On-Campus Course Schedule for Fall 2022

Business Decision-Making

This course uses literature and film as case studies to explore the challenges and complexities of making ethical and moral decisions in our working and professional lives. The use of literature and film allows students to examine the nature of moral dilemmas and moral decision-making in real-life situations that are most often ambiguous, involve trade-offs and sacrifices, and that are influenced by a multitude of internal and external factors. The class will be open and interactive, including discussion, debate, student presentations, and student sharing of their own personal work experiences that they feel relate to the materials and issues raised. The particular literary works and films used in this course have been chosen so that they have clear application to the kinds of moral conflicts that arise in work settings such as personal values vs. institutional or enterprise values, loyalty vs. misplaced loyalty, workplace discrimination, whistleblowing, the morality of money, the morality of “selling,” women’s roles and sexual harassment, pressure to conform, and moral courage.

Note: This course will be cross-listed with LSHV-530-01.

Capstone

During this final course, students will apply the comprehensive skills they have built throughout their study of the concept and practice of integrated marketing communications. After identifying and securing a company or organization of their choosing, students will respond to a marketing communications challenge by creating a well-researched, creative, integrated plan that exemplifies their development as IMC professionals. Students will be able to choose clients based on their personal interests or aimed at continuing the social impact mission of the program. Consumer research is the heart of the IMC planning process and students are required to develop their creative insights from original research. Throughout the semester, multiple forms of assessment—including quick-fire challenges, written projects, an ethical response paper, a final plan, and a strategy pitch—track and evaluate each student's level of competency in all IMC program learning goals.

Note: Students must have completed the core and foundation courses (MPMC 500, 600, 602 and 603) to register for this course. Students may only take this course in their final semester of the program. A minimum grade of "B" is required to pass.

Capstone

During this final course, students will apply the comprehensive skills they have built throughout their study of the concept and practice of integrated marketing communications. After identifying and securing a company or organization of their choosing, students will respond to a marketing communications challenge by creating a well-researched, creative, integrated plan that exemplifies their development as IMC professionals. Students will be able to choose clients based on their personal interests or aimed at continuing the social impact mission of the program. Consumer research is the heart of the IMC planning process and students are required to develop their creative insights from original research. Throughout the semester, multiple forms of assessment—including quick-fire challenges, written projects, an ethical response paper, a final plan, and a strategy pitch—track and evaluate each student's level of competency in all IMC program learning goals.

Cause Consulting

Cause Consulting is a signature course in the PRCC program. It offers a cohort of students an applied learning experience by working collaboratively in small consulting teams to refine and implement communications plans for social impact clients, such as nonprofits or socially responsible businesses. It's also an opportunity to explore students’ leadership potential to create positive social impact throughout their careers, as they go through a semester-long journey to become consultants. Students who complete the course are recognized with the designation of Cause Consultants, which allows them to participate in exclusive opportunities through the Center for Social Impact Communication (CSIC).

Note: Students must have completed foundation courses MPMC 600 and 602 to register for this elective course. This course is cross listed with MPPR-900-01 and MPDC-891-01

Consulting

This course focuses on consulting as seen through the lens of aspiring communications professionals seeking a career addressing the many challenges businesses face in growth, marketing, and branding. This course will provide an understanding of the skills, methodologies, and mindsets that are critical for operating as a marketing and management consultant. Using a case study approach, students will progress step-by-step through a request for proposal (RFP) for a real-world client, culminating in a full presentation and pitch. Elements include project scope, positioning, pricing, team building, stakeholder interviews, marketing strategy, and more. The purpose of this course is to give students real-world experience participating in a marketing consulting project team while developing workable business solutions. Prerequisite: Students must have completed foundation courses MPMC 600 & MPMC 602 to register for this elective.

Note: Students must have completed foundation courses MPMC 600 & MPMC 602 to register for this elective course. This course is cross-listed with MPDC-891-01 and MPPR-905-01.

