Master's Program in Brand Strategy and Management

The English-language Master's Course Brand Strategy and Management at IED Milano is designed for graduates of humanities, social sciences, or economics, as well as for those holding a Certificate in creative disciplines from Italian or international design schools. Applicants who have already completed two years of experience in the field are also welcome.

If you are driven by a great curiosity and passion for top brands and communication strategies, if you have the drive to delve into everything around you, if you have determination and perseverance, and if you have no fear about always challenging yourself, this is certainly the best training for you.

Methodology and structure

The Master's Course Brand Strategy and Management at IED Milano was developed to provide students with easier access to key national and international brand players, as they get familiar with how companies and agencies work in brand management processes.

Over the year you will be involved in a combination of lessons, tutorials, case histories, workshops, and projects based on real-life briefs, which you will carry out either individually or as part of a team. You will develop the skills required to manage a brand name using a multidisciplinary approach. You will also have the opportunity to analyze contemporary economic and cultural scenarios while setting out key aspects of product/service communication strategies and expanding your knowledge of branding processes. This work will help you understand how best brand strategies can be used as a way to suit customer needs and specific requirements.

The quality of this program is reflected in the number of practical training sessions offered daily, in addition to cross-training weeks focusing on creativity, where students work on idea generation and ‘out of the box’ methodology. Design techniques are also covered, as students are encouraged to attend the Salone del Mobile Week, looking into what leading companies are offering in terms of creative work. Leadership is also a focus, as you are allowed to meet presidents and CEOs of large corporations.

You will also be approaching the luxury industry, with an emphasis on Italian brands and excellences: Missoni, Diesel, Pomellato, and Technogym are among those featured over the last few years. Other brands will also be involved and presented through the stories of their founders or general managers.

Master Course Content

This training is divided into eight modules, covering an in-depth study of branding through cross-disciplinary lessons and group activities. This is a full journey that will take you through the different steps of the branding process. We will develop two branding projects of growing complexity, which will be assigned directly by our partner companies through real-life briefs, as a way to reproduce a typical professional context.

In addition, part of the training will also be spent on personal branding: a series of insightful sessions will allow you to become familiar with branding strategies, as you build up your own professional identity and move on from doubts about your future to a well-defined career path.

Assessing the Landscape

Prework (Strategic Marketing)

• Consumer insight
• Branding in BtoB and BtoC
• Branding vs industries
• Budgeting

Application

• Researches
• 360° analysis
• Product
• Targeting
• Competitive arena
• Trends
• Assessment: GAP analysis, conclusions,
• Market Positioning

Brand Strategy

Tools & Methodology and Strategic Platform

Brand DNA by Landor & Fitch

Advanced Strategy

• 5 Senses
• Customer journey
• Architecture
• Partnership and innovation

Brand Principles

• Brand guidelines
• Business guidelines
• Product guidelines

Brand Expression

Outside

• Look & feel
• Naming & verbal
• Strategic design
• Identity, corporate vs product branding
• Sound branding
• Branded environment and retail

Inside

• Internal branding
• Brand engagement

Brand Image

Brand Communication

• Strategy
• Creativity and actions
• Branded content and entertainment
• Relationship
• Field and events
• Media strategy, planning & management
• Results and data

Brand Reputation

• PR and digital PR
• Reputation management and crisis
• Rankings

Creative Thinking Week

• Creative mindset
• Innovation
• Design thinking

Business for Branding

Principles

• Workflow, project management
• Protagonists
• Roles and Responsabilities
• Proposals

Business Development

• Agency management
• Pitching

Brand Application Project

The intermediate project simulates a real professional situation. Students receive a real brief - launched by companies, entities, or agencies - and are asked to work on it using the expressive tools they have acquired so far. The course follows a rational structure, involving preliminary research, analysis, concept definition, and strategy creation. The last step is the presentation to the project partner.

Personal Branding

Career Consultancy

• Resume and CV
• Coaching programme
• Orientation: career service + Coordinator meeting
• Job interview coaching

Personal Skills and Tools

• Public Speaking
• Time management
• Team building and conflict management
• Keynote
• Videos (Premiere + iMovie)

Learning on the Spot

Executive Week

• A series of meetings with top Managers

Brand Champions Day

• Meeting with top Alumni

Luxury Week

• Lectures with top Managers guidance

Thesis Project

The final project carried out in collaboration with a real-world partner represents the synthesis of the entire training course. Students demonstrate to a client that they can apply all the skills acquired during the course through the development of teamwork, communicated in a concrete and impactful way in front of an evaluation committee.

After your Master's Course you will be able to take up one of the following professions in different fields:

• Companies: Brand Managers, Product Managers
• Branding Agencies: Brand Strategists and Client Managers
• Consultancy: Creative Strategists and Brand Consultants
• Entrepreneurs: Founders and Brand Directors