Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Final Degree Project
Teaching staff
Introduction
RULES FOR THE FINAL DEGREE PROJECT FOR THE BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN ADVERTISING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS
2023-24 ACADEMIC YEAR
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PURPOSE AND NATURE OF THE TFG
The Final Degree Project (TFG) consists of a professional project in advertising. This project applies, integrates and develops the knowledge, skills and competences acquired during the degree.
The TFG is carried out in a team of 2 or 5 students, who will receive the guidance of a tutor with a professional/academic profile. The tutor will be assigned by the Coordinator of the Final Degree Projects in Advertising and Public Relations.
2. THE PROJECT TUTOR
The TFG tutors will:
- Ensure the viability of the project.
- Guide the student in the development of the project.
- Ensure the professional quality of the project.
- Evaluate the work carried out by the students.
- Approve the presentation and defence of the work: students may not submit or defend the TFG without the tutor’s approval. On the day of the final submission of the work, the TFG coordinator will ask the tutors for a report on the work carried out by the students and their approval for the defence.
3. TYPES OF PROJECT
Professional:
The TFG is conceived as a comprehensive communication plan, which means that the project will contain both public relations and advertising actions, and in some cases internal communication. It is proposed as a project that includes specific actions within a 360º strategy.
The idea of the professional TFG is that the student will be able, first, to identify or obtain a client (real or in their own project), product or service for which to develop the communication plan and then, in the long term, to develop a comprehensive communication campaign for them.
Due to the nature and extent of the project, it is planned it in two large blocks. The first, to be developed during the first semester, is the background to the campaign, as the proper development of an integral communication plan requires a prior analysis and knowledge of the environment and to identify the aspects to be taken into account during the development of the plan (social, economic, legal and technological aspects). It is also necessary to have a complete knowledge of the competitors, not only of their products and services, but also of their communication activities, which will allow for a correct benchmarking and therefore the production of a full SWOT analysis.
Without this prior knowledge, it is impossible to set communication objectives, identify target audiences and, lastly, develop a correct strategy. This is essential in the subsequent development of the right communication activities for the company, which is the second block of the TFG, to be developed during the second semester. This is much more extensive, focusing on the development of all the necessary actions to develop the communication plan and the fulfilment of the objectives and strategy, based on the creation of content and development of at least one of the journalistic pieces included in the plan.
Academic:
If the student is interested in completing an academic TFG, they may develop a research project on topical aspects of communication.
In this case, the student first defines the type of research they want to carry out. Through the tutorials they are guided in fully defining their research objectives and from this point, the student is referred to their director.
The TFG director is confirmed according to the type and scope of the student’s research and how it relates to the teaching staff’s lines of research. From this point onwards, the director must set out the work guidelines and guide the student throughout the research process, which in the case of the academic TFG is divided into three main blocks: development of the theoretical framework, approach to methodology and finally analysis and results.
In all cases:
- Projects must be original.
- The content must be based on contemporary communication.
- The development of the project involves the production of a report.
4. DURATION
- The TFG is an annual course.
5. LANGUAGE
The TFG can be presented in Spanish, Catalan or English.
6. SUBMISSION OF THE TFG
a). Calendar and deadlines:
1. Submission from 19 to 23 September.
Professional projects: Description and analysis of the specific sector, PESTEL under the criteria we saw in class, i.e. focused on the sector on which they are going to work for the professional projects. (Before starting the geographical environment of the campaign, it is important to consider that international research is not the same as national or regional).
Academic projects: Selection of journal articles and first proposal of an index for the theoretical framework.
2. Submission from 3 to 7 October
Professional projects: Analysis and description of the company, description of products/services. Analysis of all the communication tools.
Academic projects: Second draft and description of sections and contents of the theoretical framework.
3. Submission from 24 to 28 October
Professional projects: Benchmarking (analysis of direct or indirect competitors, including aspirational ones) Competitors will be analysed under the same criteria as the company itself, i.e. all of their communication tools.
Academic projects: Correction of the theoretical framework and first proposal of the working methodology.
