Download MKTG 330 [Mass Communications: Advertising] Course Description

MKTG 330 [Mass Communications: Advertising]
Course Description and Objectives
This course is designed as a comprehensive introduction to the principles and practices of advertising, with some attention
to integrated brand promotion (IBP). The role of these persuasive communication tools within the total marketing effort is
emphasized. The course is designed for those students who wish to pursue a career in advertising as well as for those who
expect to work in the more general area of marketing management, but would manage an agency-created advertising
program. It is also for the graphic artist that wants exposure to the business side of advertising.
The primary objective of the course is to provide each student with the background and experience necessary to develop
and implement marketing communication strategies. The emphasis is on the planning of campaigns in which advertising is
a major component. The emergence of alternative media and vehicles necessitates that attention also be devoted to such
options (e.g., online advertising, social media). The landscape has changed. No longer do advertising managers just create
and buy ads. Consumers have changed, the media environment has changed, giving rise to new ways of looking at how
brands can tell their stories.
The course is a "hands on" course in that the major project requires you to develop a complete campaign plan for the launch
of a new automobile. To prepare you for creative and informed campaign planning, the textbook and online course content
will present the process and methods used to set effective advertising goals/objectives, to plan and implement creative
strategy, media strategy, and budgeting.
A lot of material must be covered in this course, and thus, there is much to read and comprehend. The course is structured
to allow interaction among students, as well as between students and the instructor. In addition, students are expected to
actively participate in group discussion (online or face-to-face) and to work effectively in teams on course assignments.
Numerous learning vehicles (e.g., online Lecture Notes, videos, readings, learning and application exercises, discussions
forums) are used in the course to accomplish the basic course goals and objectives.
Basic Course Objectives:
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Increase student understanding of advertising's role in the global marketplace and marketing strategy.
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Provide students with a literacy of the terms, concepts, and methods used in advertising.
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Provide hands-on experience of advertising and IBP strategies and techniques in the form of an advertising campaign
project.
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Help students develop effective advertising and IBP strategies based on ethical decision-making.
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Enhance critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity (idea generation) skills.
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Develop team communication, cooperation, and work effectiveness skills. Develop a new (informed) appreciation
of advertising and more generally, marketing. Perhaps non-majors will consider a double major or changing majors.
Course Learning Goals [set by the Department of Marketing]:
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Critical Thinking: Students will demonstrate that they can (1) analyze the various steps that consumers and
organizations go through in the decision making process, marketing segmentation and positioning strategies, and
pricing strategies and (2) integrate all this information into a set of marketing strategies for firms.
•
Ethics: Students will show (1) that they are aware of the ethical and social responsibility issues in marketing and (2)
that they can make marketing decisions using ethical, legal, and socially responsible choices in a marketing context.
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Business Functions: Students will demonstrate their proficiency in the fundamental facts related to the marketing
functions and practices for the marketing mix (product, price, place, and promotion); marketing research, ecommerce/Internet/digital marketing. Students will also show that they understand how marketing decisions are
made.
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Domestic & Global Environments: Students will show that they can make marketing decisions in today’s global and
domestic marketing environments (e.g., legal, regulatory, competitive, cultural and economic environmental factors).
They will come to understand why marketers must integrate information on the uncontrollable factors into the
decision making process.
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International: Students will gain an understanding of the impact of internationalization on the marketing function in
a firm, including the differences and similarities across cultures in the basic global concepts (e.g., cultural symbols,
values, branding), and their role in marketing decision making.