INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

FALL – 2009

 

Professor:                   Ayse Banu Elmadag, PhD.                                                                   

Office:                         B401

Office Hours:             Wednesday 13:00-13:30 or By appointment.  

Phone:                         ----

E-mail:                        elmadaga@itu.edu.tr (Is preferred as I usually check it a few times a day)

Course Website:        www2.itu.edu.tr/~elmadaga

 

Text: Belch, George E. and Michael A. Belch (2000), Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective, 5th Ed. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill.  (Or 6th Ed.)

The first three chapters of the text are available at the text website as well as information about the chapters and self-quizzes: http://www.mhhe.com/belch04

Prerequisites:

You must have completed the requirements outlined in the Graduate Catalog to be in this class.  See your academic advisor if you have questions.

Course Description and Objectives

Keeping up with the textbook and participating in class are both important to your success in this course.  The text provides a good overview of marketing communications and promotion management.  The class sessions will illustrate, apply, and expand on major text topics, and introduce material not covered in the text.  I frequently call on students in class, so be prepared!

o              To develop an understanding of the role of advertising and promotion within the context of a balance of theoretical and practical perspectives through the integration of various concepts/theories and practical applications.

o              To analyze the relationship of five elements of the promotional mix.

o              To develop and understanding of the overall marketing process and the role of the promotional mix in the marketing mix and strategy.

o              To understand the planning, implementation, and evaluation process of marketing communications.

o              To develop an understanding of the legal and social issues, the regulatory process, concerning the promotional mix.

o              To determine the role of the promotional mix in the development of strategic/ tactical marketing plans so as to understand how the marketing communication process influences consumer decision making.


Method of Evaluation

Method of Evaluation

Your grade for the course will be determined using the following criteria:

            Criteria                                                     Weights

* Tests            Mid-term                                                          20%

            Final                                                                 30%

* Term Project                                                                       30%

* Case Presentation and participation                                  20%

 

 

Please note that I do not discuss grades last three weeks of the class. If you have any problems with your grades please talk to me before November 15th .  

            It is your responsibility to keep up with any assignments or announcements made in class or posted electronically, so check your e-mail at least once each week.  Contributing to class discussions is an important part of your learning experience—feel free to ask questions or make comments on topics as we cover them in class.  You are also welcome to talk with me outside of class about the course.

Other Points

            All work in this class is expected to represent your own efforts.  Collaborating with other students on exams or assignments is prohibited.  By remaining in this class, you are agreeing to abide by the Academic Honor Pledge:  “I promise or affirm that I will not at any time be involved with cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, or misrepresentation while enrolled as a student at Istanbul Technical University.”

            Another important point is that “Disturbing the class is not acceptable”. Therefore, it is strongly advised to share your ideas with the class not with your friend sitting next to you. You are welcome to have a drink in the class but reading anything other than class material in the class is not tolerable. Additionally, as you will be practicing in the professional world you should be able to follow the professional attire and dress in a way that will reflect your professionalism.

CASE DISCUSSIONS

Since you have done some case analysis in other courses, you should not have trouble with the assignments.  Please, do not come to class just to listen. Come ready to contribute!!!

Every case leaves us with options. In order to generate interesting class discussions, we need people to take opposing sides, and keep others honest by asking the right questions. Strong assertions (i.e., “Industrial equipment customers don’t care about brand.”) need to be supported by as many facts as the case provides. Supporters or detractors of such assertions need to articulate their rationale clearly and effectively. This is what I mean by being prepared.

To that end, ONE Student will be assigned the role of “devil’s advocates” for most cases, and a different Student will be expected to serve as the primary “spokespersons” for the case discussion.

NOTE: UNASSIGNED PEOPLE SHOULD PICK ONE OF THE TWO POSITIONS ANDCONTRIBUTE ALSO.

Having spokespersons and devil’s advocates does not absolve the rest of the class from preparing the case, but it places responsibility on some to prepare extra well.

Cases to be discussed:

  1. Snapple                        October 21st  
  2. Starbucks                     October 28th  
  3. The Fashion Channel    November 4th
  4. Heineken NV               December 2nd
  5. Walt Disney                  December 9th  

 

 

Integrated Marketing Communications Tentative Schedule

Date

W

Topic

Article

Sept. 30

1

·     Overview of course

 

Oct. 07

2

·     Overview of promotion management & IMC

Ch. 1

Oct. 14

3

·      Role of IMC in the marketing process

Ch. 2

 

Oct. 21

4

·     Organizing for advertising and promotion

Ch. 3

Case 1: Snapple

Briefs are given

Oct. 28

5

·     Perspectives on Consumer Behavior

Ch. 4

Case 2: Starbucks

Nov. 04

6

·     Creative cont. (Source, message and channel factors)

·     Creative strategy: planning and development

Ch. 6 and 8

Case 3: The Fashion Channel

 

Nov. 11

7

·     Mid term

 

Nov. 18

8

·     Creative strategy: implementation

Ch. 9

 

Nov. 25

9

KURBAN BAYRAMI

 

Dec.02

10

·     Media strategy cont. (Evaluation of broadcast and Print media)

Ch. 11 and 12

Case 4: Heineken

Dec. 09

11

·     Media strategy cont. (Support media)

·     Sales promotion

Ch. 13 and 16

Case 5: Walt Disney

Dec. 16

13

·     Measuring promotion effectiveness.

