Hospitality Digital MarketingCornell

Certificate Program

Integrated marketing communications (IMC) is both a theory and a process. The goal of IMC is to make sure the promotional elements of a business work together and communicate a consistent brand experience for current and future customers. In the information age, it is critical that your brand penetrates through the dense marketing landscape and connects with your target audiences.

In this course, you will examine what integrated marketing communications is and how you can use it to communicate your brand's strategy and promise. You will also identify why an IMC plan should constantly evolve in the face of a shifting media landscape and dynamic business realities and market conditions. You will discover how you can use marketing communications to effectively shape consumers' brand beliefs and persuade them, while doing so in ways that are legal and ethical. Finally, you will explore a number of conceptual models that can help you define and refine the brand's marketing communications goals. Throughout, you will utilize these strategies to begin to build an IMC strategy for a fictional hotel in Baltimore, Maryland.

A brand's marketing communications must be where target consumers are, and they are increasingly online. As the number of online channels grows, it becomes even more important to ensure that marketing communications are integrated and targeted to the brand's key audience. Successfully defining that target audience, then designing communication that will resonate with them and shape their brand beliefs, must be the basis of the organization's online marketing. With those in hand, you can focus on the two main channels of online marketing: website and search engine marketing.

In this course, you will examine how to identify the brand's target market and develop a brand voice that will resonate with them. You will also determine how to develop a creative strategy and marketing messages that will effectively shape the target audience's brand beliefs. You will then examine the importance of the brand website as the centerpiece of your online channels along with the many ways to keep the website functional, engaging, and fresh. Finally, you will explore search engine marketing, including how to bid on search keywords, which keywords to bid on, and how to make effective use of online display advertising. Throughout the course, you will remain centered on the importance of ensuring that the brand channels speak with one voice, with messaging tailored to the target audience and in support of the broader integrated marketing strategy.

It is highly recommended that you have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Marketing the Hospitality Brand Through Digital Media

The contemporary media landscape offers a staggering range of marketing communications channels and tools. These include digital channels, social media platforms, influencers and content creators, user-generated content, and experiential marketing, along with the full suite of traditional media such as print, radio and TV, and public relations. It is therefore critical that brands optimize their marketing communications to meet and exceed the needs and expectations of their current and future customers.

In this course, you will explore ways to utilize online and traditional media to effectively communicate a brand's promise and voice, build positive associations with the brand, drive sales, and meet marketing goals. You will examine search engine optimization strategies and analyze the role content marketing plays in building the brand's online presence. You will also delve into the nuances of creating content for social media channels, managing online communities, and working with influencers. Throughout, you will assess the continued role that traditional media and tools play in meeting integrated marketing communications goals. After successful completion of this course, you will have analyzed, practiced, and applied a wide range of contemporary digital marketing strategies designed to strengthen and enhance the audience-brand relationship.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Marketing the Hospitality Brand Through Digital Media
• Implementing Brand Strategy Through Digital Media

Digital marketing is fast becoming the primary means for hospitality and related service firms to reach, engage, and transact with consumers across their multiple devices. Consumer planning, shopping, experience, and sharing through digital media is quickly changing how marketing is done as well as how marketing effectiveness is measured.

Owners and managers must be able to make effective, data-driven, analytical, and integrated decisions related to digital marketing using the right metrics and reports. These decision support tools may be generated internally and/or by vendors, like digital or social media marketing agencies. Managers must be able to understand, evaluate, and communicate recommendations in line with the firm's overall business and marketing strategies. This course provides managers with the insight and tools to do the job.

In this course, you will make marketing and service enhancement decisions based on the interpretation and integration of digital media performance metrics. Through this analysis, you will evaluate the effectiveness of digital marketing activities using standard and new performance metrics. You will also use digital media reports and available analytic tools to assess the competitive position of a business and articulate recommendations to improve performance.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Marketing the Hospitality Brand Through Digital Media
• Implementing Brand Strategy Through Digital Media
• Communicating the Brand Across Marketing Media

Symposium sessions feature two days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Marketing Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium, in which we’ll share experiences from across the industry, inspiring real-time conversations about best practices, innovation, and the future of marketing work. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to some of the most pressing topics and trends in the marketing field. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from across the industry.

Upcoming Symposium: March 11th – 12th, 2025: 

• Tuesday, March 11, 2025 11AM – 1PM ET
• Wednesday, March 12, 2025 11AM – 1PM ET

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.

Symposium sessions feature two days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Hospitality Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium, in which we’ll discuss how both day-to-day operations and strategic goal setting in the hospitality sector have rapidly evolved over the past two years, opening up new space for real-time conversations about the future of the industry. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to various areas of the industry, examining the innovations and accommodations you have all had to make throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and strategizing on future directions. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from across the industry.

Upcoming Symposium: April 1 and 2, 2025

• Tuesday, April 1, 2025 11:00AM ET – 1:00PM ET
  • Session title pending
• Wednesday, April 2, 2025 11:00AM ET – 1:00PM ET
  • Session title pending

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.