Consumer Research & Insights

This course is a foundational component of the integrated marketing communications (IMC) program. The course builds student knowledge of research approaches and techniques, equipping them to keep consumer interests and needs at the center of integrated campaigns. Students will learn how to design, interpret, and apply primary and secondary research techniques used in campaign development, execution, and evaluation. Topics include how to locate and mine existing databases and resources; best practices for designing and executing surveys, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and observational studies; and how to incorporate digital tools and emerging technologies as part of an overall research plan. Focus will be placed on how to develop meaningful insights from research to guide audience segmentation and targeting, message strategies, creative development, and channel selection. The course combines textbook learning with real-world examples and applications so that students can experience research in practice.

Note: Foundation course requirement for the IMC program.

Consumer Research & Insights

This course is a foundational component of the integrated marketing communications (IMC) program. The course builds student knowledge of research approaches and techniques, equipping them to keep consumer interests and needs at the center of integrated campaigns. Students will learn how to design, interpret, and apply primary and secondary research techniques used in campaign development, execution, and evaluation. Topics include how to locate and mine existing databases and resources; best practices for designing and executing surveys, in-depth interviews, focus groups, and observational studies; and how to incorporate digital tools and emerging technologies as part of an overall research plan. Focus will be placed on how to develop meaningful insights from research to guide audience segmentation and targeting, message strategies, creative development, and channel selection. The course combines textbook learning with real-world examples and applications so that students can experience research in practice.

Note: Foundation course requirement for the IMC program.

Content Strategy

In response to changing consumer expectations, marketing has become less about paid advertising and more about providing value-added content to attract and retain customers. It is no longer acceptable to speak at customers; rather, they expect to be engaged in conversation around topics that they are interested in. Moreover, the addition of new web-based and social channels has created demand for large amounts of new content. Students in this course will work with clients to develop content tailored to a specific target audience. They will learn how to create a cross-channel content plan and build a portfolio of content samples for web stories, social media, email newsletters, and other channels.

Conversations About Ethics

The process of educating the whole person starts with the study of ethics. The concept of IMC requires practitioners to look across multiple communications disciplines and consider each one’s unique challenges. At the same time, the practitioner holds the consumer’s wants and needs as the guiding force for planning. Looking at ethics through a professional lens, students are asked to explore their own values and are challenged to codify and commit to their own code of ethics in relation to a broad range of professional codes of conduct and best practices. Students will gain a solid foundation in ethics and relate what they learn to their own professional situation through class discussions, case studies, and guest lectures conducted by industry experts. This course is required for all MPS students and must be completed within the student's first few semesters in the program. Foundational concepts in ethics are woven throughout the program’s other courses and revisited throughout a student’s tenure.

Note: Core course requirement for the IMC program. A minimum grade of "B" is required to pass.

Customer-First IMC Strategy

In this course, students will learn to turn the corner from being tactical and creative professionals that develop successful IMC campaigns to becoming strategic managers that can drive successful IMC programs. To accomplish that goal, they will develop the skills to develop and manage IMC programs in alignment with an organization’s short- and long-term financial objectives, enabling them to participate successfully at a mid-to-senior level at a sophisticated corporation. A key concept that students will explore in detail is the concept of “customer centricity,” which lies at the heart of the IMC process — how we assess the value of customers and build IMC goals, objectives, strategies, tactics, and budgets with the aim of maximizing that value. In order to be able to utilize this concept effectively, students will also learn: · How to apply Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) analysis and read basic corporate financial statements. · How to apply the Goals-Objectives-Strategies-Tactics process to create actionable customer-centric IMC plans that align with organizational objectives. · How to develop supportable budgets that align with organizational objectives and can drive customer-centric IMC plans. · How to make effective IMC-related business decisions. In order to help students develop the critical thinking and problem solving skills necessary to achieve these goals, this course will employ readings from many sources, a number of case studies, a robust customer centricity simulation, and a final team project with a “live” client. Bonus: You’ll learn how to play backgammon. And, yes, there will be math. But not to worry, we’ll leave conjoint analysis and differentials out of the equations. The course was formerly called "The Management of IMC."

