Problems and Methods in Theory and Practice.8th Annual Conference of the International Research Cooperation ›European Cultures in Business and Corporate Communication (EUCO)‹. September 24-27, 2008, Technische Universität Darmstadt.
In the times of product levelling, large scale mergers and globalisation, brands – product brands and corporate brands – are become more important for business and corporate communication. Brands are no longer simply the object of advertising, they are increasingly serving the purpose of social orientation in our daily lives; brands are ›alive‹ – and that means: brands communicate and brands bear responsibility.
Advertising and public relations are the fields of corporate communication, in which one communicates primarily about and using brands. Both domains of communication are being researched by academics in the fields of economics, sociology, and psychology, as well as linguistics, communication studies and media studies. Transdisciplinary, the term that has been so often invoked in past years, is often only an empty buzzword. What’s missing is mutual acknowledgement, or even constructive exchange between disciplines with respect to terminology, theoretical approaches and research methods, as well as opportunities for implementation. In particular, a well-founded method for studying advertising and PR communication is lacking in linguistics and communication studies. However, such a method can only be developed with close communication with other fields of study and with the advertising and PR branches.
The conference is concerned with bringing together theory and empiricism, academics and practice, university and corporation, to facilitate the exchange of information about topical questions and problems of concrete brand communication within the scope of advertising and public relations, as well as to provide an overview of the variety of theories and methods across all disciplines. Possible topics could be:
- How do brands emerge through communication? How do they – through communication – come to life? Which are the influencing factors that should be considered in this communication process?
- Which problems and challenges does one meet in the practice of brand communication – and which disciplines are challenged?
- How can the systematic connection between brand communication and advertising and/or public relations be described?
- How can brand communication, advertising communication and public relations be studied academically so that the effort adequate and practice-relevant and where are the methodological interfaces between the disciplines?
Renowned keynote speakers from business and academics are invited to give introductions into the two thematic blocks, ›Brands and Advertising‹ and ›Brands and PR‹:
For the topic ›Brands and Advertising‹:
- Prof. Dr. Günter Schweiger from the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration, Professor of Advertising and Marketing Research, President of the Austrian Advertising Research Association.
- Brandexpert Bernd M. Michael, BMM Büro für Markenarchitektur Düsseldorf, until 2006 associate and chairman of the Grey Global Group Europe, Middle East and Africa, until 2003 President of the European Association of Communication Agencies (EACA).
For the topic ›Brands and Public Relations‹:
- Prof. Dr. Peter Szyszka from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Professor of Business Communication at the Institut für Angewandte Medienwissenschaft (Institute for Applied Media Studies).
- Claudio Montanini, Founder and managing partner of PS M&W Kommunikation Frankfurt and Marketing Chairman of the Frankfurt Marketing Club. Mr. Montanini will invite associates from various well-known corporations for a podium discussion about the topic of Brands and Corporate Social Responsibility.