Course Syllabus
Digital Media in Marketing |
 |
| Semester & Location: |
Spring 2026 - DIS Copenhagen |
| Type & Credits: |
Elective Course - 3 credits |
| Major Disciplines: |
Communication, Marketing, Media Studies |
| Prerequisite: |
None |
| Faculty Member: |
Tue W. Storm - Current students contact via canvas inbox |
| Time & Place: |
Tuesdays 14.50-17.45 Classroom: V10-D11 |
Course Description
Digital Media in Marketing explores how technological development has transformed marketing and advertising, with particular focus on digital media, content, and online marketing disciplines. Advances in digital tools and platforms have made professional marketing execution accessible not only to large organizations, but also to smaller businesses and individuals.
As the media landscape continues to shift toward digital platforms, marketers must understand how new media channels influence strategy, planning, and execution. While technology evolves rapidly, many fundamental marketing principles remain essential, and others require reinterpretation in a digital context. This course examines how digitalization affects the business environment today, and how brands adapt their marketing and communication strategies accordingly.
The course prepares students for roles within marketing, communication, and media by developing practical skills and strategic understanding relevant to contemporary digital marketing practice.
The course is particularly relevant for students interested in pursuing careers within online and digital marketing. Through exposure to interrelated digital marketing disciplines, students gain an understanding of how these areas connect and function together in practice.
Understanding consumer behavior is a central theme throughout the course. Students learn to apply storytelling, social media planning, content production, and execution of digital marketing plans and advertising campaigns, including the production of a short video commercial.
The course is project-based and structured around group work. Students work in teams and select a brand or company case, for which they develop a digital marketing campaign. The project progresses from consumer insight and Customer Journey Mapping to strategic planning, channel selection, media allocation, and creative execution.
As part of the campaign, teams develop and execute a creative concept and produce digital content, including a short film commercial. Students work through key stages of execution, such as concept development, basic pre-production planning, filming, editing, and presentation of the final results in class. The emphasis is on aligning creative output with platform logic, audience behavior, and campaign objectives rather than technical perfection.
Approach to Teaching
This is a project-focused, hands-on course. Active participation and preparation are essential. Students are expected to contribute to discussions, collaborate in group work, engage in field studies, and present project outcomes. Learning is centered on applying theory to practical marketing and communication challenges.
Learning Objectives
The course is designed to enable students to acquire relevant and up-to-date knowledge of digital media and online marketing practices.
By the end of the course, students are expected to be able to:
- Understand the role of people, culture, and behavior in marketing and communication.
- Understand the role of digital media and technology in contemporary marketing practice.
- Describe the changing media landscape and its implications for businesses.
- Analyze how leading brands integrate digital media and content into their strategies.
- Understand basic principles of data, analytics, and insight generation.
- Understand and work with Customer Journey Mapping.
- Develop a framework for a digital media marketing plan.
- Apply storytelling tools in marketing communication.
- Produce a short video for content marketing purposes.
- Understand the interrelation between different digital marketing disciplines.
- Analyze and evaluate online advertising campaigns.
- Collaborate effectively in teams and reflect on group dynamics and leadership.
Teaching methods, assignments and projects
The course consists of 80-minute classes combining lectures, cases, readings, assignments, and in-class work. Students are assigned to groups in the first class and work in these groups throughout the semester.
Projects emphasize applied learning and are designed to reflect skills relevant to current marketing and communication roles. The course combines discussion-based sessions, lectures, guest lectures, teamwork, presentations, and field studies. Some sessions may take place online and include flipped-classroom elements, web-based assignments, or remote teamwork.
Course Instructor
Tue Walin Storm With over 20 years of experience in global film and TV production, Tue is a seasoned filmmaker and writer who has developed series for Netflix and DR, directed award-winning commercials for brands like Heineken, Ford and Jaguar, and earned accolades such as a Cannes Lion. Currently part of the director duo Storm/Hansen, Tue combines his industry expertise with a passion for exploring storytelling and creativity in film and marketing. His work bridges the gap between artistic vision and real-world communication, focusing on crafting compelling narratives that resonate across diverse audiences.
