MANAGEMENT 4210: Advertising and Promotions Management
Fall 2013 MW 10:50-12:05
Instructor: Dr. Mike Basil
Phone: 329-2075
Office: M4057
Hours: MW 9:50 – 10:50 a.m.
Email: michael.basil@uleth.ca
Required Text: Belch & Belch & Guolla (2008). Advertising and Promotion: An
Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective (3rd Canadian edition), McGraw
Hill/Ryerson. [Older editions are acceptable, but ensure the chapter is the right one.]
Course Description and Objectives:
Advertising and promotions management is an overview of how to manage marketing
communications. This course will provide broad coverage of many areas that pertain to
marketing communication. The emphasis is on the use of communication to meet
marketing objectives, including but not limited to advertising. Special attention will be
placed on understanding the consumer in order to communicate better. This is a
management course, so it is about strategic aspects of advertising, not just the creative.
The course is intended to train you in the functions of advertising. There are two parts
to that – background knowledge and critical thinking. You will need to understand the
basic issue -- advertising concepts in general, the specific terms that are used, and issues
that arise. For these we will have weekly quizzes. Make sure you do your reading in
advance. You will also have to apply those concepts and tools, and to think through the
issues to develop the best possible campaign and executions for the product or service
and relevant audience. Advertisers know that the selection of strategies and executions
are not arbitrary, they must fit into the logic of the marketing plan and communicate the
right message for the product to the right target audience. You will apply this in the
final project.
I hope that you enjoy this class. But I also will try very hard to insure that after this class
you will have the knowledge and critical thinking skills to be a capable employee.
Grading will be based on:
Weekly quizzes (top 9 - 10 marks each)
Participation: The four Ps
Presentation
Project (3 parts, 25, 25 and 50 marks each)
90
25
25
100
Your final letter grade in the class will be based upon your total marks. The grade
distribution will be based on the standard faculty of management grading scale:
95-100% = A+
82 – 85% = B+
70 - 73% = C+
58 – 61% = D+
90 – 94% = A
78 – 81% = B
66 – 69% = C
50 – 57% = D
86 - 89% = A74 – 77% = B62 – 65% = C00 – 49% = F
Weekly quizzes:
Read the textbook before the lectures. (I recommend this for every class.) There are
three reasons for this. First, research is quite convincing in showing distributed learning
lasts much longer. Second, earlier exposure to the ideas will let you think about them in
ways that help critical thinking. Three, we will have weekly quizzes.
The 4 Ps of Participation.
The best method I have found to improve critical thinking skills is by asking tough
questions. Be ready in every class for me to call on you and ask “how, when and why.”
Your participation grade will be evaluated according to "four Ps." Practically, you start
with a C, then show me if you deserve better or worse.
1. Presence: A book is neither sufficient for all of the information, nor is it the
best way to learn. Attendance is an important part of the learning process.
2. Participating: You are expected to actively participate in class discussion. If
participation is low, I will call on individuals to respond.
3. Perceptiveness: While participation is good, insightful participation is even
better. You will be rewarded for perceptive, intelligent comments; especially
those relate advertising and marketing experiences to concepts from class.
4. Professionalism: In this course, I encourage you to work with others in a
polite, professional manner and to demonstrate a positive attitude. These
skills are critical for professional success.
Cell phones and computers
In the 21st century we all have devices to keep in touch. One of the challenges is how to
remain in touch and yet stay “in the moment.” In my experience smart phones,
especially texting, are a HUGE distraction. It is simply not possible to be texting or
reading and updating your Facebook page while still being engaged in the class
(whether lecture or discussion). For this reason I expect NO CALLS, and strongly
encourage NO cell phone use during class time. You would be surprised how apparent
your distraction level is to the whole class.
Communication:
I encourage you to talk with me about any issues related to class. If you cannot make it
to office hours (MW before class), please set an appointment with me outside of office
hours. You can call me, talk to me before or after class, or e-mail me. I check my e-mail
twice daily, so this is a very efficient way to communicate with me.
