Education: Marketing and communication trends 2015

Stefan Eggenberger puts it with a philosophical note. "Communication will always be outstanding in 2015 if it takes pleasure in uncertainty, deals calmly with doubts and provides answers before questions are asked." This is how the Head of Continuing Education in Communication at the HWZ University of Applied Sciences in Business Administration Zurich describes his view of a success profile. His colleague Michael Grund, Head of the Center for Marketing at the same institute, adds: "Three aspects are essential for good marketing in 2015 and will become even more important: being authentic, offering a consistent customer experience across all channels and touchpoints and generating real added value - in the service itself as well as in communication."With a pinch of humorIt's not only on the HWZ campus near Zurich's main railway station that education professionals think about what they actually want to teach at the start of a new year. The KV Luzern Berufsakademie also has clear ideas about this. "Marketing and communication in 2015 should be very close to the target audience, not pretentious or preachy, with a pinch of humor and, of course, effective," says Peter Rüegger, who wants to equip his clients at the Marketing Academy, which he heads, with the necessary skills. The packaging and transportation of messages will also continue to evolve this year, as Michael Boenigk from the Institute of Communication and Marketing at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU) predicts: "The trend in 2015 will continue to move towards cross-media networked campaigns that link online and offline channels on the basis of a storyline, involve the recipient and even invite them to interact emotionally."Marketing must sellSilvio Gardoni, Project Manager Communication at Migros Club School, also believes that good marketing and effective communication must establish a relationship between the target group and the product or service. "The right marketing mix and the combination of online and offline channels in the sense of integrated communication are the means to this end." The more clearly the customer benefit is defined, the more coherent the communication can be, says Michael Broglin, Head of Marketing and Courses at SAWI, giving his motto for 2015 in a nutshell: "Firstly, good marketing must be based on a good product or a convincing service. 'Good' means that real needs are covered or added value is offered. Secondly, good marketing must position a product in an independent and differentiating way with the help of creative and integrated communication. Thirdly, good marketing must sell - not through price, but through performance."Double degreeThe demands schools and institutes place on themselves are clear: their own clientele should benefit from the best possible education in order to distinguish themselves on the job market with outstanding performance. The competition for knowledge customers also includes the constant renewal and expansion of its own offering, for example, SAWI will be the first Swiss education provider to launch a new course with a double degree at Higher Professional Examination level in April 2015. The "Head of Business Communications and Head of Corporate Communications" was created in cooperation between SAWI and KV Zurich Business School, and Michael Broglin cites the fact that fewer and fewer applications have been registered for the two professional examinations "Swiss Certified PR Consultant" and "Swiss Certified Communications Manager" as the reason for this. "However, the form and content of the new program have been completely revised compared to the familiar PR Consultant and Communications Manager courses," he promises. The program starts with a nine-month basic module. Graduates then decide on the PR or communication specialization module and complete the course after a further seven months with a diploma thesis.Agile product managementIn 2015, the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) is also launching two conceptually new and practice-oriented further education courses, the "CAS Agile Product Management" and the "Internal Communication Practice Workshop". The target group for the "CAS Agile Product Management", which comprises 15 course days within nine months, are product managers with several years of professional experience who have already gained experience in an agile working environment or intend to implement this methodology in a targeted manner. In the "Internal Communication Practice Workshop", participants solve current tasks and challenges from their companies and organizations.Customer IntelligenceAt the HWZ, the "CAS Customer Intelligence", which will start for the first time in May 2015, aims to teach the basic concepts of customer relationship management and create an understanding among graduates of the importance of data in shaping profitable customer relationships. "The course teaches the basic principles of multidimensional analysis in order to develop, interpret and evaluate customer-related forecasting models using data mining techniques," explains Patrick Fehlmann, Head of Communication at the HWZ. In autumn, the Zurich-based institute is also launching the new "CAS Customer Experience" course, which aims to optimize the customer experience across all touchpoints.Change CommunicationIn 2015, the HWZ will offer the "CAS Internal and Change Communication" course for the first time as a co-production with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HSLU). "In this program, we will focus more strongly than before on the area of change communication and on an even more intensive practical orientation," announces Michael Boenigk.KV Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts launched the first class of 20 students for its brand new "Higher College of Marketing and Communication HFMK" on 9 January 2015. These are predominantly tried-and-tested and enthusiastic professionals who work in marketing-related functions and would like to advance to middle or senior management or establish themselves there. Their goal: outstanding performance in marketing and communication.