Brand Conflict Comms

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

Marketing professionals are tasked with creating customer-driven strategies; providing targeted client-centric value; developing strong brand equity; serving as company representatives with the press and other media, and always keeping brand protection front of mind. As such, they have to be skilled in communications as well as business, psychology, and ethics. But the area most often overlooked and not adequately trained for is conflict management and resolution. Since the birth of the web in 1991 and the start of social media less than a decade later, the opportunities for marketers to connect with target audiences and stakeholders rose dramatically. Now, with Web 3.0’s Semantic Web, opportunities to communicate and interact have skyrocketed. That, however, also means an increased risk of misunderstandings, reputational harms, and PR disasters that marketers must try to guard against and deal with when they occur. This course will teach marketing professionals the fundamentals of conflict management and resolution so they can successfully operate in today’s always-on and high-stakes communications environment. It will blend theoretical knowledge with case studies and in-classroom exercises. Students will learn how to identify conflict risk factors for their companies and brands. They will also learn best practices and how to choose a conflict management approach best suited to a given situation.