Digital Advertising Fall 2013
Course Title: Digital Advertising
Course Number: MKT 4557
Department: Marketing and International Business
Instructor: Christopher Whyte
Date/Time: Monday/Wednesday 7:30 - 8:45pm
Classroom: 10-125VC
Phone: Please use e-mail as primary contact
Office: 12-210-M
Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday from 6:30pm – 7:15pm and by appointment
E-Mail: Christopher.Whyte@baruch.cuny.edu with cc: Professor.C.Whyte@gmail.com
Course Description:
This course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of the key elements of digital
advertising campaigns. The Internet, including E-mail, Social Media and Mobile Devices will be
explored as primary digital advertising channels.
More specifically, the course will serve as a go to resource for students in the following areas:
1. Reaching customers with relevant advertising
2. designing effective on-line ads
3. budgeting online advertising, and the risks of under-allocating
4. Integrating online advertising with the “traditional’ parts of a campaign
5. Achieving marketing objectives – from lead generation to retention and loyalty
6. Measuring the effectiveness of Internet ads and campaigns
The structure of the curriculum will follow a typical campaign lifecycle including understanding the
digital consumer, strategic campaign planning, advertiser websites, creative strategy and
development, media planning and buying as well as results tracking and campaign optimizations.
Syllabus:
A week-by-week syllabus or a topic outline is attached to this information sheet. Additional
resources such as relevant articles and information sources will be posted on blackboard throughout
the course.
Specific Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Leverage consumer behavior in digital channels to achieve advertising objectives
-
Understand the best practices of creating a compelling digital advertising campaigns from
both a creative and media perspective
Awareness of campaign tracking and analysis ability for a digital advertising campaign
BBA Learning Goals Addressed in this Course:
The faculty of the Zicklin School of Business has adopted “Learning Goals” for BBA students. The
purpose of these goals is to create a common understanding between students, faculty and potential
employers of the core objectives for a business education. The goals for this course are:
Analytical and Technological Skills: Students will possess the quantitative, technological,
analytical and critical thinking skills to evaluate issues faced in business and professional careers.
Communication Skills Oral: Students will gain the necessary oral communication skills to convey
ideas and information effectively and persuasively
Communication Skills Written: Students will gain the necessary written communication skills to
convey ideas and information effectively and persuasively.
Business Knowledge/Integrative Abilities: Students will gain knowledge of the basic disciplines in
business management, and be able to apply and integrate that knowledge effectively in problem
specification and problem solving.
Proficiency in a Single Discipline: Students will gain a deep understanding of and intellectual
competence in the business discipline of digital advertising.
Expectation from Students/Grades:
One group assignment and two exams will comprise the grading of the course. The group assignment
will have two parts. Part one will be completed right after the midterm exam and will consist of
developing a creative message and website experience to support a campaign objective. Part two will
be a media campaign to drive consumer usage of the creative and website. Part one will be graded as
a written assignment and Part two will be a group presentation that will be delivered in class at the
end of the semester. Class participation will be graded based on participation in discussions, quizzes
and homework assignments.
Grading is as follows:
Midterm Exam (15%)
Final Exam (25%)
Midterm campaign written assignment (20%)
Final group presentation (25%)
Class attendance and participation (15%)
Key Dates:
- 9/30: Group Assignment Topic Summary – 1 page
- 10/15: MIDTERM EXAM
- 11/6: Group Assignment Part 1 (Written - 8 pages): Campaign Message & Website Strategy
- 12/2: Group Presentations Due – to be scheduled in class
- 12/2, 12/4, 12/9, 12/11: Group Presentations to be scheduled in class
- 12/17: FINAL EXAM TBD
Students should read the Zicklin School of Business Written and Oral Communication Assessment
Criteria, located in the Syllabus section of this course’s Blackboard site. Students are additionally
expected to adhere to writing standards described in of The Little, Brown Writing Handbook, (10 th
edition) by Fowler and Aaron.
Materials:
The primary resource will be the following textbook: The Online Advertising Playbook, Plummer,
Rappaport, Hall, and Barocci, 2007. Also, articles, white papers and cases will be assigned and
discussed. These resources will be sent via twitter (@ProfessorWhyte), email and posted to
Blackboard. The course will also include appearances from various guest speakers who can comment
on the real world application of course content.
