COM 220 Intro to Strategic Advertising
Prerequisites Eng 117, sophomore standing
Instructor: Adam Ritter
Office: LT 112
Phone ext: 6123
E-mail: Adam.Ritter@marist.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Well, that’s simple. This course is about Advertising. What is not so simple is defining what we mean by the word “Advertising.” In Merriam-Webster, the definition of advertising is the action of calling something to the attention of the public, especially by paid announcements. In today’s world, however, this definition is too limiting. While it is true that in the past, advertising was generally thought of as the paid promotion of a product or a brand through a mass media vehicle, like magazines, newspapers, television, or radio. With the advent of the Internet and other interactive media, the scope of what is considered advertising has increased exponentially. Advertising is no longer just about pushing product messages out to a large, homogeneous group of consumers. It is a much more sophisticated and strategic process whereby brands build individual relationships with the customers most likely to be loyal and profitable. This type of work requires an expanded approach of how to reach, attract, persuade, motivate, and retain the most valuable customers for a particular brand.
With this expanded approach, come more options for consumers and more complexity for the advertiser. When, where, and how consumers are exposed to a brand message is no longer under the control of the advertiser. The consumer is now in charge. He/She decides which brands they will interact with and how that interaction will take place. As a result, advertising must change to accommodate this new customer model. The landscape is evolving and we as advertisers need to evolve with it.
The good news is it is a very exciting time to be entering the advertising profession because you have the opportunity to help form what this new world of advertising will look like. Things are so new and change is happening constantly. Brands and ad agencies need smart people who can jump in and begin to figure out how to work in this new consumer-controlled marketplace.
Some other good news is that the basic fundamentals of creating great advertising campaigns haven’t changed. We still need to have solid marketing objectives, uncover key customer insights, create compelling and relevant messages, develop creative content with impact, select the best media to reach our target audience and measure the results. What has changed, or more specifically expanded, are the tools, media vehicles, and approaches advertisers can use to accomplish the brand’s objectives.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
This course is designed to cover the fundamentals of advertising as a business industry and a marketing discipline. As a business industry, you will learn how advertising agencies and marketing departments work, the type of occupations available and the functions associated with each. You will also explore current questions and issues related to the future of advertising.
As a marketing discipline, you will learn how successful advertising campaigns are created. Specifically, this course will focus on the entire campaign development process, including the research and strategic planning that informs the key customer insights, creative strategy, and media strategy as well as the creative development and media planning process where the strategies are brought to life in actual advertising campaigns.
While this course will focus on advertising, it is important to understand that all the marketing disciplines are now overlapping. We are now living in a world where the lines between advertising, public relations, a brand identity, customer service, and product development are intricately intertwined and the boundaries are blurred. For example, is a brand’s Web site a PR tool, an ad tool, or customer service tool? What about the company’s Twitter account? or Facebook fan page? It is for this reason that this course will take a holistic, integrated approach to marketing communications and address how advertising and the other disciplines fit into the overall integrated marketing communication program.
Through the participation and completion of this course you will be able to:
Prerequisites Eng 117, sophomore standing
Instructor: Adam Ritter
Office: LT 112
Phone ext: 6123
E-mail: Adam.Ritter@marist.edu
Office Hours: By appointment
Well, that’s simple. This course is about Advertising. What is not so simple is defining what we mean by the word “Advertising.” In Merriam-Webster, the definition of advertising is the action of calling something to the attention of the public, especially by paid announcements. In today’s world, however, this definition is too limiting. While it is true that in the past, advertising was generally thought of as the paid promotion of a product or a brand through a mass media vehicle, like magazines, newspapers, television, or radio. With the advent of the Internet and other interactive media, the scope of what is considered advertising has increased exponentially. Advertising is no longer just about pushing product messages out to a large, homogeneous group of consumers. It is a much more sophisticated and strategic process whereby brands build individual relationships with the customers most likely to be loyal and profitable. This type of work requires an expanded approach of how to reach, attract, persuade, motivate, and retain the most valuable customers for a particular brand.