The semester is divided into two parts and team assignments
Team presentation A) Customer journey map, touch-points and the creative brief.
Teams will present the customer journey map and touch-points, and define the creative brief for a company of the group's own choosing, including the strategic objective, target group, communication platform value words and more. The thoughts behind the one-page creative brief will be presented using PowerPoint, Prezi etc. Considerations may include:
A.1. Define customer journey map and touch points.
- Identify customers.
- Identify touch-points (From discovery to renew phase).
- Identify sources for data collection.
- Know how to conduct surveys ranking customer experience at each touch-point in order to detect problems (actual rankings not needed).
- Know how to conduct interviews with stakeholders to understand customer needs and problems and draw customer journey maps (actual interviews not needed).
Note on Customer Journey Maps (quantitative and qualitative):
For this project, teams will simulate data by creating fictional response numbers and results. This allows you to define where the company performs well and where it underperforms across the customer journey. Ensure that the selected touchpoints are relevant and appropriate for the specific product or service.
A.2. The creative brief.
The organization’s strategic objective: Define what the campaign is intended to achieve. Examples include raising awareness, launching a new product, generating engagement or earned media, or moving customers to the next stage of the customer journey.
Look at your Customer journey Map for suggestions. Make the CJM relevant.
- Mission & Vision (if available).
- History, traditions, philosophy and Values.
- Primary and secondary target group (preferences, values, buying habits).
- Considerations in regards to potential stakeholders.
- Positioning map: The product or service position compare to competitors (Price/quality and other relevant aspects/value propositions). NB Positioning map: For this project you may makeup all results except the value proposition "price" that has to be real. You also makeup the fake number of surveys you "made".
- Product portfolio concerns (other owned products brand. coms.)
- Benchmark (Your competitors value words/brand coms).
- NO need for a SWOT model (Its just a tool you can use to evaluate findings).
- The communication platform (Value words/brand coms the campaign is trying to convey).
- The final result is a one-page creative brief including communication platform value words.
- Make sure that there is a red thread/argument through the presentation, that you conclude something from every slide and that you explain why your chose each brand.
Team presentation B) Digital media campaign (content creation and budget).
B.1. Teams will develop a digital media campaign including two short film commercials and two photos based on the creative brief developed for Team Presentation A.
- Teams will explain how the creative campaign relates to the strategic objective, value words and brand consistency across all touch-points.
- Teams will conduct media allocation (budget) for 50.000 US dollar across digital media (SEO, SEM, SE-Advertising).
- The presentation will begin with a short summary of the strategic findings and objective (PowerPoint, Prezi etc.).
- The presentation may include: Creative pitch tools: Logline, tagline, advertising form, storyboard. Creative deliverables/material:
- Two films (one max 30 sec. one max 2 minutes in duration). One film must include dialogue. The other must include dialogue or voice-over.
- Two photos that can also be used/uploaded on Social Media.
- B.2. Explain where you will post your two photos and how the overall campaign is going to affect (or relate to) Paid, Owned, Earned media.
AI addition:
AI is rapidly being incorporated into many aspects of digital marketing and content creation. To reflect this shift, groups now have the option to produce one of their two commercials using AI. Students who choose this option must integrate all six AI categories into their workflow, ensuring that the final film is a video, not a series of still images.
Students must not share personal information when using AI tools and should familiarize themselves with the DIS AI policy before incorporating AI into their projects.
Requirements:
- Use all six AI categories, either partially or primarily AI-generated.
- AI can serve as a foundation for creative decisions, with students modifying, refining, or building upon AI outputs as needed.
- Ensure the film follows a coherent narrative structure with motion, transitions, and varied compositions.
- Explain and justify AI choices in the final presentation.
AI Integration Categories:
- AI Concept & Scriptwriting
- Generate a logline and tagline aligned with the Communication Platform.
- Create a script using AI-generated dialogue, either as a starting point or fully AI-assisted.
- AI Storyboard Generation
- Develop an AI-generated storyboard including camera angles, key compositions, and scene transitions—students may refine or modify AI-generated boards.
