TheFebruary 17-20 module of MS in Innovations and Entrepreneurship was dedicated to marketing and internal communications. LvBS lecturers provided the students with both theory and practice and had them work on real cases.
The module began with a course in International Communications from Vache Davtian, a professional business coach and President of Promkabel-Elektrika.
He gave the MSIE students several tips to effectively manage their time, “From 6-7 a.m. till 1 p.m. is when people’s energy level is at its highest. Dedicate the first half of the day to accomplishing important tasks – don’t check your email, don’t drink coffee or tea with your colleagues. Allocate one ‘golden hour’ when you stay fully focused on getting your work done. This one hour will be much more effective that an entire day of chaos.” Good listening, according to the lecturer, is based on the 80/20 rule: 80% listening and 20% talking. “The ability to listen, understand, and feel what your interlocutor is trying to say is a vital element of communication and one of the greatest arts. If you learn to listen, you will be highly appreciated,” he added.
The participants of MS in Innovations and Entrepreneurship were introduced to the extensive topic of marketing based on the case of the D.S. Secret Pharmacy Interactive Museum. They visited the mysterious place where they discovered many surprises (all sorts of magic pills, chocolate with mint, heroine for cough, etc.) as well as received a business assignment from the company. Throughout the next month, the innovators will be working on a real case – they must come up with communication solutions that will help the museum enlarge its audience. The results will be presented to the top management of the company during the next module.
Read more about the Secret Pharmacy Interactive Museum founded by #KEMBA graduate Oleh Nykulyshyn. It is a testimony to the fact that not only can pharmaceutical business be useful and profitable, but it can also engage and go beyond the ordinary.
The module continued with a course on Legal Aspects of Doing Business from Andriy Hrynchuk, a lecturer in Law at LvBS and managing partner at Hrynchuk and Partners. “The Commercial Code that includes provisions on private entrepreneurship might be repealed soon, so don’t rush to register your private enterprise,” the lawyer gave a handy tip. The MSIE participants mastered the essentials of corporate law and learned more about threats to private enterprises and recent developments with the Commercial Code.
“Every marketing specialist dreams of advertising campaigns that would make customers cry,” Olesia Drashkaba, a graphic artist and Creative Director of Publicis Visage (a full service advertising agency), taught a two-day course in External Communications.
“A communications expert today is successful if s/he is able to quickly integrate. Competitive markets require creative approaches,” emphasized Olesia Drashkaba and added that it’s critically important for a marketing specialist to stimulate his/ her creativity. Thus, apart from equipping the participants with certain marketing tools (how to identify the unique selling point of your product, what’s at the heart of marketing and communications), the course helped them stimulate and develop their creativity. At the end of the course, the students built marketing strategies for their projects together with the lecturer.
Detailed information on digital marketing trends and tools was presented by Maksym Savanevsky, an expert in online communications, the founder and editor-in-chief of Watcher, and managing partner at PlusOne DA (a digital communications agency). “Content that doesn’t offer any value to the user is money down the drain. Simplicity is the key to success! When people visit your website, they don’t really care about its beautiful design. They want to have their problems solved,” said Maksym. He also covered such topics as how to effectively segment your customer base and create relevant promotional content for your project, as well as outlined new email marketing tools and the latest trends in digital promotion.
The module culminated with the project “Teaching and Learning” – the participants shared their experience and expertise in respective sectors. For example, Yuriy Tatunchak, a market research analyst at ELEKS, talked about data analysis in marketing research.
We are grateful to the MSIE participants for yet another stimulating module and wish them creative inspiration for the case! Looking forward to the next module in March!