With this expanded approach, come more options for consumers and more complexity for the advertiser. When, where, and how consumers are exposed to a brand message is no longer under the control of the advertiser. The consumer is now in charge. He/She decides which brands they will interact with and how that interaction will take place. As a result, advertising must change to accommodate this new customer model. The landscape is evolving and we as advertisers need to evolve with it.
The good news is it is a very exciting time to be entering the advertising profession because you have the opportunity to help form what this new world of advertising will look like. Things are so new and change is happening constantly. Brands and ad agencies need smart people who can jump in and begin to figure out how to work in this new consumer-controlled marketplace.
Some other good news is that the basic fundamentals of creating great advertising campaigns haven’t changed. We still need to have solid marketing objectives, uncover key customer insights, create compelling and relevant messages, develop creative content with impact, select the best media to reach our target audience and measure the results. What has changed, or more specifically expanded, are the tools, media vehicles, and approaches advertisers can use to accomplish the brand’s objectives.
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
This course is designed to cover the fundamentals of advertising as a business industry and a marketing discipline. As a business industry, you will learn how advertising agencies and marketing departments work, the type of occupations available and the functions associated with each. You will also explore current questions and issues related to the future of advertising.
As a marketing discipline, you will learn how successful advertising campaigns are created. Specifically, this course will focus on the entire campaign development process, including the research and strategic planning that informs the key customer insights, creative strategy, and media strategy as well as the creative development and media planning process where the strategies are brought to life in actual advertising campaigns.
While this course will focus on advertising, it is important to understand that all the marketing disciplines are now overlapping. We are now living in a world where the lines between advertising, public relations, a brand identity, customer service, and product development are intricately intertwined and the boundaries are blurred. For example, is a brand’s Web site a PR tool, an ad tool, or customer service tool? What about the company’s Twitter account? or Facebook fan page? It is for this reason that this course will take a holistic, integrated approach to marketing communications and address how advertising and the other disciplines fit into the overall integrated marketing communication program.
Through the participation and completion of this course you will be able to:
- Explain how advertising agencies and marketing departments work, the type of occupations available and the functions associated with each.
- Explain the roles and functions of the various marketing disciplines that comprise an integrated marketing communication program, specifically focusing on advertising and public relations.
- Explain the evolution of the advertising industry from a traditional mass media, brand-driven approach to a customer-driven dialogue that uses new media and ongoing relevant content.
- Explain the current issues and problems facing the advertising industry today and develop an informed point of view on the future of the industry.
- Explain the elements and importance of advertising research and strategic planning in the development of the overall advertising campaign, specifically focusing on how they drive the creative and media strategies.
- Research and analyze emerging consumer and media trends using relevant secondary research for the purpose of developing insights to aid in the creation of successful campaign strategies.
- Define the components of a successful advertising campaign and be able to create successful campaigns using these components, specifically:
- Identify the marketing problem and develop measurable objectives for the advertising campaign.
- Identify and analyze the target markets, specifically their demographics, psychographics, media usage habits, and content needs to determine key customer insights for branding and messaging strategies.
- Develop measurable media strategies that are based on the target’s media consumption habits and include mass, online, and mobile media channels.
- Write clear and focused creative and media briefs that will have an impact and result-driven campaign.
- Develop creative content based on the campaign creative brief.
- Develop a targeted and measurable media plan based on the media brief.
TEXT AND MATERIALS
Required:
- Ogilvy on Advertising (book)
- Ogilvy on Advertising in The Digital Age (book)
- Gmail account
Recommended:
- Advertising & IMC Principles and Practice (textbook)
LEARNING MODEL
When you take a math class you know what to expect. You are taught formulas and then given all the inputs that you need to put through the formula to arrive at one correct answer. There is no guesswork involved. It is standard formulas, complete information, and one right answer. Advertising does not work this way. It is an art, not a science. There are usually multiple ways to arrive at a solution as well as multiple good solutions (although there may be better ones). And you almost never have all the necessary information. To make things even more challenging, the advertising world is constantly changing so what you learn today could be old in two years, or even 6 months. This makes it a difficult subject to teach and to learn. The traditional classroom experience you know so well--the one where the teacher stands up and lectures, you take notes then regurgitate the same information on a test--won’t work in preparing you to succeed in this business. A different model is needed.