4. Submission from 7 to 11 November
Professional projects: SWOT; target audiences (segments). Detailed analysis of both.
Academic projects: Correction of the theoretical framework and second proposal of the working methodology.
5. Submission from 21 to 25 November. Professional projects: Campaign objectives and Strategy with its phases and proposed actions, campaign Flow.
Academic projects: Corrections of the theoretical framework and final proposal of the working methodology.
6. Subsequent submissions:
Professional projects: Develop at least 5 actions (with their corresponding sub-actions).
Academic projects: Finalise the theoretical framework and methodology. Start of the methodological application
7. Interim submission of the TFG on 8 January.
8. Second semester:
Professional: This year the deliveries are not agreed, the dynamic is that each group advances according to the number of practices pending to be carried out depending on the date of submission of the TFG in the first call.
Academic: Development of the study, application of the methodology, results and conclusions.
Final Submission: Oral presentation of the project in front of the examining board. The specific date and time for the presentation of each project will be notified one week in advance by e-mail.
7. DEFENCE OF THE TFG
- The TFG will be defended in an oral presentation before a panel of experts made up of university lecturers and professionals from the sector.
- The defence will consist of:
a) The students’ presentation of the TFG, no longer than 20 minutes.
b) Assessment and questions from the examining board, no longer than 15 minutes.
c) The students’ response to the panel’s comments, no longer than 10 minutes.
d) The panel‘s deliberation, which will take place after the defence and the result of which will be published one week later.
- The presentation and defence of the project is public and open. The professionalism of the evaluated group in all aspects related to the public defence (punctuality, structure, attire, expression, supporting materials, etc.) will be given particular importance.
- All members of the group must attend and actively participate in the presentation of the work.
8. ASSESSMENT OF THE TFG
- In the assessment carried out by the examining panel, both the final product and the TFG report will be taken into account, The following will be assessed:
- The professional quality of the project and of the work carried out by the members of the team through all the stages of its preparation and presentation.
- The journalistic quality: value of the content, contrast of sources, contextualisation of the information, topicality, social relevance and ability to adapt to the needs of the target audience.
- The economic, legal and professional viability of the project.
9. LEGAL TERMS
The submitted work will be included in the archive of the UIC Faculty of Communication Sciences and may be used for promotional purposes.
Copyright:
1. The final TFG file must respect copyright in accordance with current legislation.
2. Authorisations of use and reproduction may be made on standard forms that will be provided to the author for this purpose.
3. The TFGs will form part of the bibliographic corpus of the UIC as the result of the academic output of its students. To this end, a procedure will be set up for their electronic deposit in the UIC document repository.
- The university will keep the submitted work for at least one year.
Pre-course requirements
The TFGs will be carried out in groups (one to four members).
Each group will present their proposal to the TFG coordinator, who will approve it or otherwise, based on these criteria:
- The characteristics of the proposed project
- The possibility of a real application: direct contact with a client is suggested in the case of an existing brand; otherwise, they should have access to the necessary information in the research stage; other types of own projects that can be developed will also be viable, as long as the dimension and capacity of application of a global communication campaign is not limited to a very small number of actions or a very reduced budget.
- The suggested budget for the implementation of the plan is €250,000.
- The project should potentially include internal communication, publicity and PR actions.
- The suitability of the project and how it relates to the student’s areas of interest.
The client proposal should be finalised and approved by the coordinator during the first week of the first semester. For this, the coordinator will set tutoring hours to support the students in their choice of the client, subject, product or service for which the campaign will be developed.
Once the project has been approved (by a document that the coordinator will email to the group), the group can start work on the campaign.
If the group does not have a clear idea of the project, client, service or product, or as a preference, they will receive a briefing from the coordinator.
If it is an academic TFG, it will be carried out individually, and the minimum requirements are that for it to be a viable proposal in terms of the application of the research and that it deals with a topic of current interest.
Objectives
1. At the end of the TFG, the student will have an overview of the role played by the Communication Director as a manager of business communication and will be able to develop a proposal for a business communication plan.
