Syllabus - Term 3, 2004

BA 344 - Advertising

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INSTRUCTOR:  Donald D. Conant
Phone: work: (360) 754-4877, home: (360) 556-7359
E-mail:   Provided in Class
Web site:  http://homepages.stmartin.edu/fac_staff/dconant
OFFICE HOURS:  By appointment
REQUIRED TEXTS:  To order at Amazon.com click on book title.

	Kleppner’s Advertising Procedure, 15th Edition J. Thomas Russell and Ron Lane ISBN: 0-13-032877-4 Cloth, 697 pages August 2001

COURSE DESCRIPTION: 

As stated in the Saint Martin’s University catalog, “students become acquainted with mass media promotional decisions as made by advertising agencies and advertising departments. Advertising is discussed as a social force, a competitive tool and a career path.”

The uninformed advertiser wastes thousands, even millions of dollars every year on ineffective advertising. To be effective advertising must sell and those sales must meet the performance criterion of the enterprise. This course examines the principles necessary for the development, implementation, monitoring, management and evaluation of effective advertising programs

OBJECTIVES:  

At course completion, students should have:

Applied advertising theory and concepts to solving managerial business problems.

Analyzed in written form, the use, or lack thereof, of course concepts as related to specific business situations.

Developed an understanding of and identified opportunities for applying course concepts and tools to achieve organizational objectives.

Learned to integrate advertising concepts to the process of effective communication in the marketplace.

Gained an understanding of the terms and concepts related to advertising that will allow the student to pursue further study and to apply their knowledge in practical settings

TEACHING STRATEGY: 

The class sessions will be a combination of lectures, interactive exercises, internet exercises, project work, video, and case discussion. Course content will  come primarily from the assigned textbook.  Internet content will be incorporated where appropriate.

Students are responsible for reviewing the class schedule and completing assigned readings, homework problems and other assignments.

A primary focus of the class will be the completion of the advertising campaign and participation in classroom case study analysis.  Students will be assigned to teams that will act as an advertising agency and formulate an advertising campaign.

BRIEF COURSE OUTLINE:

Week 1:
Background and roles of advertising and brand planning

Week 2:
The target market and advertising management

Week 3:
Media, television and radio

Week 4:
Newspaper and magazine

Week 5:
Out of home, internet and sales promotion, and the mid-term

Week 6:
Research and creating copy

Weeks 7:
Print advertising and radio and television commercials

Week 8:
Trademark, packaging and retail advertising

Week 9:
The international, legal, economic and social aspects, and the final exam

GRADING:

Grade category and points:

Grade Scale:

REQUIREMENTS:

Attendance/Participation: (10 Points) Due to the technical nature of the material attendance and participation in class discussion will be a subject for evaluation. Each unexcused absence will result in a loss of 2.5 points. Four unexcused absences will result in a 0 for attendance/participation. The main factor in determining participation will be observation of student preparedness and discussion input.

Critical Advertising Article Analysis: (10 Points) The objective of your paper is NOT TO RESTATE THE ARTICLE. It is to analyze the author’s use of facts and the clarity of the argument. Address the bulk of your paper to answer whether the author is convincing. You are to use advertising concepts and terms to support your analysis. Your paper must be between four and five pages, double spaced, using a 12 point, Times New Roman font. Unexcused late papers will be scored as zero.

The critical article analysis will familiarize you with library business sources and scholarly business articles. The JSTOR search engine has numerous scholarly articles that can be viewed and printed in full text. To access JSTOR from Saint Martin’s home page, go to the library home page, research tools, business database, and then the JSTOR search engine; note the steps to access JSTOR from the Saint Martin’s web site are indicated at the end of this syllabus under references sources.

You need not use the JSTOR research engine, but the article you select must be of the same scholarly level as those shown on this web site. Please confine your search to the marketing research areas of Advertising, Advertising Ethics, E-Commerce Advertising, Media Buying, Advertising Strategic Planning, Print Media Planning, Word-of-Mouth Advertising.

You may wish to access related scholarly articles using various methods. The article you select should be scholarly, that is, it should contain citations and references.

To obtain maximum credit, these elements must be addressed in your review.

Step 1: (10%) - State article relevance to course. How/why is the article relevant?

Step 2: (10%) - Is the author’s presentation logical? Is the author convincing to you? Why? Is his premise reasonable? Do his conclusions logically follow?

Step 3: (30%) - What are the article’s strengths and weaknesses? Identify the article’s major strengths and its major weaknesses.

Step 4: (25%) - What’s your basis for agreement or disagreement with the author? What points do you agree/disagree with and why?