Learning Disabilities:
If you have been diagnosed with a learning disability please let me know as soon as
possible. I will be happy to work with you to see that your needs are met.
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Cheating:
Anyone caught cheating or plagiarizing others work without attributing it to them will
be penalized to the fullest extent that the University will allow.
Project:
The purpose of this project is to give you practice in applying the concepts learned in
class and to hone your critical thinking skills.
Project Overview:
The development of a campaign plan will give you a hands-on experience in applying
the advertising strategy. This counts as much as your exams, but requires that you take
that information and actually apply it.
The project will be presented in oral and written forms. Projects can be done
individually or in groups of two or three. Students are responsible for selecting their
own group members. If you have difficulty finding a group, or if your group is too large
or too small, please let me know and I will assist. The purpose of the project is to
encourage students to develop an advertising and promotions campaign for a new
product to be marketed in Canada. Your project should detail all advertising and
promotions efforts to be undertaken in the first three months of product introduction.
In developing the campaign, you will need to:
1. Identify a consumer need and develop a product or service idea to fulfill that need.
2. Perform secondary research on your chosen industry and competitors.
3. Identify the best target market(s) for the new product or service.
4. Develop a creative strategy for the new product that addresses customer needs.
5. Develop advertising and PR objectives.
6. Develop other promotional, direct marketing, internet, and social media objectives.
7. Develop a specific media plan for your campaign.
8. Find prices and develop your budget.
9. Specify a research plan to measure the effectiveness of your campaign.
By September 25 inform me of your product or service and your group membership.
You may email me the information.
Written Report Organization and Length
Each section should be about 5 double spaced-typewritten pages. I will provide
comments for each section. Provide cogent, well-developed rationale for every choice
you make! Explain every decision made with justification based on logic or data.
Sources should be used, cited in the document, and listed in a bibliography. Charts, tables,
and artwork to illustrate should be included.
How you write is as important as what you write. Effective writing will be rewarded in
grading and poor writing (spelling errors, grammar errors, etc.) will be penalized.
MANAGEMENT 4210: Advertising and Promotions
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Part A: Marketing Strategy: What you want to say about your product or service?
Due October 18
1. Identify a consumer need and develop a product or service idea to fulfill that need.
Focus on a consumer need or want that is currently not being met or not being met
satisfactorily. Your product or service should be developed to consumers. You should
be able to deliver the product or service without tremendous technological
development. It may take the form of a new offering or a modified offering that satisfies
market requirements which are not currently being met.
You may position yourself as a start-up company or as a new division of an existing
company. For example, if you select herb-enhanced soft drinks as your product, you
may choose to be a division of PepsiCo. If you choose to be a division of an existing
company, your creative approach must be reasonable for that company’s image and
positioning. [Tip: It is easier to select a need or want for a large number of people].
2. Perform secondary research on your chosen industry and competitors.
To determine how to positioning your product and select a target market selection, it
will be necessary to perform some research. You can use secondary (existing) research
for the project. Describe the structure of the industry you will be entering, your direct
and indirect competition, pertinent regulations, industry trends, industry and
competitor sales, and societal trends relating to the industry. [Tip: Gather lots of data.
The final version can be in the form of a SWOT analysis.]
3. Identify the best target market for your that product or service
Identify the main target market for your product or service, (1) segment the market and
explain the strategy, (2) from the different segments identified, pick a target (or targets),
and (3) choose a positioning strategy that will tie you to a benefit and differentiate you
from your competition. [Tip: This is not “arbitrary” but builds on part 2.]
Part B: Creative Approach: How you want to say it?
Due November 13 [Include REVISED Part 1]
4. Develop a general creative strategy for the product that addresses customer needs.
Build it around your Competitive Advantage or a Unique Selling Proposition. This will
require that you:
A. Know the competition. What are they doing and where will you fit in?
B. Know your consumer. What psychological issues are likely to affect your consumer,
such as their level of involvement and the consumer decision process?
