a group project work, the workshop will address the following topics:

STRATEGY AND CREATIVITY Strategy and creativity are two sides of the same coin in advertising. Together, they make a good campaign.
Strategy defines what to say, to whom and why: it’s the rational thinking that guides every decision, based on objectives, target, insight, and positioning. This is the task of the strategist, who analyzes and sets direction.
Creativity, on the other hand, defines how to say it: it’s the original, emotional, and memorable way the message comes to life. This is the role of the creative, who imagines and transforms the strategy into a visual and narrative experience.

ON-BRAND CREATIVITY
Advertising creativity must always reflect the brand’s identity, values, and tone of voice. Every campaign — even the most specific — must align with the brand purpose and contribute to building long-term consistency and recognition. Only then can creativity strengthen the emotional bond with the audience without betraying the essence of the brand.

LANGUAGES AND MEDIA
Contemporary creativity moves in a borderless space. Languages blend, technologies evolve, and media multiply and fragment. Modern advertising can leverage an infinite variety of channels — digital, physical, immersive, participatory — to build meaningful and memorable experiences. The challenge for creatives is to orchestrate all these elements with coherence and originality to generate value, connection, and impact.

THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF CREATIVITY
Whether for a private company, a public institution, or a nonprofit organization, advertising today can no longer ignore its social responsibilities. In a hyperconnected and globalized world, every message can have a significant impact on people, communities, and the environment. Creativity must therefore engage with ethical, cultural, and environmental issues, contributing — even symbolically — to a more positive and inclusive society.

TEST & LEARN
Analyze, synthesize, ideate, prototype, test, validate: an effective creative process is always iterative. Testing ideas at an early stage helps uncover hidden flaws, avoid costly mistakes, reduce waste of resources, and protect brand reputation. More importantly, the test phase is a valuable opportunity to ask new questions, spark unexpected insights, and uncover creative directions that were not initially visible.

REPRESENTATION
In today’s landscape, where communication flows through hybrid formats and evolving languages, the ability to clearly and compellingly represent ideas is essential. The visual and narrative representation of creative proposals should facilitate client dialogue and team collaboration, making tangible what is still just a concept. Sketches, storyboards, mockups, and animations become essential tools for shaping the creative experience.

Reading/Bibliography

Mandatory bibliography will be provided according to the needs that emerge during the course.

Optional

• Barry, The advertising concept book: a complete guide to creative ideas, strategies and campaigns, third edition 2013, Thames & Hudson
• Burtenshaw, Mahon, Barfoot, The fundamental of creative advertising, second edition 2011, Ava
• Himpe, Advertising next: 150 winning campaigns for the new communication age, 2008, Thames & Hudson
• Lombardi, We Are Social, Creatività in pubblicità: dalla logica alle emozioni, seconda edizione 2019, Franco Angeli
• Puggelli, Sobrero, La comunicazione sociale, 2010, Carocci
• Young, Ogilvy on advertising in the digital age, 2017, Goodman

Sitography for case studies

• Art Directors Club Awards
• Cannes Lions Awards
• Clio Awards
• D&AD Awards

Teaching methods

Each student will build their knowledge and skills through the Doing Using Interacting approach, applying to an international challenge and interacting directly with consumers. <br><br> Activities include group project work; lightning workshops; classroom and field exercises; audiovisual lectures with case study presentations and research references; collective critique meetings; group reviews; peer reviews; literature studies; and retrospective analysis sessions.

Activities include group project work; quick workshops; classroom and field exercises; audiovisual lessons with case study presentations and research references; collective critique meetings; group reviews; peer review; bibliographic studies; retrospective analysis sessions.

Assessment methods

Final evaluation will depend on the group work done up to the examination.

Consideration will be given to:

• compliance with the brief
• the originality of the creative concepts
• the formal quality of the presentations
• the punctuality and completeness of deliveries throughout the course
• the effectiveness of collaboration between group members

A retrospective analysis session may also be held for each group during the exam.

NB. The final grade also takes into account assiduity in attendance and classroom behavior.

Those who always attend, make a number of absences below the allowable 25 percent, and demonstrate in the classroom attention, participation, and civility may be rewarded with 1, 2, or 3 points rounded up in the profit grade.