This new learning model should be focused on teaching you how to be a self-sufficient learner. For advertising, that means you need to know how to identify the key marketing problems, collect the pertinent information, ask the right questions and work collaboratively to develop optimal advertising and marketing solutions. To do this, the teaching model needs to be based on what we know is successful for this type of learning, which, according to current adult learning theory, is self-discovery, peer collaboration, and reflection.
Therefore, in addition to limited instructional lectures, this course will incorporate a creative combination of group and individual projects, real-world application, group discussion, and online interactions. Your active participation is essential to the success of this course. In the context of the teaching and learning, students and the professor are responsible for ensuring that they individually contribute to the creation of a learning environment that helps everyone achieve their goals. Both students and the professor are participants and therefore co-creators of the course, and together can make this a rewarding and memorable experience. We will learn a lot and have fun doing it.
ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING
Evaluation methods in the course will include class participation, a group textbook presentation, a quiz related to advertising related books, an agency report, brand presentations, group campaign projects, and a create-your-own final exam.
Assessment Activities Total Points Allotted Percent of Total Grade
Participation (15% of total grade, or 300 points)
Since optimal learning occurs through self-discovery and collaboration, your presence and participation in class are essential to the enhancement of both your learning experience and those of your classmates. It is for this reason that a percentage of your grade will be based on class participation. Participation not only includes attendance in class, but also active engagement in all group discussions, online and in the classroom, as well as group activities. Students are expected to read assigned material for class discussion. There will also be class assignments which will include but are not limited to, short essays, advertising critiques, and industry/personal research.
Note: Students that do not contribute to assignments will not receive credit for those assignments.
Textbook Presentation (10% of total grade, or 200 points)
Students will be divided up into 5 groups and asked to present different sections of the textbook. The presenters should own the content (do not just summarize what is written in the text), provide examples, and engage with your classmates. These presentations will also need to be documented (in a creative way) and uploaded/posted to the class blog with the label referencing each of your names.
Ogilvy on Advertising Quiz (10% of total grade, or 200 points)
Each student in the class will take a short answer quiz in class on the required reading.
Agency Report (10% of total grade, or 200 points)
In pairs, students will pick an agency and present their findings back to the class. Presentations should include the following:
When you take a math class you know what to expect. You are taught formulas and then given all the inputs that you need to put through the formula to arrive at one correct answer. There is no guesswork involved. It is standard formulas, complete information, and one right answer. Advertising does not work this way. It is an art, not a science. There are usually multiple ways to arrive at a solution as well as multiple good solutions (although there may be better ones). And you almost never have all the necessary information. To make things even more challenging, the advertising world is constantly changing so what you learn today could be old in two years, or even 6 months. This makes it a difficult subject to teach and to learn. The traditional classroom experience you know so well--the one where the teacher stands up and lectures, you take notes then regurgitate the same information on a test--won’t work in preparing you to succeed in this business. A different model is needed.
This new learning model should be focused on teaching you how to be a self-sufficient learner. For advertising, that means you need to know how to identify the key marketing problems, collect the pertinent information, ask the right questions and work collaboratively to develop optimal advertising and marketing solutions. To do this, the teaching model needs to be based on what we know is successful for this type of learning, which, according to current adult learning theory, is self-discovery, peer collaboration, and reflection.
Therefore, in addition to limited instructional lectures, this course will incorporate a creative combination of group and individual projects, real-world application, group discussion, and online interactions. Your active participation is essential to the success of this course. In the context of the teaching and learning, students and the professor are responsible for ensuring that they individually contribute to the creation of a learning environment that helps everyone achieve their goals. Both students and the professor are participants and therefore co-creators of the course, and together can make this a rewarding and memorable experience. We will learn a lot and have fun doing it.
ASSESSMENT OF LEARNING
Evaluation methods in the course will include class participation, a group textbook presentation, a quiz related to advertising related books, an agency report, brand presentations, group campaign projects, and a create-your-own final exam.
Assessment Activities Total Points Allotted Percent of Total Grade
- Participation 300 15%
- Textbook Presentation 200 10%
- Ogilvy on Advertising Quiz 200 10%
- Agency Report 200 10%
- Brand Projects (4) 500 25%
- Campaign Projects (2) 500 25%
- Final Exam 100 5%
- Extra Credit 100 Bonus
Note: Grades will be posted at the middle and end of the semester. All student interested in knowing and understanding where they stand throughout the semester should schedule a meeting with the professor to discuss.
