UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Marshall School of Business
MKT 405 – Advertising and Promotion Strategy
Spring 2012
Tuesday & Thursday: 16470 12- 1:50PM HOH 304
Tuesday & Thursday: 16472 2 -3:50PM ACC 310
________________________________________________________________________________
Professor:
Hank Wasiak
Telephone:
646 236 9014 (cell)
E- Mail:
hank@conceptfarm.com, wasiak@usc.edu, wasiak@marshall.usc.edu
________________________________________________________________________________
Reasons to Take This Course
This course will provide you with an understanding of how to most effectively plan and develop an Integrated
Marketing Communications Program in today’s digital and inter-connected world. You will learn how to create
and present an effective Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan that incorporates all of the
components of the marketing mix into a cohesive 360 integrated communications plan. The course will balance
theory and best practices with an emphasis on real world, hands on, real time experiences, issues and projects.
Course Description
The very nature of “advertising” has evolved and is now going through one of its most dynamic and profound
periods of change. This course examines the dynamics of these changes and will introduce/reacquaint students
with the power and potential of marketing communications in today’s increasingly competitive yet interdependent global marketplace. The emphasis will be on the role of integrated marketing communications (IMC)
programs in building brands, fueling growth and creating sustainable businesses and organizations. Effective IMC
plans are built on consumer insights that lead to incisive strategies which enable powerful execution. Outstanding
IMC plans also inspire differentiating creativity and ingenuity. The student will study the process by which IMC
programs are planned, developed and executed to deliver outstanding performance and results.
During the course, you will learn how to assess and evaluate the quality of different creative endeavors through
case analyses, exercises, class discussions and interactions with practicing professionals. You will be challenged
to problem solve, apply critical thinking, and use organizational, analytical, and creative skills to write and
present in class an effective Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan.
Course Objectives:
Create a dynamic learning environment that includes lecture, group discussions and presentations, case analysis,
internet usage and digital application, immersion in social media and personal interaction with practicing
professionals.
Enhance the understanding of all the elements of the marketing mix and their connective strengths when used as
part of digital, internet enabled integrated marketing communications (IMC) program.
Fuel critical thinking and analytical skills relative to setting goals, budgets and evaluation of IMC plans.
Spark creative thinking and encourage innovative solutions to business challenges and opportunities.
Create and deliver an outstanding, written IMC plan for an existing or new product or service that you will be
proud of and eager to share with the world.
Major Deliverables:
**Consistently active and vibrant class participation.
**Involvement with and on-going use of Social Media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and blogs
**Textbook Study, reading one ancillary reference book and use of marketing newsletters, RSS feeds, etc.
**1 Creative Brief Assignment
**1 Team Integrated Communications Project,
**1 Individual Social Media/Digital Assignment & Book Reading – Google+ For Business (Chris Brogan)
**3 quizzes
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Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
1.
Develop a real-world written IMC plan for an existing or new product or service by utilizing key
advertising and promotion concepts and professionally presenting these recommendations in class.
2.
Apply specific advertising and promotion constructs to the thorough analysis of each case.
3.
Enhance critical thinking, creative and analytical skills.
Required Readings/Activities




Belch, George E. and Belch, Michael A. (2011). Advertising and Promotion – An Integrated
Marketing Communications Perspective (9th ed.). Irwin McGraw Hill..
Brogan, Chris, Google+ For Business, 2011/2012
Course Reader of selected assignments including articles and cases.
Each student will be required to have an active Twitter, Facebook, Google+ page and be
registered on LinkedIn
Recommended or Additional Readings
 Solis, Brian,(2011) The End Of Business As Usual
 Advertising Age, Mashable,.
 Selected Blogs and RSS Feeds
Grade Breakdown
The following 1000 point grading system will be utilized for the course:
Topic
Class Participation
Creative Brief Assignment
Social Media/Digital Assignment–Book
Team Integrated Marketing Communications
Plan
- Write-up
- Presentation
Subtotal
Percentage
of Grade
10%
10%
10%
Points
20%
10%
30%
200
100
300
40%
400
100%
1000
Quizzes (3)
Due Date
(See Course Schedule)
100
100
100
TOTAL
A detailed course schedule is on page 7. The Department of Marketing follows the grading policy of the
Marshall Graduate School of Business. For this elective course, the grading standard is an average of 3.3.
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Attendance
Attendance is expected. Your ability to benefit from the course and contribute to the class is largely dependent
upon your attendance during class meetings. If you are unable to attend class on any occasion, please notify the
professor in advance, where possible. Moreover, you will be responsible for everything covered or announced in
class on that day. If you miss more than two week’s worth of class meetings during an elective class, the professor
may deduct points from the final grade.
