BSAD 191
Personal Branding
Summer 2012
Professor:
Office:
Phone:
Email:
Dr. Chuck Tomkovick
Schneider 443
836-2529 (office)
tomkovcl@uwec.edu
Office Hours:
Monday & Wednesday 8 – 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday & Thursday 11:45 a.m. - noon
By appointment
COURSE OBJECTIVES: The primary objectives of this course are (1) to provide students with a better
understanding of ethical personal branding concepts, strategies and tactics in our dynamic, highly
competitive global economy; (2) to provide necessary background information for our students to
successfully pursue further marketing study; (3) to provide students specializing in other areas with basic
marketing knowledge; (4) to broaden each student’s general awareness, appreciation, and interest in
marketing careers; (5) to help students improve their ability to analyze markets and profit from trends; (6)
to enjoy ourselves while learning how to best sell ourselves.
COURSE OVERVIEW: This course addresses the FACT competencies of global knowledge, ethics,
teamwork, technology and communications. Global knowledge is addressed through the coverage of
topics from global to local brands. Ethics is pervasive through these topics as ethical marketing research
is emphasized as a technique available to help you brand/sell yourself. Teamwork will be highlighted
through class participation. Technology is emphasized via electronic branding tips discussed. Listening,
note-taking, speaking, and other communication skills are also stressed. It is felt that those students who
most clearly understand personal branding will be most able to market themselves successfully in the
future.
TEXTBOOK(S):
Primal Branding, Hanlon, Patrick, 2006 & StrengthsFinder 2.0, Rath, Tom, 2007
CLASSROOM PROCEDURES: Lectures, discussion, and in-class exercises will be used throughout the
course. The emphasis will be on highlighting personal branding concepts and practices employed in the
professional business world. Lectures and outside speakers will be used to amplify and extend text
material. Students are expected to read each day’s assignment and to attend class regularly.
MAJOR EXAMINATION: This course has one major exam. It consists of essay questions that each
student and the instructor agree upon in advance. Both lecture, the Primal Branding text, and assigned
reading materials will be sources of examination questions.
MAKEUP EXAMS: A makeup exam will be given only if a student has a University-approved excuse
and if the absence is approved before the scheduled exam. Make-up exams will be given at a time of
mutual convenience, and will consist of essay type questions.
GRADING: There are two major assignments and one exam. Each is worth 200 points. Students can
earn 4 additional extra credit points per week through perfect attendance, and an additional 4 for perfect
course attendance. Final grades will be computed as follows:
A = 540+ / B = 480+ / C = 420+ / D = 360+ / F = 359-
1
SPECIAL NOTE ON CLASS ATTENDANCE: Although your regular attendance is expected, it is not
taken for granted. I will never take off from your grade for lack of attendance. Rather, you will be
rewarded for coming to class. For every unit of material that you have perfect attendance, you will
receive 4 extra bonus points. Given that there are three units of material in the course, you can
earn up to 12 bonus points through regular class attendance. If you have perfect attendance for the
course, you earn an additional four bonus points.
I want you to attend every class because my experience tells me that students, who attend class regularly,
learn more and score higher on the exams than do students who miss class. I will try my darndest to
make each class worth attending.
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Chuck Tomkovick is a Professor of Marketing at the University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire and the Coordinator of the Marketing faculty. He earned a B.A. in Business
Administration & Psychology from Carthage College (1976), an M.S. in Industrial Engineering & an
M.B.A. in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1982), and a Ph.D. in Marketing from
Texas A&M University (1993). Prior to his academic career, he was a Sales Promotion and Public
Relations Manager for Outboard Marine Corporation, the Director of Marketing Services at Parker Pen,
and a General Manager of Vie de France. Business accomplishments include successfully launching
several new products for one company, working with a management team to help double their stock price
for the second company, and increasing sales by 50% and profits by 25% for a third company.
He has won multiple teaching awards at both the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and at Texas A&M
University. He won the Teacher of the Year Award at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire during his
first full year of eligibility (1995) and also won it again during his first year of eligibility in 2006. In 2007
and 2008, he was voted as the Outstanding Professor of the year by UWEC students in the annual
Spectator poll. In spring 2009, he was recognized as the Outstanding Study Abroad Professor by the
Harlaxton College student body while teaching marketing courses in Grantham, England. For the 20092010 school year, he received the Outstanding Professor Award from Beta Gamma Sigma, and is the first
UWEC professor to receive this honor twice. He has been nominated by the UW-Eau Claire Provost for
the CASE/Carnegie U.S. Professor of the Year Award three times in the last ten years, and has also been
nominated for the UW Regents Teacher of the Year Award twice in the last ten years. He is also a four
time award winner for mentoring student-faculty collaborative research projects, including his most
recent in 2008.
He is happily married to his wife, Maria, and has three children, Ria, Peter, and young master Graham,
who was 6 on September 28, 2011! His interests include music, movies, soccer, football, baseball,
fishing, golf, the Wisconsin Badgers, the Green Bay Packers, the Milwaukee Brewers, travel, the great
outdoors, and helping students and business professionals succeed in life.
2