Overview

Want to know what really drives your customers? This non-credit online course in consumer behavior and marketing communications, offered through the University of Arizona Online on Coursera, provides working professionals and adult learners with practical tools to understand customer insights and turn them into action. Designed for learners who want to upskill, reskill, or explore college-level marketing coursework, this course examines how consumer goals, pain points, personality traits, cultural context, and social influence shape buying decisions—and how these insights inform effective marketing and brand strategy. Through real-world examples and hands-on exercises, you’ll learn to apply segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) frameworks, create actionable customer personas, and use behavioral science and storytelling techniques to design marketing communications that motivate action and build lasting connections. This course offers a flexible, low-risk opportunity to engage with college-aligned coursework on a smaller scale, making it an ideal starting point for professionals considering continued education or a future pathway into University of Arizona credit-bearing programs. By the end of this course, you will be able to: 1. Explain how consumer goals, pain points, personality traits, cultural context, and social influence impact buying behavior and marketing effectiveness. 2. Apply segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategies to create brands of enduring value. 3. Create actionable customer personas that capture goals, barriers, and influencers to guide marketing decisions and personalization 4. Use behavioral insights and storytelling techniques to design marketing strategies that motivate action and build lasting connections. This the First course in the Management of Marketing Communications specialization. The other two courses are: - Marketing Communications: The Customer's Journey - Marketing Communications: Culture and Messaging Learners who complete this course and successfully pass the final exam may be eligible to earn University of Arizona credit through the credit‑by‑exam process. This option provides a flexible pathway for those interested in applying their learning toward future academic goals. For questions about eligibility, requirements, or next steps, please contact CAPE‑Info@email.arizona.edu.

Syllabus

Module 1: What is the purpose of integrated marketing?

This module introduces learners to the strategic purpose of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) and its role in creating a unified, customer-centric approach to marketing. Learners will explore why integration matters in today’s fragmented media environment and how IMC connects segmentation, targeting, and positioning (STP) with consistent messaging across channels. Through short readings and video examples, the module emphasizes how integrated strategies improve brand clarity, strengthen consumer relationships, and enhance marketing effectiveness.

Module 2: Personas, Goals and Villains

This module focuses on understanding customers as the heroes of your brand story. You’ll learn how to create clear, research-informed personas, uncover the goals that drive consumer behavior, and identify the “villains”—the obstacles that stand in their way. Using storytelling and behavioral insights, you’ll explore how to position your brand as the guide that helps customers succeed. The goal is to give you practical tools for crafting marketing messages that connect and motivate action.

Module 3: Social Influence

Explore how people’s behaviors are shaped by others and learn to apply these insights in marketing communication. This module introduces the three core types of social influence—informational, utilitarian, and expressive—explaining how norms, mimicry, pressure, and identity drive consumer decisions. You'll discover how to identify key influencers and use social mechanisms strategically and ethically in communication.

Final Quiz and Assignment

This closing module brings together everything you’ve learned about integrated marketing communications—its purpose, creating personas with goals and villains, and leveraging social influence. You’ll demonstrate your understanding through a short quiz and a practical assignment that applies these concepts to a real-world marketing scenario.