Since optimal learning occurs through self-discovery and collaboration, your presence and participation in class are essential to the enhancement of both your learning experience and those of your classmates. It is for this reason that a percentage of your grade will be based on class participation. Participation not only includes attendance in class, but also active engagement in all group discussions, online and in the classroom, as well as group activities. Students are expected to read assigned material for class discussion. There will also be class assignments which will include but are not limited to, short essays, advertising critiques, and industry/personal research.
Note: Students that do not contribute to assignments will not receive credit for those assignments.
Textbook Presentation (10% of total grade, or 200 points)
Students will be divided up into 5 groups and asked to present different sections of the textbook. The presenters should own the content (do not just summarize what is written in the text), provide examples, and engage with your classmates. These presentations will also need to be documented (in a creative way) and uploaded/posted to the class blog with the label referencing each of your names.
Ogilvy on Advertising Quiz (10% of total grade, or 200 points)
Each student in the class will take a short answer quiz in class on the required reading.
Agency Report (10% of total grade, or 200 points)
In pairs, students will pick an agency and present their findings back to the class. Presentations should include the following:
Have examples of work to include in your presentation.
- Use at least two sources besides the Agency’s Web site.
- Include a reference page of these sources.
- Know the products and services which they advertise.
- Know who works on what accounts.
- Pick a Creative Director whose work you admire and in whose group you’d like to work.
- Pick a current campaign and analyze it for strategy and style of writing, tone etc.
- Know the kind of clients the agency attracts.
- Describe famous campaigns of the past.
- Know the style and culture of the agency.
- Figure out your own strength and how you can sell them to the agency you have chosen.
These presentations will need to be documented (in a creative way) and uploaded/posted to the class blog with the label referencing each of your names.
Note: Only one agency per class. Project length is equivalent 10-15 minute presentations.
Brand Projects (25% of total grade, or 500 points)
Each student will be responsible for analyzing a brand and writing four 500 word posts that they will share with the class. These papers will need to be uploaded/posted to the class blog and label referencing your name. Details will be provided on the focus of each paper the week before it is due.
Campaign Projects (25% of total grade, or 500 points)
Since one of the major goals of this class is for you to learn the skills to build successful advertising campaigns, the most effective way to learn them is to actually create one. Therefore, you will work with a team to develop an advertising campaign for a real or hypothetical Brand.
To further aid in your learning process, this project will closely mirror a real-life campaign development scenario. This means that you will work in a group because almost all advertising campaigns are a group effort. It will also be done in stages because, in the business world, companies do not want to expend too much time and too many resources to complete a project unless they know that the fundamental thinking and strategy is sound. There will be three stages to the project:
Note: Only one agency per class. Project length is equivalent 10-15 minute presentations.
Brand Projects (25% of total grade, or 500 points)
Effective advertising starts with a considered, well-informed advertising strategy. By the end of this course you’ll have a solid understanding on how to define the brand vision, mission and business goals, brand attributes, audience, product benefits, and outlines the steps you need to take to achieve these goals.
Each student will be responsible for analyzing a brand and writing four 500 word posts that they will share with the class. These papers will need to be uploaded/posted to the class blog and label referencing your name. Details will be provided on the focus of each paper the week before it is due.
Campaign Projects (25% of total grade, or 500 points)
Since one of the major goals of this class is for you to learn the skills to build successful advertising campaigns, the most effective way to learn them is to actually create one. Therefore, you will work with a team to develop an advertising campaign for a real or hypothetical Brand.
To further aid in your learning process, this project will closely mirror a real-life campaign development scenario. This means that you will work in a group because almost all advertising campaigns are a group effort. It will also be done in stages because, in the business world, companies do not want to expend too much time and too many resources to complete a project unless they know that the fundamental thinking and strategy is sound. There will be three stages to the project:
- Project proposal-a two-page outline of the business problem and your initial thoughts about how to approach this problem.
- Strategy Documents-a creative brief and a media brief
- Final Class Presentation
These campaigns will need to be documented (in a creative way) and uploaded/posted to the class blog with the label referencing each of your names.