·     International advertising and promotion

Ch. 19 and 20

 

Dec. 23

14

·        Promotional Campaign Presentations

**Deadline to submit the term project

 

Dec. 30

15

·        Promotional Campaign Presentations

 

 

 

FINAL EXAM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Term Projects

 

The aim of the group project is to analyze specific applications of marketing communications strategies and to give a chance to students to explore the professional life experiences.

The groups will consist of 3-4 students. The final work has to be max. 15 pages

For this project each group will be given a brief and will be expected to produce a final report that is detailed below.

 

 

SUBMISSION SCHEDULE FOR TERM PROJECTS

- 14th of October đ Deadline to form your group.

- 21st of October đ The briefs are going to be given to the groups. 

- 23rd of December đ Final submission of the project (this date is NOT subject to change)

- 23rd and 30th of December đPresentation of the projects.

Guidelines for the Final Report

The project can be broken down into three parts.  The final submission and the presentation should include the information in all three parts of the project. This assignment should be in report format and should include evidence of research in the Appendix. The Appendix is not included in the overall length of the project.

Part 1. Review of Marketing Plan and Promotional Program Situation Analysis

Prepare a report (an executive summary) on the client’s current market situation and their target audiences in preparation for a promotional campaign. You should include a brief company background (describing their business, products and services), description of competition & competitors (primary and secondary), any issues affecting the company, and a breakdown of their primary and secondary target audiences. This work should prepare a base of knowledge that will be available to you for the next steps of the project. 

The report should include:

 

Industry/Company/Subject Review

Product Review/Buyer(Target) Analysis

Competitive Review

Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning 

Communications Objectives & Budget Request   

Part 2. Integrated Marketing Communications Program

Your final report should include media objectives, planning and strategy used inn the promotional campaign. Taking into consideration the client’s market position and audiences, discuss the various media options available and evaluate the effectiveness of using broadcast, print, or other specialist media. This assignment should be in report format and should include evidence of research in the Appendix. The Appendix is not included in the overall length of the project.

Creative Strategy Statement

A statement of your copy platform, including the following components making up your message strategy: target audience, objectives, key benefit, support, claims and promises, reassurance, and tone. Determination of and rationale for, the source of the communication.

Creative Material

All creative material (story boards, jingles, outdoor media and promotional materials etc.) should be included.

 

IMC Mix including Specific Media Objectives/Mix

 

Measuring IMC Program Effectiveness

Evaluation Program: Identification of the particulars of the monitoring, evaluation, and control efforts that will be employed to appraise the effectiveness of all  IMC program elements used.  What is to be tested? When are the tests to occur? Where?  Explain how the testing is to take place, including the specific methods and techniques to be used.

 

 

Part 3. Conclusion

 

In the final section you will evaluate the campaign according to what you have learnt in class. Additionally, you will provide suggestions to further improve the campaign.

 

The Final Presentation aka The Pitch 

 

December 23rd   

 

The final presentation will be approximately 45 minutes in length. While substance is crucial, style is important, too.  Please keep in mind that you are in advertising business and selling your ideas, capabilities and work are important parts of marketing. 

 

Professional level presentations require that the group come well-rehearsed for the presentation (the use of note cards is allowed but not recommended) and complete the presentation within the allocated time. The use of PowerPoint or transparencies to highlight major points is mandatory for presentations.  Handouts are also recommended to assist in the audience’s ability to follow your discussion. However, if you think any of these do not fit your presentation’s nature you can always convince me! 


Project Group  Self-Appraisal   

 

Upon completion of the project, group members will be asked to submit a performance evaluation of each team member, including one’s own self-appraisal.  The evaluation form will be distributed on the final day of class (December 30th ). The purpose of the evaluation is to provide feedback to other members, as well as the professor, regarding their inputs, co-operation, participation, etc. This evaluation will be considered an important part of your final grade. (The Agency Personnel Evaluation Form may be seen later in this document.) Each student’s final grade for the project will be influenced by his or her peer evaluation score.  The team member with the highest peer evaluation score will receive 100% of the grade on the final report.  The other team members will receive a grade based on their score as a proportion of the project grade. 

 

Other Issues:

Research conducted on the Internet is quite acceptable; however, factual information must be fully cited from the Internet sources utilized.  Internet research is like all other research approaches, in other words, you must provide full citations and be careful to use quotations where appropriate.  Internet sources (home pages and additional information) used for the semester project must be turned in with the semester project. 

 

Note:  Students who do not do their fair share of work or good quality work on the project should expect that they will receive low scores on the peer evaluation.  Your team members determine what constitutes your fair share of the work and evaluate the quality of your work.

 

Teams having problems with the participation level of a team member should be resolved by the group members. If you cannot, talk to me early in the term. It is simpler to nip participation and management problems before they become intolerable.  It should also be noted that the IMC project is worth a considerable part your final grade.  Teams are required to finish the project on time and completely regardless of interpersonal problems. 

 

If there are problems within a team that appear to be insurmountable, with adequate documentation and discussion, I will allow the team to fire the member not participating in the completion of the project.  If a member is fired from the team, the responsibility of completing the project and course will become an individual effort.  This would be highly undesirable!  Therefore, it is in the best interest of all parties to work together toward the successful completion of the project.

 

 

Plagiarism & Copied Papers: Unethical and dishonest practices will not be tolerated. Plagiarism, copied papers and cheating are such offences. Papers condemned on these grounds will receive a zero mark without an opportunity to submit them.