Class Format
Class sessions will be devoted to summarizing major advertising and promotion concepts and then probing,
extending and applying these concepts to exercises and cases utilizing a great deal of interactive discussion.
Commercials, guest speakers and discussions focused on concepts, cases and applications will be utilized to
maximize learning and provide a forum in which advertising, promotion, and communications concepts and
theory are applied to real world experiences. It is assumed that all students by being prepared for each class will
actively contribute to each session to maximize the learning experience. You may be cold called in class to
explain a concept, answer a question, defend a point or apply some course material to real world applications.
Class Participation
Class participation is an extremely important part of the learning experience of this course because the richness of
the learning experience is dependent upon the degree of preparation by all students prior to each class session.
Additionally, a course focused on case analyses requires students to prepare cases and offer their analyses in the
class. Thus, by definition, class participation is an important part of your grade.
You will offer your opinions in a group setting many times in your business career and evaluating class
participation is a tool for preparing you for this dimension of your career. To foster a class environment that has
active participation, 10 percent of the course grade or 100 points will be allocated to class participation.
Grading class participation will be based on the student’s willingness to actively participate and the quality of the
comments expressed, not necessarily quantity. When evaluating participation, your professor will attempt to
answer the following questions:
 Does the participant attend class regularly and show up to class on time? Is the participant prepared?
 Do comments add to an understanding of the marketing concept, situation, analysis, or recommendations
being discussed? Does the participant go beyond simple repetition of case facts to include analysis and
conclusions?
 Is the participant a good listener? Are the points made relevant to the discussion? Are they linked to the
comments of others? Is there a willingness to interact with other class members?
 Is the participant an effective communicator? Are concepts presented in a concise and convincing
fashion?
 Does the student proactively participate in the social media channels relevant to the class
A class participation rating of 2, 1 or 0 will be given to each student based on his or her contributions during each
class. A 2 rating will be awarded to those students who provide excellent contributions to class discussions. A 1
rating will be awarded to those students who provide proactive, positive contributions to class discussions. A 0
rating will be awarded to those students who do not attend class, do not participate in class discussions or provide
negative contributions.
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Creative Brief Assignment
Please select a current advertising campaign of your choice that has print advertising and a digital component
among other IMC elements. You are to write a creative brief for this product or service which includes the
creative strategy, creative process and message strategy and is described on pages 268 – 270 of the text. (See
page 8 for suggested outlines) You also are to develop one new print ad and a suggested viral/digital video that
are directed to the primary target audience.
This assignment is not to exceed two single-spaced paper, excluding the two print ads. The assignment is worth
10 percent of the course grade or 100 out of 1,000 points. Be prepared to discuss your assignment in class on the
due date listed in the calendar.
Social Media/Digital Assignment
As part of this assignment each student will be required to read Chris Brogan’s new book and we will discuss
elements of the book in class and reference to the book will be included in quizzes.
Book Reading –Google+ For Business – Chris Brogan
There will one assignment that will help develop your understanding of the current digital marketing
environment, the importance of full and proper execution of integrating social media into marketing
communications strategies and provide real time hands on experience navigating the new and evolving role of
digital communications and social media in the marketing mix. The specifics of the assignment and deliverables
will be provided in class and will be an individual assignment. This assignment will be worth 10% of the course
grade or a total of 100 out of 1000 points.
Team Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan
To apply advertising, promotion and communications concepts, please form a team of four to five students to
develop an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan for a product or service of your choice or for a
product that will be provided. You are to assume that you are one of three advertising agencies bidding for the
specific product’s or service’s business. The annual IMC Plan should cover all advertising and promotional
activities for the year 2012. As an option, you may assume individual roles of Account Executive and Directors
of Creative, Media, Account Planning, Interactive and Promotion.
Team members, selection of a product or service for the IMC Plan and preferred presentation date of April 19th
24th or 262t must be handed in no later than the beginning of the third week of class on Tuesday, January 24h. All
write-ups must be submitted by April 19th.
It is highly recommended to be creative and innovative so that you are awarded the business. In addition to an
animated PowerPoint presentation summarizing the IMC Plan, you should include in your presentation product
displays and demonstrations when possible. You also should create print ads, storyboards or commercials and
sales promotional materials. Showing videos or current commercials, having music during parts of the
presentation are additional ways to demonstrate your team's reasons to be awarded the business. Your client is
very much looking for innovation and creativity and a new way to stand out from the clutter. It should also be
noted that the competition is very aggressive and you should make sure that you ask for the business.
