B7665-200: Advertising, Branding and Creativity
DRAFTSYLLABUS
ProfessorGitaJohar
101UrisHall
gjohar@columbia.edu
COURSEDESCRIPTION
Overthepastdecade,thenumberofchoicesthatconsumershavetoconsume
differentbrandsanddifferentmediahasexploded.Thismeansthatnow,morethan
ever,brandsmustengagewithpotentialconsumers.Howdoyougetthroughto
yourcoreaudienceeffectivelyandefficientlyandmovethemfromthepointof
awarenesstothepointofpurchaseandrepeatpurchase?Thisisthemainquestion
thatthiscourseaddresses.
Understandingandleveragingthebrand‐consumerinterfacerequiresmanagersto
becreative.Inthiscourse,youwillbeexposedtocuttingedgemarketingtools,
methodsandcases.Youwilllearndifferentapproachestoinnovativethinkingabout
advertisingandbrandingandwillgetachancetopracticetheseskillsinvarious
exercisesthatwillformpartofthelargerAdvertisingPlanthatyouwilldevelopfor
abrand.ManyofthesetoolscomefromSystematicInventiveThinking®,practiced
bymorethan600companiesworldwide,andbasedonacademicresearch.The
SIT®‐SystematicInventiveThinking®methodisbasedonrecognizing"creative
patterns",andapplyingasetofthinkingtoolsbasedonthosepatternsinorderto
bringaboutinnovation.Thethinkingtoolsweredevelopedbysystematically
analyzing,mapping,andlocatingcommonpatternsinsuccessfulproductsand
advertisingcampaigns‐patternswhichwerelackingintheunsuccessfulattempts.
Attheendofthecourse,youwillknowhowtodevelopinnovativeideas;howto
conductconstructiveassessmentofcreativework;andhowtoalignbrand,product,
andcommunications.
CONNECTIONTOTHECORE
ThiscourseiscloselyrelatedtotheMarketingcorecourseandbuildsonconcepts
thatwerebrieflydiscussedthere.Inthemarketingcorecourse,youlearntabout
segmentingthemarket,selectingtargetsegmentsandpositioningyourbrandtothe
target.Inthiscourse,wedeveloptheideaofpositioningfurtherbyusingtools
(attribute‐valuemapping)tohelppositionthebrandappropriatelygiventhe
competitivelandscape.Wealsobuildonconsumerdecision‐makingconceptsanddo
primaryresearchtounderstandhowconsumersmaketheirdecisionsinaspecific
productcategory(theoneyourgroupwilldevelopanAdPlanfor)andwhat
motivatesthemtochoose/consumeinthiscategory.Thisknowledgewillbeusedto
setadvertisingobjectives–whattheadvertisingneedstoaccomplishgivenwhere
thetargetsegmentisintermsoftheirrelationshiptothebrandaswellaswhatthe
advertisingshouldcommunicate(thetheme).TheMarketingcorealsobriefly
touchedonadvertisingandmedia.Wedevelopthoseideasfurtherinthiscourse
includinghands‐onguidanceonhowtodevelopads.
COURSEDETAILS
Onthefirstdayofclassyouareexpectedtoformgroupsoffourstudentsand
finalizetheproduct/brandthatyouwillbeworkingonduringthecourse.Youwill
alsobeprovidedwithalistofbrand‐relatedquestions,andareexpectedtodothe
necessaryresearchtoanswerthesequestionsoutsideofclass.Eachgroupwill
createanAdvertisingPlanthatincludessectionson:AdvertisingGoals,Primary
ResearchintoTargetMarket,MessageStrategy,MessageExecutionIdeas,
Advertisements,MediaStrategy(oldandnewmedia),andRecommendationson
TrackingEffectiveness.ThisAdvertisingPlanwillbepresentedinclassonthelast
day.
Thecoursefocusisonthedesignofsuitablemessages,aswellasontheutilityof
differentmediavehicles,atdifferentpointsoftheconsumerdecisionchain.Ifyou
areinterestedinconsumermarketingthenthiscourseisacrucialelementofyour
marketingtoolkit.Youwilllearntoappreciatethekeycommunicationchallengesin
today’srapidlychangingmarketingenvironmentandunderstandhowtoutilize
frameworkstoguideyourconversationswithcustomersandtobuildyourbrandas
theenvironmentevolves.
INSTRUCTORBIO
GitaJohar(PhD:NYU;MBA:IndianInstituteofManagement)hasbeenonthe
facultyofColumbiaBusinessSchoolsince1992andiscurrentlytheSeniorVice
DeanandMeyerFeldbergProfessorofBusiness.ProfessorJohar’sexpertiseliesin
consumerpsychology,focusingonhowconsumersreacttomarketingefforts,
especiallyadvertising.Shehaspublishedseveralinfluentialarticlesintheareasof
consumerpersuasionanddecision‐makinginleadingmarketingacademicjournals.