- AI Video Generation (Video Output Required)
- AI-generated moving images with motion, transitions, and scene cuts—students may incorporate their own footage or adjust AI visuals.
- AI Voice Overs & Dialogue
- Use AI-generated voice over or dialogue, either fully or as a base that can be edited, combined, or supplemented with student-recorded audio.
- AI Sound Design & Music
- Create an AI-generated soundtrack and sound effects, with the option to mix in additional recorded elements.
- AI Editing & Post-Production
- Utilize AI for video editing, color grading, and final compositing, while retaining creative control over the final product.
Link to suggested tools on Canvas: Suggested AI Tools
Production Budget
Each group has been allocated a 500 DKK budget for their commercial production. The funds must be used exclusively for production-related expenses such as props, wardrobe, SPX make-up, AI tool subscriptions, or other necessary production costs - but you must follow these guidelines:
- Budget must be approved by the lecturer before any purchases.
- Please submit your planned expenses in advance for approval.
- One person per group (the Producer) must handle all purchases.
- All expenses must be documented with receipts. No receipt = no reimbursement.
- Reimbursement will be processed via this form: Student Expense Refund Form
Failing to contribute to the team’s work during the semester – including everything from group work sessions, production of the Communication Platform and preparation for and execution of the team’s oral presentation at the exam – will be reflected in this element of the total grade for completing the course.
Midterm test
There will be a midterm test. You will be evaluated on your ability to demonstrate sufficient understanding of the course work and topics covered in class.
Final test
There will be a final test. You will be evaluated on your ability to demonstrate sufficient understanding of the course work and topics covered in class.
Class participation
- As part of the participation grade, students will work in pairs to present an existing TV or online commercial of their choice (maximum duration: one minute). The presentation should include brief context about the commercial, such as its background and/or reception. No PowerPoint slides are required.
Late Paper Policy (Incl. presentations expected to be handed in)
Late papers will be deducted a third of a grade point per day they are late. All work must be handed in in order to get a passing grade.
Reading and required books (e-book under modules on Canvas)
- The New Rules of Marketing and PR (David Meerman Scott) (e-textbook, find it under 'Modules'):
- Chapter 4: Social media and your targeted audience.
- Chapter: 5 Blogs: Tapping millions of evangelists to tell your story.
- Chapter 14. Social networking as marketing.
- Chapter 22. Search engine marketing.
- Content Rules (Handley and Chapman).
Readings on Canvas
- E-book: Holk Master-class, ABC of Strategy, Marketing & Communications.
- Global marketing and advertising, chapter 10.
- Film directing ‘Shot by Shot: Composing shots, Spatial connections p.121-143.
- On Film-making ‘an introduction to the craft of the director’ p 272-273.
- The Healthy Edit p. 14, 106-108.
- Agency positions.
- Holk’s communication platform model.
- Case: What Should the NFL Do About Colin Kaepernick? A
Decision-Making Case.
Film
- Agency positions and the creative briefs
- Holk’s communication platform model CPM
- Social media & viral marketing
- Paid, owned, earned media
- Big data
- Customer journey mapping
- Creative development, tagline, logline and structure
- Storytelling
For students with special interest, the DIS library subscribes to Marketing Week, which brings the latest news for marketing, advertising and media professionals. The Copenhagen Business School subscribes to International Journal of Advertising, which provides a quarterly review of marketing communications.
Laptop policy
As the class is meant to be interactive and hands on, laptops or electronic devices may not be used during regular class lessons. Laptops may however be used for group work activities.
Grading elements
- Class Participation and short presentation of an advertising case: 20%
- Team presentation A: 20% (Presentations must be handed in. They will be graded as part of the presentation).
- One midterm test: 20%
- Team presentation B: 20% (Presentations must be handed in. They will be graded as part of the presentation).
- One final test: 20%
**Note: To be eligible for a passing grade in this class, you must complete all of the assigned work.
Academic Regulations
Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:
DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org
Tests and assignments - Late submission policy
Day 1 late – 10 point automatic reduction.
Day 2 late – 10 point automatic reduction.
Assignment can no longer be accepted beyond day 2 resulting in 0 points
Course Summary:
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