For whom
This minor is designed to introduce students into the dynamic world of advertising, where brand strategy, psychology, creative thinking, and cultural awareness come together to create impactful advertising plans and campaigns that align with brand values and resonate with diverse target audiences worldwide.
It is tailored for students who seek to focus on strategic decision-making and brand communication, rather than the creative production of advertisements.
The minor suits motivated, internationally oriented students who aim to work in international brand management, advertising strategy, creative concept development, account planning, or marketing communication consultancy.
Admission
To enter this programme, a foundation of introductory course(s) in Marketing Management and fluency in English writing and speaking (English language skills at CEFR level B2) is required
Content
In today’s fast moving international landscape, brands must communicate across cultural boundaries, media ecosystems, and rapidly changing consumer expectations. Advertising is no longer about producing content alone. It requires understanding how brands create meaning, build long term relationships, and influence behaviour in global markets.
Modern advertising requires far more than creativity. It demands the ability to interpret research, understand brand identity, apply psychological principles, craft concepts that resonate across cultures, and persuade stakeholders with clarity and confidence. Students develop the capability to translate brand essence into coherent global communication strategies.
Throughout the programme, students engage in theory, practical workshops, creative ideation, cultural analysis, concept development, and portfolio building. Real world assignments and client collaborations help students apply their knowledge directly in practice
Learning objectives
At the end of the minor, students are able to:
- Develop and justify a coherent brand and communication strategy aligned with insights, audience needs, and brand identity in an international context.
- Apply research and analytical skills to generate actionable insights that inform advertising decisions.
- Create original imaginative and strategically aligned creative concepts using divergent thinking, iteration, and storytelling.
- Apply psychological and persuasive communication principles ethically to increase advertising effectiveness.
- Adapt communication strategies for diverse cultural contexts, ensuring cultural relevance and brand consistency.
- Communicate ideas persuasively and collaborate professionally within multidisciplinary and international teams
Subjects, skills training, and workshops
The programme spans a full semester (30 ECTS, 840 hours study load)
Key components include:
- Lectures & Workshops covering theoretical concepts, practical applications, creative development, and hands-on workshops.
- Assignments and Challenges designed to build evidence of mastery across all learning outcomes.
- Group Projects in which students collaborate in diverse teams to design and present brand communication strategies and advertising campaigns.
- Individual Assignments to assess understanding and application of course content.
- Practical Fieldwork engaging in real-life business cases.
- Portfolio Development as a continuous process to demonstrate the learning journey
The minor programme is based on ‘learning by doing’, consisting of exercises, challenges and assignments, where knowledge and skills training are offered according to ‘just in time’ principle. This means no separate courses, exams or other summative tests, but programmatic assessment for 30 ECTS. This requires a high level of independence and personal responsibility from you with regard to self-starting skills and self-discipline. You are expected to manage your own learning process, continuously and actively collecting feedback, feed forward and feed up. Attendance at work sessions is not mandatory, but highly recommended; The pace is very high and the risk of lagging behind and/or missing the connection to content or group is therefore high.
Please note that the programme reflects a (logical) bundle of work-sessions and subjects that should be followed as such. It is not possible to combine (two or more) programmes in one single period
Assessment
During the entire minor you will put together an individual portfolio consisting of completed assignments and challenges, and feedback from peers, experts and teachers, in which you demonstrate that you have acquired the necessary competences, knowledge and skills. This individual portfolio serves to determine whether you have met the desired learning outcomes. As such, there is no decision moment based on a single assessment; the decision is made based on rich information on your entire learning process.
Literature
All material used will be provided.
Schedule
The minor spans a full semester and is offered both in the fall and spring semesters.
Total study load: 840 hours
Contact time: approximately 150–160 hours
Workshops and coaching: approximately 40 hours
Self-study and portfolio development: approximately 630 hours
Assessment activities: approximately 12 hours
Additional costs
Travel costs for excursions and field work: maximum € 100.
Reviews
The minor International Advertising offers well-connected courses where skills learned in one course seamlessly can be applied to the next. I experienced that the diverse student backgrounds enhanced the group work and facilitated knowledge exchange. Although, at times, the self-study load is big, preparing for classes and workshops allows for a lot of valuable knowledge, which I found to be very relevant for various jobs in the advertising industry.
Miriam, exchange student from Denmark, age 24
During this minor I learned a lot of knowledge and skills. The most important skill for me that I have grown in is presenting assignments and topics. What I liked most about this minor was the diversity of people. I’ve actually made friends from all over the world and it’s been great working together in groups every time.
In the end I would recommend this minor to others. I have learned a lot, made new friends and had a great time.
Shana, student International Business at HU, age 22
Remarks from Evalytics – minor evaluation by students (Anonymous):
‘I found it to be a comprehensive overview of international advertising, covering many interconnected elements that seamlessly align and can be applied to assignments in other courses’
‘I like the active participation, it made me learn more mentally and physically’
‘I love the diversity and different opinions that arise from class discussions’
‘I like the interactivity and how it encourages us to get to know each other through the group projects’
‘The amount of self guidance you need is challenging, but you learn a lot about presenting and that’s cool’
‘Nice amount of class hours. Relevant learnings and a space for creativity – nice to turn theories to practice/assignments/analysis fast. Although assignments are big and a lot of weekly work for 5 ECTS point courses’
‘I think that the content of the course is excellent and completely oriented to the working environment. I think that the different subjects provide an interesting and complementary perspective that gives you a solid idea of this field of work. I think it is an excellent training for what a company may demand from you in the future. Working with real clients makes the content of the course solid as it not only has a theoretical part but also allows you to put into practice (and learn from it) the theory taught’
‘I really liked the course! This is the first time I actually enjoyed university. Everything I have learned I can use and the teachers were very helpful. It was a good fit for me.’
‘I expected it to be very dynamic and practical and it fulfilled my expectations’