ProfessorJoharservesastheAssociateEditoroftheJournalofConsumerResearch
andsitsontheEditorialReviewBoardsoftheJournalofMarketingResearchandthe
JournalofConsumerPsychology.ProfessorJoharteachescoursesonAdvertising
andBranding,GlobalMarketingConsultingforSocialEnterprise,ResearchMethods,
andConsumerBehaviortoMBA,ExecutiveMBAandPhDstudents.
READINGS
TextBook:CrackingtheAdCodebyJacobGoldenberg,AmnonLevav,David
Mazursky,andSorinSolomon
CasePacket:Thefirstcase(AdoptUSKids)canbeaccessedontheInternet(seeURL
listedonfirstdayofclass.ThiswillbeactivatedinSeptember.).Readings,casesand
classnoteswillbepostedonCanvass.
COURSEOBJECTIVES
Thiscourseisdesignedforstudentsincareersinwhichyouwillmakemarketing
decisions(e.g.,advertisinganddirectmarketing;brandmanagement;mediaand
entertainment).Itisalsoappropriateforstudentswhojustdesireanunderstanding
ofhowcommunicationstrategieswork(e.g.,consultants).
Themorespecificobjectivesofthiscourseareto:
1. increaseyourunderstandingofthecommunicationprocess.
2. makeyouknowledgeableabouttheimportantissuesinplanningand
evaluatingintegratedmarketingcommunications.
3. helpyoutoapplytheappropriatetoolstoplan,develop,andevaluate
marketingcommunications.
4. giveyouhands‐onexperiencewithconstructingacompleteadvertising
plan(agroupadvertisingplanwillbethemainassignmentinthecourse).
COURSEORGANIZATION
Wewillanswerquestionssuchas:Whoarethetargetsofthecommunication
program?Whataretheobjectivesofthecommunicationprogram?Whatistobe
communicated?Howshoulditbecommunicated?Whatistheimpactofthe
communicationsprogram?Andfinally,whichmeansofcommunicationaretobe
used?
Casesareassignedtoprovideyouwithanopportunitytoapplyyourknowledge.On
thedaysinwhichacaseisassigned,itisexpectedthatyouhavenotonlyreadthe
casebutyou’vealreadyformedstrategicdecisionsthatyouarewillingtoshare(and
perhapsmodify!)intheclassdiscussion.
GRADING
Youroverallevaluationisbasedonclassparticipationandyourgroupadvertising
plan(qualityofideasandpresentation).
Assignment:
DueDate:
%ofGrade:
ClassParticipation(individual)
25%
AdPlanProject(group):
Presentation
Session12
25%
Slides(includingads)
Session12
50%
DESCRIPTIONOFEACHELEMENTOFYOURGRADE
Forthepurposeoftheadplanproject,youwillworkingroupsoffourstudents.You
mayselectyourowngroupmembers.
CLASSPARTICIPATION
Participationincludesregularon‐timeattendanceandcontributiontoclass
discussions.Therewillbeplentyoftimeforstudentstocontributetoclass
discussions.You’llbegradedbasedonthequalityofyourcontribution,notthe
amountoftimeyoudemandinthediscussion.
Incasediscussions,highqualityclassparticipationincludescommentsthataddto
ourunderstandingofasituationandgobeyondmererepetitionofcasefacts.You
shouldalsotakeintoaccountthecommentsandanalysesofyourclassmatesto
moveourdiscussionforward.Casepreparationguidelinesforeachcaseare
providedinthecase.
ADPLANPROJECT
Theprojectinvolvessecondaryresearchtounderstandthebrand’scompetitive
environmentandconsumerpromise.Thesegmentsinthemarketneedtobe
describedandacogentargumentmadeforwhoshouldbethetargetforthe
communicationcampaign.Youwilldevelopadetailedadvertisingobjectives
documentthatwillprovideinputintothemessagestrategyandthecreativebrief.
Themessagestrategyshouldbebasedonyourresearchintothetargetmarket’s
motivationsusingfocusgroupsandsurveys.Youwillthencreateadsinthe
appropriatemediaaswellasdevelopanewmediacampaignthatdovetailswith
yourproposedtraditionalcampaign.Youwilltestyouradsusingsurveys/focus
groupsandrefinethembasedonfeedback.Youwillallocatethebudgetacross
differentmedia.Finally,youwillmakerecommendationstothebrandteamonthe
rightmetricstojudgetheeffectivenessofyourcampaign.
Finalsubmission:Submityourpresentationslides(withdetailedannotationsas
needed)aswellasalltheadscreatedindifferentmedia.