Each team will prepare a written IMC Plan as well as make a 20-minute (maximum) presentation of the
recommendations for the product or service selected. The written IMC Plan is to be a maximum of 12 singlespaced pages, excluding up to six exhibits. (See page 10 for the IMC Plan Outline.) The team IMC Plan
assignment is worth a total of 30 percent of the course grade or 300 points. The team write-up and presentation
of the IMC Plan are worth 20 percent of the course grade or 200 points and the presentation is worth 10 percent
of the grade or 100 points. The grade for the IMC Plan may be modified for each individual based on the
assessments of contributions of each team member. (See page 11 for project peer evaluation form).
If team contributions were not equal while preparing and presenting the assignment, please complete the project
peer evaluation form on page 11. If one form is handed in at the end of the class in which the presentation is
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given, all other team members will be asked to complete the form. Unequal contributions may affect the
individual grade of this assignment. If no peer evaluation forms are completed, it will be assumed that
contributions were equal among team members.
Please submit in advance digital and hard copies of the PowerPoint presentation and write-ups. Hand in peer
evaluation forms the day the presentation is given if deemed appropriate. The IMC written plans are due on April
19, 2011.
The following criteria will be utilized to grade the IMC Plan:
1. Situation analysis including relevant primary and secondary research
2. Selection of the recommended target markets, primary and secondary
3. Soundness of objectives
4. Creative strategy & Execution
5. Completeness and consistency of IMC mix recommendations and strategies
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Students with Disabilities
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability
Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be
obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to the professor as early in the semester as possible.
DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The telephone number
for DSP is (213) 740-0776.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to adhere to the standards of academic integrity that govern students registered at USC.
The use of unauthorized material, communication with fellow students during an examination, attempting to
benefit from the work of another student, and similar behavior that defeats the intent of an examination or other
class work is unacceptable to the University. It is often difficult to distinguish between a culpable act and
inadvertent behavior resulting from the nervous tensions accompanying examinations. Where a clear violation
has occurred, however, the professor may disqualify the student’s work as unacceptable and assign a failing mark
on the paper.
Returning Graded Paperwork
Returned paperwork, unclaimed by a student, will be discarded after four weeks and, hence, will not be available
should a grade appeal be pursued by a student following receipt of his/her grade.
Professor/Student Interaction
If at any time during the course you have questions regarding the preparation of assignments or other courserelated issues, please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone or in person to arrange a mutually convenient
time to meet. I will have office hours which will be provided at the first class session.
My goal is to use my knowledge of marketing communications, advertising and internet marketing as a platform
for learning and building your expertise in these areas. We will work together in an environment of open
discussion, shared experiences and learning. Additionally I will give you as much feedback as you would like to
help you become better IMC marketers and achieve your personal objectives for this course.
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Course Schedule Spring 2012
The following class schedule provides the thought flow and topic agenda for the course. The course will
draw heavily on real world, real time events to add texture and provide practical application learning.
While the course will cover these topics, it is likely that the schedule could change and topics be
rearranged subject to marketplace events, class discussion direction, and speaker availability. You will get
the most out of this course if you stay current, live on the internet, absorb content, be flexible and go with
the flow.
Cla
ss
1
2
Date
Topic
1/10,.
1/12
3
4
1/17,
1/19
5
6
1/24,
1/26
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
1/31
2/2
2/7,
2/9
2/14
2/16
2/21
2/23
15
16
2/28
3/1
17
18
3/6,
3/8
Introduction to Integrated
Marketing Communications
(IMC) and the Role of
Advertising Agencies
Organizations & Outlook
Understanding The Target
Audience
Consumer Behavior
The Communications
Process
Message Channels
Case Discussion
Internet & Digital
QUIZ 1
Role of The Internet &
Digital
Establishing Objectives
Budgeting Measuring
Effectiveness
Creative Strategy/Planning
Creative Strategy &
Execution
Creative Deployment
Media Planning
X
X
19
20
3/13,
3/15
3/20,
3/22
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
3/27
3/29
4/3
4/5
4/10
4/12
4/17
4/19
27
4/24
Presentations
IMC Presentation & Discussion: All Team IMC
Write-ups due
IMC Plan Presentation and Discussions
28
4/26
Presentations
IMC Plan Presentation and Discussions
SPRING BREAK NO
CLASSES
Media Planning & Strategy.