2. They will be able to recognise the phases of a communication plan and implement them for the practical development of specific plans in different areas of the company.
3. At the end of the TFG, the student will have a clear understanding of the variables that affect strategic marketing decisions and know the use of both advertising and PR tools that will help to manage the communication of their clients.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- 03 - The ability to plan personal resources (personnel, materials, seasonal...)
- 05 - The ability to learn autonomously
- 07 - The ability to work in a group
- 08 - The ability to organise time and workspace
- 09 - Lingustic ability in Catalan, Spanish and English
- 12 - The ability to produce spoken and written texts
- 17 - The ability to confront difficulties and resolve problems
- 18 - The ability to work under pressure
- 89 - The ability to create synergy in a working team
Learning outcomes of the subject
At the end of the TFG, the student will have an overview of the role played by the Communication Director as a manager of business communication and will be able to develop a proposal for a business communication plan.
Syllabus
1. Methodology for the preparation of the Plan
1.1. How to draw up the Plan
1.2. Previous actions
1.2.1. Executive summary
1.2.2. Communication Plan - Situation Analysis
1.2.3. Pre-phases of the Plan (Model)
2.2.3.1. Basic questions at each stage
2.2.3.2. Analysis of competitive scenario
2.2.3.3. Analysis of environments
2.2.3.4. SWOT analysis
2.2.3.5. Communication analysis
1.2.3.3.5.1. Background information
1.2.3.3.5.2. Corporate Identity Trends
1.2.3.3.5.3. Corporate Image Trends
2. Communication plan - Definition of objectives
2.1. Conditioning of objectives
2.2. Structure of objectives
2.3. Communication objectives
2.3.1 Cognitive
2.3.2. Affective
2.3.3. Behavioural
2.4. Marketing objectives
3. Communication Plan - Definition of target audiences
3.1. Definition of the areas of communication
3.2. Scope of communication
3.3. Audience map
3.4. Definition of internal and external audiences map
4. Communication Plan - Strategies and programmes
4.1. Definition of the general communication policy
4.1.1. Description of corporate discourse
4.1.2. Description of the communication policies
4.2. Definition of strategies
4.2.1. Global
4.2.2. Specific
4.3. Identification of means and resources
4.4. Development of phases
4.5. Development of each action in a phase
5. Annual plan and budget
5.1. Defining time-frame and calendar
5.1.1. Development of the annual communication calendar
5.1.2. Justification of actions in the annual planning
5.2. Budgeting
5.3. Evaluation and control
6.3.1. Establishing control tools
Teaching and learning activities
In person
The student must asist a mandatory minimum of 50% of the training sessions and advice TFG to be evaluated in the same. The theme of the session will be as follows:
- Pla Communication - Situation Analysis
- Analysis of the competitive scenario
- SWOT Analysis
- Definition of objectives
- Definition of public objectives
- Strategies and programs
- Definition of strategies
- Development of phases and each phase actions
- Annual Plan and Budget
- Establishment of timmings and plannings
- Development of annual communication planning
- Evaluation and control
At the end of TFG development it will be evaluated by a shaped by industry professionals and teachers court.
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | ECTS CREDITS |
|---|---|
| Coaching. Monitoring how students learn the content of the subject, either individually or in groups. In the coaching sessions, mistakes will be corrected, queries answered, and exercises and activities to achieve the established objectives will be suggested. | 3 |
| Meeting Point. Meetings will be organised with notable people from the professional and scientific fields or the international field, and students. These sessions will take the form of conferences, work sessions, discussions, or interviews, etc. | 1 |
| Lectures. In lectures, lecturers/professors not only transmit content or knowledge, but also, and above all else, attitudes, motivation, skills and values, etc. They also ensure that participants can express their opinions and arguments to the other students. | 2 |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The project evaluation will be based on a series of tutorials linked to several deliveries, the director of TFG contribute 20% of the note while the other 80% will be contributed by the other two members of the court.
Students will make physical delivery (printed material) on the dates marked at the same time it will be agreed with the coordinator delivery date changes and corrections of delivery by the coordinator (tutorials).