Final Exam (5% of total grade, or 100 points)
Create-your-own-final. An in-class, 20-minute essay in which you’ll answer your own question on an advertising topic of your selection. On the first day of class, you will be asked to submit, on a single sheet of paper, your name and a question you’d like to answer by the end of the semester. On the last day of the semester, you’ll be given the opportunity to answer your own question.
Extra Credit (bonus, maximum 100 points)
There are five opportunities to earn extra points toward your overall average.
Final Exam (5% of total grade, or 100 points)
Create-your-own-final. An in-class, 20-minute essay in which you’ll answer your own question on an advertising topic of your selection. On the first day of class, you will be asked to submit, on a single sheet of paper, your name and a question you’d like to answer by the end of the semester. On the last day of the semester, you’ll be given the opportunity to answer your own question.
Extra Credit (bonus, maximum 100 points)
There are five opportunities to earn extra points toward your overall average.
- Establish the class brand identity. (+ 20 points)
- Promote our guest speaker and document our discussion (+20 points)
- Document “Fun Stuff” you do as a group (+20 points)
- An additional point-of-view post (+20 points)
- Having one of the three most popular posts for the semester (+20 points)
Students interested in any of the extra credit opportunities should speak to me before starting the project. All extra credit assignments are due no later than the last day of class.
OTHER THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
OTHER THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
- Assignment Submissions: Unless otherwise instructed, all assignments must be submitted to the class blog. I will not review and you will not receive credit for any assignment unless it is on the blog. Hard-copy assignments and assignments sent via e-mail will only be used to record your grade for your reference.
- Assignment Deadlines: All assignments must be submitted on the assigned due date unless you have received approval from me for an extension. The extension request must be submitted to me via e-mail before the assignment deadline.
- Presentations: All presentations should have a corresponding visual that you will share while you are speaking.
- Attendance & punctuality: Class activities and discussions constitute a major portion of the learning experience in this course. You are expected to attend all classes. Students absent from class to participate in official-sanctioned college activity or religious obligation, or with prior approval, will be permitted to make up assignments or exams.
- Make-up and extra credit work: You should plan to prepare and submit work on time at the beginning of the class on the date the assignment is due. Late assignments will not be accepted without substantial penalty. Extra credit opportunities may be provided at my discretion.
- Drop/Withdrawal: The Drop/Withdrawal policy is stated in detail in the College course schedule.
- Plagiarism: In case you missed it in all your other classes, plagiarism is very, very bad. Presenting other’s work, either in whole or in part, as your own will result in a failing grade on the project, and quite possibly a failing grade for the course. Just don’t do it. Make sure to provide proper source information for anything that you did not write or create.
THE TOP 5 THINGS I LIKE AND WILL RESULT IN A HIGHER GRADE
- Clear and concise writing: There is an inverse relationship between how much work I have to do and how high your grade will be. More specifically, the less work I have to do to understand what you are saying, the higher your grade on the assignment. The more work I have to do to understand and provide feedback on your documents; the lower your grade will be.
- Managing my expectations: I understand that life can get in the way of due dates. I prefer reading good work to insisting that you make a deadline. However, you need to let me know if you will be missing a due date and when you will be able to have the final assignment.
- Commitment to excellence: In the real world, the first draft of a document is just that--a first draft. It is assumed that there will be comments and revisions. While I will not insist that you resubmit any paper, in most cases I will be willing to accept a revised assignment for regrading provided you send me an e-mail request that you would like to revise your paper or update your post and I send you an approval.
- Respect for your group members: Most campaigns are a group effort. You need to be able to rely on your team and they need to rely on you. Everyone has to pull their weight. This means attending group meetings, meeting group due dates and being an active member of your team. If someone on your team is not doing their work, please let me know prior to the assignment due date so we can resolve the issue.
- Active class participation: For this class to work best, we all need to participate. Questions, comments, ideas, and discussions are the tools that will best facilitate learning. Besides, I don’t have the stamina to lecture for an hour and fifteen minutes twice a week for 15 weeks. Therefore, the more you engage in relevant and insightful dialogue in class the higher your participation grade will be.
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