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C. Develop a campaign theme (the 'major selling idea') for your product or service that
will permeate all aspects of your campaign (e.g. Nike - Just Do It).
D. Discuss advertising appeals and executions that will attract attention and convey your
message.
E. Develop conceptual ideas for your ads. You do not have to use original artwork.
Feel free to use artwork from the web or stock photography sites (I don’t mind if you
use a sample with the logo. [Tip: take your time to work through these several times]
5. Develop advertising and PR objectives.
Develop communications objectives – what goals will you set (DAGMAR, for example)?
The importance of each of these objectives will vary depending upon your selected
product or service and target market. All groups should focus some efforts in both areas.
If you believe that one of these methods would be especially effective with your target
market, then a higher proportion of your budget and efforts should be focused there.
A. Develop advertising objectives. What do you want to accomplish with ads?
B. Develop PR objectives. What can you accomplish with these?
6. Develop other promotional, direct marketing, internet, and social media objectives.
Advertising is no longer expected to live or die on its own. But it is expected to create
interest. To generate buzz, allow for information seeking and create trials, other forces
are also necessary. For this section, explain how the advertising campaign will be
supplemented by internet and social marketing efforts.
A. Promotion ideas. What role will they play in the communications plan? Explain
any execution plans to fulfill your promotions objectives.
B. Discuss internet ideas. How will the internet play a role? What will you do with
the internet (website, SPAM)? Provide execution plans to fulfill your objectives.
C. Discuss social marketing efforts. What can you accomplish through these
means? Give information on how this will work with your marketing objectives.
Part C: Media Plan: Where, when, and how often do you want to say it?
Due by December 13 [Include REVISED Parts 1 and 2]
7. Develop a specific media plan for your campaign. The media plan should full explain:
A. Your strategy and execution plan to fulfill your IMC objectives
B. How you will use advertising to reach your target audience (magazines,
newspapers, television, and radio)? Provide a description of each audience.
C. How will you use PR, the internet and social media? Explain how the strategy
will fit with mass media advertising, and which goals can be accomplished.
D. Where and when will your message appear? Be specific. Create a flow chart for
each week of your campaign.
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8. Find prices and develop your budget
You will have to develop a budget for your product. You should start with your sales
estimate from Part 1. Spend no more than 25% of your sales projections on promotions.
Explain your rationale for the overall budget recommendation.
Specify how the money would be spent, as accurately as possible. First, estimate
production costs. Each b&w print ad will typically cost $1000, 4 color $2500 – more for
specials. Radio spots will run $5000 including talent and music costs. Television
production will cost $100,000 a high-quality national ad. [Tip: Don’t skimp.]
Estimating media costs can be done in three ways. First, use established prices
(available in Canadian Advertising Rates and Data [“CARD”] and online). Second, contact
the media and ask for price quotes; this takes time, so allow enough time. Third, in
some cases you will not be able to determine exact costs; for example if you plan to send
out free product samples or you may have difficulty with exact pricing. In these cases
you will need to estimate the costs, and to indicate how you arrived at your estimate.
Develop these estimates as accurately as possible based on what information you are
able to gather. Be sure to show how you arrived at your estimate.
9. Specify a research plan to measure the effectiveness of your campaign.
Describe the research you would undertake in order to develop your IMC campaign.
You do not need to actually perform research – just describe how you would go about
measuring the effectiveness of your advertisements and IMC efforts, including both
pretests and posttests.
Oral Presentation
This your advertising “pitch.” What do you want the client to know? In 10 or 15
minutes, summarize (a) your marketing strategy, (b) your creative approach, and (c)
your media plan. Explain the logic behind all major strategic decisions.
Written Report Organization and Length
The final written report should be about 15 pages long. Provide cogent, well-developed
rationale for every choice you make! You should support every decision made with
justification based on logic and/or secondary data.
