Strategic Communication Campaigns for the Digital Age – COMS/STCO 658

Course Description

An exploration of the use of integrated marketing communication for strategic movement of organizations, products and services toward growth.

Rationale

The purpose of this course is to provide students with a theoretical and practical understanding of the contemporary world of Advertising and Public Relations and its role in business, government, not-for-profit, and community organizations. It is an excellent complement to all three areas of concentration in the MA in Communications (Organizational and Interpersonal Communication, Media Studies, and Rhetorical Communication Studies) due to the theoretical framework and practical real-world application; however, this course is integral to anyone pursuing the Organizational and Interpersonal Communication track.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussion

During the first week, you will record a short video introducing yourself to the class. Post this in the Discussion: Introduction Video. The length of the video is up to you.

You will post a written response of 200 words to 2 other classmates’ video introductions.

Answer these questions in your video post:

• Where you live (state or country only)
• Family, hobbies/interests, and anything else you want to share about yourself
• Which specific degree you are pursuing
• Explain what you find interesting about communication in the marketplace
• What promotional experiences have you had?
• What you would like to learn from this course

Introduction Video is due by 11:59 p.m. on Thursday (ET) of Module/Week 1 and your 2 replies by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday of the same module/week.

Discussion (4)

The content of this course is extensive and will require you to look at a variety of concepts in a variety of ways. You will have to think analytically, articulate carefully, and work quickly. Each Discussion will follow the same set of instructions.

For each Discussion Assignment, students will be presented with three sets of questions. You will choose one question in which to do a “deep dive” answer. For your replies, you should respond to students who answered each of the other two questions. You should not be replying to students who answered the same question as you. For example, if you answer question 1 in your thread, your 2 replies should be responses to students who answered question 2 and question 3.

Initial thread - Since this is a grad level course, quotes are not accepted in these initial threads. Instead, students are required to paraphrase/summary and cite all of their work. As for references, students must include at least 3 citations in current APA (the textbook may be included in this count). Lastly, students must include a word count in parenthesis before they list their references in order to get full credit for this assignment.

Replies - Students must direct the theme of one reply towards a professional reflection, and the other reply towards a Christian application. In other words, students must provide professional insight to one reply, and a Christian worldview perspective to their second reply. Students must also include a word count in parenthesis before they list their references in order to get full credit for this assignment. (Students can only quote biblical references. All additional insight must be paraphrased/summarized and cited according to APA standards).

Research Paper: Integrated Media Communication Message Analysis Assignment

Students will discuss the outstanding creative work done by the Wieden + Kennedy agency. Students will use an example of an award-winning advertisement by W+K to highlight and discuss creative excellence. Students must provide a minimum of 10 resources, not including students text book or biblical references. Paper should be between 7 to 10 pages, not including the title page, abstract or reference page. Lastly, students are expected to abide by and follow APA formatting for this assignment. A specific outline regarding this paper is provided under the course guide and assignment instruction tab in your Course Content folder on Canvas.

Research Project: "An Introduction to Integrated Media Communication Campaign Development" E-book Assignment

Each student must create an e-book that visually highlights and describes several key concepts from our text. The e-book must be directed towards a specific niche market (e.g. real estate, footwear, sports, etc.). The number of pages for each e-book will most likely fluctuate between 18-25 pages, depending on how carefully students present and articulate their information. Students are required to cite a minimum of 15 different sources in their e-book.

Quiz: Final

The Quiz: Final will cover the Learn material from Module 1: Week 1 – Module 8: Week 8. It will be open-book/open-notes, contain 50 multiple-choice questions, and will have a time limit of 3 hours.