IIM Bangalore partners with SWAYAM to launch free online courses in advertising and PR

The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), in partnership with SWAYAM, is set to launch free online courses in Advertising, Sales, and Public Relations starting Jan 12, 2026.

The two offerings, Advertising and Sales, and Advertising and Public Relations, aim to provide learners with expert-led instruction in key business communication areas. Registration for both courses will remain open until Feb 28, 2026.

IIMB, serving as the program coordinator, brings its expertise in instructional design to the initiative and currently offers more than 60 courses on the SWAYAM platform.

The Advertising and Sales course will be taught by Dr Bharti Singh, Assistant Professor (Senior Scale) at the Faculty of Business Management, CDOE, Manipal University Jaipur. The course will run for 10 weeks, ending on April 30, 2026.

The Advertising and Public Relations course will be led by the Head of the Institute and Associate Professor of Media Studies at Amity University Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior, and will continue for 8 weeks.

The Advertising and Sales course will cover:

• The roles and functions of advertising and the concept of Integrated Marketing Communication.
• The importance of advertising design in creating impactful campaigns.
• Media planning and strategy evaluation.
• Copywriting and various media formats, including print, outdoor, broadcast, and digital.
• Public relations and publicity, along with current trends in sales management.
• Sales promotion and personal selling, emphasizing ethical practices.

The Advertising and Public Relations course will introduce learners to:

• Theories and models of communication in advertising and public relations.
• Different types of advertising and media formats.
• Creativity in advertising.
• Fundamentals of public relations.
• Media relations and crisis communication.
• Digital advertising and public relations.
• Research methods in advertising and public relations.

To receive a course certificate, participants must meet two criteria: achieve an average assignment score of at least 10 out of 25 and score a minimum of 30 out of 75 in the final exam. Both requirements must be fulfilled to qualify for certification.