Social Media Interactive
QUIZ 2
Social Media & Interactive
Broadcast Media
Print Media/Support Media
Public Relations/CRM
Course Summary, Quiz3
Presentations
Assignment
Belch & Belch- Integrated Marketing
Communications:
Chapters 1&2.
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapters 5. Team IMC Plan Topics Due
Chapter 6
Chapter 15
Outside Reading
Chapters 7 & 18
Chapter 8 &9
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Creative Brief Assignment Due
Chapter 10
Chapter 15/Outside Sources
Chapter 11
Chapter 12 & 13
Chapter 16
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Cla
ss
1
2
Date
Topic
Assignment
1/10,.
1/12
3
4
1/17,
1/19
Introduction to Integrated
Marketing Communications
(IMC) and the Role of
Advertising Agencies
Organizations & Outlook
Understanding The Target
Audience
Belch & Belch- Integrated Marketing
Communications:
Chapters 1&2.
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
In addition to the text book chapters there will be significant reviews of supplementary materials which
will be provided and presented in class and posted on BlackBoard.
Creative Brief Outline
1.
Positioning Statement – Write the positioning statement for the product/service
2.
Creative Strategy
3.
a.
Basic opportunity or problem the communications must address
b.
The objectives of the marketing communications program
c.
A definition of the target audience
d.
Key benefits
e.
Support for those benefits
f.
The brand’s personality
g.
Any special requirements
Creative Concept
a.
Big idea - What is the single most compelling idea that the overall experience must convey?
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9
Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) Plan Outline
1.
Executive Summary – A brief summary of the major components of the IMC Plan.
2.
Situation Analysis – Relevant background data and analysis of the industry, competition, customer and
company resulting in an expanded SWOT analysis.





Industry/Market (See page 10 for detail of each sub-section)
Competitive
Customer
Company
SWOT
3.
Selection of the Most Valued Target Markets – Select and describe the characteristics of the current
or potentially most profitable market segments.
 Primary Target Market
 Secondary Target Market
4.
Recommendations – Recommendations for IMC objectives and strategies and all
marketing mix elements other than promotion.
5.

IMC Objectives – Forecasted annual objectives and budget for 2012.
ˉ Sales – Projected annual sales in dollars and percent increase over prior year.
ˉ Include KPI and ROI for the communications plan…i.e. awareness,
knowledge/comprehension, liking, preference, trial and repurchase, likes, shares, followers,
CTR, etc.
ˉ Budget to include total IMC Plan expenditures and specific spending levels for IMC
elements to include traditional and non-traditional advertising, Internet, sales promotion,
personal selling and public relations.

IMC Strategies – Recommendations for strategies of all IMC elements
ˉ Advertising- Traditional & Digital
· Advertising Strategy as expressed in the Creative Brief
· Budget
· Schedule and Media Calendar
ˉ Sales Promotion
ˉ Personal Selling
ˉ Public Relations


Marketing Mix Strategies – including product, positioning, price, place and people
Creative Examples/Expressions – Examples of how the key communications elements will
look, feel, behave.
Lessons Learned – Describe lessons learned from developing the IMC Plan.
10
1.
Situation Analysis – A thorough analysis of the industry, competition, customer and company and
development of an expanded SWOT analysis.





Industry/Market
· Industry/Market size
· Trends
· Technological changes
· Legal/Regulatory issues
Competitive
· Major players in the marketplace
· Competitive strategies
· Market shares (if available)
Customer
· Customer needs/perceptions
· Market segments
· Trends
Company
· Core competencies
· Revenue and profit of firm
· Marketing mix excluding promotion
· Positioning
· IMC mix to include advertising, sales promotion, personal selling and public relations
· Value assessments including how the firm gains an understanding of the value it provides
to customers and how this value varies across target markets
SWOT
· Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
· Strategies to mitigate weaknesses and threats
· Strategies to capitalize on strengths and opportunities
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Project Peer Evaluation
Please complete the following project peer evaluation form for the team case or IMC Plan assignment. Divide
100 points among your team members in accordance with their contribution to the team project. Include yourself
in the distribution of points. For example, if your team had four team members and each member contributed
equally to the project, the team members would each earn 25 points. If your team members did not contribute
equally, then give each person the number of points that you feel fairly represents each member’s contribution to
the completion of the assignment.
Team: __________________________________________________________________________
Case or IMC Plan Topic: ____________________________________________________________
Your Name: _____________________________________________________________________
Names of Team Members
Points
Total
100
Comments: Please feel free to comment on the contributions of individual team members to the team project.
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