How you write is as important as what you write. Effective writing will be rewarded in
grading and poor writing (spelling errors, grammar errors, etc.) will be penalized.
Sources should be used, cited in the document, and listed in a bibliography. Charts, tables,
and rough conceptual artwork should be included. The written report is the final.
MANAGEMENT 4210: Advertising and Promotions
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The Process
Suggestions for Better Performance
These are suggestions to improve the quality of your work and your grade. It is up to
you whether or not you choose to follow these suggestions.
1. You will need to spend a lot of time and effort to do a good job. It is hard. This
counts for half your grade.
2. Start on each section right after we discuss the topic in class. The information
will be fresher, and you will be able to ask questions before we have moved on.
The best strategy is to draft a section right after we cover it, and then revisit it
later to make sure the various parts coordinate with each other.
3. Think and meet often instead of trying to accomplish everything at once. Ideas
need time to develop and build, and to discover flaws. If working in a group,
consider ways to avoid “groupthink” – such as assigning different roles.
4. If working in a group, make sure each member knows the plans in every section
in your reports. It will insure a better project and knowing what comes in a
previous section will be necessary to carry out the later tasks.
5. Don’t compile the report at the last minute by pasting together pieces. This leads
to inconsistency, missing information, a generally incoherent report, and
redundancy. If different members work on different sections, compile it in
advance so that everyone can proof read it and revisions can be made.
6. Proofread! You should be on the lookout for poor writing as well as
inconsistencies, unsupported ideas, and missing information.
Problem Group Members
If you decide to work in a group, you may ‘fire’ a group member who is not performing.
To ‘fire’ a group member, you must first notify the member and me that the member’s
position is in jeopardy. The member should be given a reasonable amount of time to
mend his or her ways. If their performance doesn’t improve, the entire group (except
the member in question) must agree to the firing. The ‘fired’ member will be responsible
for completing a project alone, or getting another group to agree to take him or her in.
Final Note
This project is a hands-on learning experience. The harder you work, the more you will
learn, and the better your project will be. You will undoubtedly need to divide the labor
in some way. But you will be better off if you find a way to get everyone to participate
in each of the tasks, so that you have everyone’s suggestions and criticism. Good luck,
and have fun!
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Schedule: I usually stick close. Additional readings may be handed out in class.
September 4 – Course outline and expectations, History of Advertising (no reading)
9 - Integrated Marketing Communication (Chapter 1)
11 - Organizing IMC: Agencies, Compensation & Hiring (Chapter 2), Quiz 1
16 - Consumer Behavior and the Target Audience (Chapter 3),
18 - Case, Quiz 2
23 - Communication Response Models (Chapter 4),
25 - Case, Quiz 3
Project: Group members and product/service must be finalized
30 - Setting Objectives (Chapter 5)
October 4 – Case, Quiz 4
7 - Creative Strategy: Briefs, Objectives, and Planning (Chapter 7)
9 - Creative Tactics: Implementation and Evaluation (Chapter 8), Quiz 5
14 - [Holiday: Thanksgiving]
18 - Group work day
Project: Marketing strategy for your product or service due
21 - Broadcast Media (Chapter 11) and critique of broadcast ads,
23 - Print Media and Critique (Chapter 12), Quiz 6
28 - Out of Home (Chapter 13)
30 - Public Relations (Chapter 15), Quiz 7
November 4 - Direct Marketing (Chapter 16)
6 - The Role of the Internet (Chapter 17), and Social Media (no reading), Quiz 8
11 - [Holiday: Remembrance Day]
13 - Case, Quiz 9
Project: Creative approach due [include marketing strategy]
18 - Creative Strategy: Briefs, Objectives, and Planning (Chapter 7)
20 - Social Media, Quiz 10
25 - Measuring the Effects (Chapter 9)
27 - Legal, Ethical, Social, and Economic Issues (Chapter 18), Quiz 11
December 2 - Project Presentations
4 - Project Presentations
4 - 13 Project: Final Advertising Plan due