Step 5: (15%) - What bibliographical (additional) support does the author offer for his position — or for your position? What supporting documentation is presented for or against the position taken by the author?

Step 6: (10%) - Present your analysis in proper form. The article should be submitted with a cover sheet. Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation and reference methods as necessary. Attack a copy of the article to your review. Here are two resources to assist you with references and other elements of style.

Furberg, Jon & Richard Hopkins. College Style Sheet. British Columbia: Bendall Books, 1993.

Slade, Carole. Form Style. New Jersey: Haughton Mifflin Company, 2000.

Exams:  (50 points)  A mid-term exam (25 points) and a final exam (25 points) will be given. These exams will test your ability to formulate and solve problems based on material presented in class.

Team Project: (Written-15/Oral-25) Position yourself as part of an Advertising Consulting Team. Your consulting team will propose an advertising campaign plan. By working with your colleagues (students on your team), you should be able to reduce the amount of background data you must individually research. Following the outline below your team is to secure a client and provide that client with consultation. The presentation to the client and the class is to be in both written and oral forms and must be a collaborative effort by all team members.

a. The engagement interview (the engagement letter):
1.  What are the client’s advertising objectives?
2.  While the client may provide a written problem statement, be sure your team understands those objectives as viewed by the client. Ask appropriate questions. Are client’s objectives reasonable given available resources?
3.  Do a thorough job of communicating with your client. Starting off right is the main part of a successful engagement.
4.  Select an aspect(s) of these objectives that your team will address. Limit the scope of the project to the time period and resources allowed for in the term. Be sure that what your team understands as the advertising objective(s) is/are also the objective(s) as understood by the client. Summarize the advertising objective(s) to your client in an engagement letter. This letter will be the first page of your written project.

b. Advertising Objectives and Goals:
1.  Clearly state your promotional objectives. Limit the scope of your research to your team’s available resources and time. Advertising requires significant dedicated resources—time and money. Make sure your proposed budget is realistic and doable.
2. Obtain client approval for your proposed action plan. Divide the steps equally among team members.

c. Advertising Strategy and Tactics:
1.  What secondary research data is available to your team and is it sufficient?
2.  What creative effort is required?
3.  What media executions are appropriate?
4.  Are your implementation assumptions realistic?

d. Conduct ad development and present your recommendations. Your team should coordinate this process. You are responsible for delivering agreed upon objectives within a reasonable budget/coverage plan.

e. Present your recommendations with recommended client action. Your presentation will be both to the class and to your client.

f. Questions and Follow up
1. Ask for client questions.
2. Provide the client with suggested follow-on action. Outline for the client the next steps that should be taken to maximize the knowledge gained from the research.

The written portion must be between ten and twelve pages (not including copies of PowerPoint presentation, transparencies or other hand-outs), double spaced, using a 12 point, Times New Roman font. It will be turned in on the day of your oral presentation. Unexcused late projects will be scored as zero.

Written portion grading criteria:
30% - Use of advertising concepts, including the elements above.
30% - Quality of the advertising and of the written content.
40% - Advertising paper form and grammar, and team participation.

The oral presentation must be between thirty and thirty-five minutes in length. Each member of the team must participate. For the oral presentation you are encouraged to use PowerPoint, transparencies and hand-outs as appropriate. Do not read the bullet points from your slide. Do not hand out your PowerPoint presentation to the class. PowerPoint is intended to present an outline to the audience so you don’t have to read it and to eliminate excessive paperwork. Include a printed copy of your PowerPoint presentation, transparencies and/or hand-outs with your written report. Materials will not be returned.

Oral portion grading criteria:
30% - Physical presentation; grammar, eye contact, body language.
30% - Use of technology, organization, content.
40% - Team participation and individual contribution.

Both the oral presentation and the written submission must, as a minimum, address the above points to receive the maximum points possible.

Exams: Mid-Term and Final (20/20 Points)
Both the mid-term and the final will be multiple choice and/or essay, open book, and open note exams. Missed exams and/or unexcused late exams will be scored as zero.

SPECIAL ASSISTANCE: The Learning Center offers individual learning consultations, study group assistance, handouts and books on study skills, and free peer tutoring in the following subject areas:  math, chemistry, physics, economics, accounting, Spanish, French, and Japanese.  The tutoring schedules are posted outside the door in Old Main, room 212. To learn more about resources available through the Learning Center you are encouraged to drop by room 208 or visit their website:  www.stmartin.edu/academic/learning_center/index.htm.

SPecial needs:  If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have medical and/or safety concerns to share with me, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible.

Contact Information:

Phone:
work: 360.754.4877
home: 360.556.7359