Attendance Policy
All students are required to attend every session of their courses. The instructor may give a junior or
senior a WU grade (the equivalent of an F) for excessive absences. The Registrar’s office requires
that students who have attended no classes before week 5 be dropped from the class. In the case of an
emergency, please notify the instructor by email of the situation. More than 3 absences will
negatively impact a students grade.
Technology Policy
No cell phones may be out during class. You may bring your laptop/tablet, but it may only be used to
take notes or other class purposes. If the instructor sees this policy being abused, all electronic
devices may be banned from class. Failure to follow the technology policy will negatively affect
class participation grade.
Academic Integrity:
Students are expected to know and adhere to the Baruch College Academic Honesty Policy, found at
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/academic/academic_honesty.html. It states, inter alia, that:
Academic dishonesty is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Cheating, forgery, plagiarism and
collusion in dishonest acts undermine the college's educational mission and the students'
personal and intellectual growth. Baruch students are expected to bear individual responsibility
for their work, to learn the rules and definitions that underlie the practice of academic integrity,
and to uphold its ideals. Ignorance of the rules is not an acceptable excuse for disobeying them.
Any student who attempts to compromise or devalue the academic process will be sanctioned.
Syllabus/Course Schedule: Digital Advertising Course Fall 2013
Week
Dates
Topic
1 - Digital
Advertising
Platform and
Strategies
28Aug
Introduction and
Syllabus Review
2-Sep
to 6Sep
11Sep
11Sep
Labor Day – No
Class
No Class
-
Best Practices in
Online Advertising
Key Digital Tactics
Chapters 1 and 4
-
Check BB for Readings
Follow 3 companies you
would like to work for on
Twitter
16Sep
Targeting
Approaches
Chapter 2
Based on Chapter 2, create
3 quiz questions and their
answers to submit next
class period
18Sep
Consumer Insights Appendix
and
Behaviors/Group
Project
Submit groups and brand
next class
4 - Website
23Sep
Chapter 7
Submit Group Members
and Brand via email
5 - Advertising
Creative
25Sep
Role of an
advertiser
website, including
e-commerce
Messaging,
Testing
methodologies,
Best practices
Chapter 5
-
6 - Display
Advertising
30Sep
Digital Formats
and Rich
Media/Video
Media Planning/
Measuring digital
patterns
Possible Guest
Speaker
Check BB for Readings
Submit Group Assignment
Topic Summary – 1 page
Chapter 3
-
TBD
-
2 - Digital
Tactics
3 - The Digital
Consumer
2-Oct
Readings - Complete prior
to class
Assignments
Join Twitter and follow:
@ProfessorWhyte
7 - Display
Advertising
Continued
7-Oct
14Oct
School Closed
No Classes
8 - Display
Advertising
Trends
15Oct
Oct16
Midterm
Midterm Examination
Custom Programs
BB Readings
-
9 - UGC and
Search
10 - Industry
Trends
11 - Industry
Trends
21Oct
23Oct
28Oct
Email Marketing
Chapter 8 and BB Readings
-
Search - SEO and
SEM
Guest Speaker
TBD
Chapter 6
-
Check BB for Readings
-
30Oct
Social Media
Advertising
Check BB for Readings
-
4-Nov
User generated
content and
online video
Guest Speaker –
TBD
Mobile
Check BB for Readings
-
Check BB for Readings
Midterm Paper Due
Chapter 9
-
Tablets
Check BB for Readings
-
Twitter
Check BB for Readings
-
6-Nov
12 - Mobile/
Tablets
13 - Twitter
14 - Privacy
15 Presentations
16 Presentations
11Nov
13Nov
18Nov
20Nov
Day to prepare for Meet with your group
Group
presentation
Submit 1-2 questions via
email for Career Advice
Guest Speaker
25Nov
Privacy and Digital
Regulations
-
2-Dec
Group
Presentations
4-Dec
Group
Presentations
-
9-Dec
Group
Presentations
Group
Presentations/
Final Review
Session
Last Day of
Classes
-
-
-
-
-
-
Final Exams TBD
-
-
11Dec
15Dec
Final
17-23
Dec
Check BB for Readings
Presentation Powerpoints
due via email
* The professor reserves the right to make modifications to this schedule as necessary with notice to
students*