COURSE SCHEDULE
Date
Topic
Session1
Introduction
9/10
Reading
Assignment
MODULE 1: OBJECTIVES AND MESSAGE
3:45pm–
6:45pm
Case:TheAdCounciland
AdoptUsKidsA&B
PresentationofAdPlanProject
CaseAat
caseworks.ccnmtl.columbia.edu
(willbeactiveinSeptember)
WhatwouldDonDraperdo?
RulesforRestoringthe
ContemporaryAgencyMojo
Submitassignment1
forCaseAonlineby
noonthedaypriorto
session1(individual
assignment)
Session2
9/11
8:30am–
11:30am
CommunicationObjectives
(Target,Task,andTheme)
Case:Propecia
Session3
9/12
8:30am–
11:30am
Completesurveyat
http://www.sric‐
bi.com/VALS/presurvey.shtml
beforeclass
Usedatato
understandmarket
segmentsandselect
targetmarketfor
yourgroup’sAdPlan
Readthecaseandprepareto
discussassignedquestions
Conductinterviews
withmembersof
yourtargetmarket
andcaptureinsights
ontheirproduct
choiceandusage.
Whatshouldbethe
taskofyour
advertising?
ThemeorWhattosay:
Attribute‐ValueMapping
Workshop
Case:CleanEdgeRazor
Readthecaseandprepareto
discussassignedquestions
Session4
Case:Metabicil
Readthecaseandprepareto
discussassignedquestions
CreateAttribute‐
ValueMapsforyour
group’sAdPlanand
selectvalueto
emphasizein
advertising.What
shouldbethetheme
ofyouradvertising
Finalizetarget,task
andtheme.Interview
membersoftarget
9/13
12:30pm–
3:30pm
GuestSpeaker
Session5
Howtosayit:Creativity
templates(AbsurdAlternative
andExtremeConsequence)
10/21
12:30pm–
3:30pm
Case:MountainDew
Session6
10/21
3:45pm–
6:45pm
Session7
10/22
(seeendofthissyllabus)
segmenttoget
reactiontotheme
CreativeSparks,Science,
volume285,(5433)
Septemberp.1495‐6(on
Angel)
Createadsusingthe
creativitytemplates
andtestthemwith
yourtargetsegment
Readthecase(onCD),
carefullyanalyzetheDewads,
andpreparetodiscusswhich
adsshouldbeairedandwhy.
Howtosayit:Creativity
Templates(Activation)
Ensurefusioninyour
ads.
FusionofThemeandCreative
Execution
InnovativeUseofTraditional
Media(TaskUnification
Template)
3:45pm–
6:45pm
GuestSpeaker
Session8
MediaStrategy
10/23
Designadsfor
traditionalmedia
usingtaskunification
AddingSocialMediatothe
MarketingMix
8:30am–
11:30am
Case:UnMEJeans:Brandingin
Web2.0
Session9
NewMediaandWebMetrics
12/3
12:30pm–
3:30pm
Case:MedNet.Com
Readthecaseandprepareto
discussassignedquestions
Session10
AdvertisingEffectiveness
12/4
Advertising’sNewMedium:
HumanExperience
8:30am–
11:30am
GuestSpeaker
Readthecaseandprepareto
discussassignedquestions
http://hbsp.harvard.edu/multi
media/flashtools/webmetrics/
index.html
Session11
AdvertisingResearch
12/5
Case:It'saNewDay:
Microsoft'sOffice2007Launch
Campaign
12:30pm–
3:30pm
OnlineMetrics:WhatAreYou
MeasuringandWhy?
Readthecaseandprepareto
discussassignedquestions
Session12
Preparefinalpresentations
12/5
3:45pm–
6:45pm
Presentations
Submitslidesand
ads
SuggestedReadingsandReferenceSources
Books:
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Goldenberg,Jacobetal.(2009),CrackingtheAdCode,Cambridge:Cambridge
UniversityPress.
Berger,Jonah(2013),Contagious:WhyThingsCatchOn.
Cialdini,RobertB.(1993),Influence:ThePsychologyofPersuasion.
Fox, Stephen (1984), The Mirror Makers, Random House Vintage Books: New
York.
Heath,ChipandDanHeath,(2007),MadetoStick:WhySomeIdeasSurvive
andOthersDie,RandomHouse.
Holt,Doug,(2004),HowBrandsBecomeIcons,HarvardBusinessSchoolPress.
Ogilvy,David(1963)ConfessionsofanAdvertisingMan,Atheneum:NewYork.
Ogilvy,David(1983),OgilvyonAdvertising,RandomHouseVintageBooks:
NewYork.
Packard,Vance(1961)TheHiddenPersuaders
Rothenberg,Randall(1995),WheretheSuckersMoon:TheLifeandDeathof
anAdvertisingCampaign,RandomHouseVintageBooks:NewYork.
Underhill,Paco(2000),WhyWeBuy:TheScienceofShopping.
Weston,Drew(2007),ThePoliticalBrain.