Dig. Analytics & Measurement

This course examines the processes for gathering, interpreting, and presenting compelling digital data. Students will learn to use digital public opinion polling, specialized reports, social media platforms, digital analysis tools, and news aggregators to explain market research, audience trends, and social conversations. Students will also create data visualization tools to streamline data presentation into succinct, engaging formats.

Note: Students must have completed foundation courses MPMC 600 and 602 to register for this elective course. This course is cross listed with MPPR-506-01 and MPJO-506-01.

Digital Marketing

In this fast-paced course, we will examine the fundamentals of digital marketing. The course will provide a solid foundation for students to develop a cohesive digital marketing plan, including the strategies, tools and tactics that digital marketers employ. You will learn how to create a digital marketing strategy and translate that strategy into tactical objectives, goals, tasks, and measurements to build brand awareness, drive leads and awareness, and increase sales. Topics include online/display advertising, search engine marketing (organic and paid), social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, mobile marketing and website development.

IMC Campaign Planning

In today's ever-fragmented media world, it's never been harder, or more important, to develop a strong, integrated brand strategy to connect with people. From soft drinks to computers to the presidential election campaigns, managing a brand relationship with your audience is critical. In this class, students will learn how strategies are developed and explore how different communications disciplines can and should work together. You will learn the principles and practice of developing an integrated marketing communications plan using the Georgetown model – a building block for success in MPS IMC and in your career. There will be an emphasis on thinking creatively and strategically about business problems, as well as the importance of humanity and intuition in a data-driven world.

Note: Foundation course requirement for the IMC program. A minimum grade of "B" is required to pass.

IMC Consulting

In this course, students will learn how to use their marketing and communications skills as consultants to help organizations improve their performance. The course emphasizes the role of marketing and focuses on how marketers can use their specific skills and knowledge to help clients succeed.

Note: Students must have completed foundation courses MPMC 600 & MPMC 602 to register for this elective course.

In Search of the Big Idea

The search for the "Big Idea" is part of advertising legend. But how relevant is this quest in a time of data-driven decision making? And how does this play out across today’s noisy media landscape? In this course, students will learn the communication building blocks of strategy, insights, and ideas. Starting with research-based insights that lead to a strategy, students will have the opportunity to flex their creative muscles to generate "big ideas.” At the end of the class, students will gain experience in balancing creativity with strategy in ways that will move audiences.

Note: This course is cross-listed with MPPR-702-01.

Marketing for Entrepreneurs

Increasingly, entrepreneurship is a growth engine for the global economy – marketing is a crucial element that defines the success or failure of a fledgling business. This highly interactive class will explore business structures including how to define, identify and quantify opportunities and target markets. It will also cover key branding and marketing strategies necessary to launch, grow and maintain a small business. Bring your business ideas and be ready to learn how to market those visions into reality.

Note: Students must have completed foundation courses MPMC 600 & MPMC 602 to register for this elective course.

MPS IMC Internship I

This one-credit course is designed to give credit for students doing an internship with an organization that requires them to receive credit. The internships should be substantive and have the goal of providing relevant industry experience, portfolio items or other professional work for students to use when looking for jobs. This course is also meant as a way to help support students who are doing internships. Students are expected to check in every week with the instructor about their experience so that the instructor can give guidance for the internship and for working within a professional organization.

Note: Students must have completed foundation courses MPMC 600 & MPMC 602 to register for this elective course. Extensive, documented academic activity and experiential learning outside of the classroom (min. 6-8 hours per week) is required. Program Approval is required. This course is cross-listed with MPJO-860-01.

Personal Branding

Thought leadership and personal branding are two essential, yet often ambiguous ingredients in a career strategy. This course will arm students with the resources to evaluate, improve, and employ personal branding strategies for themselves and for key members of their organizational team. The course will discuss personal branding strategies in both digital and event contexts – including social media platforms, presentations, and networking opportunities.

Note: Students must have completed foundation courses MPMC 600 & MPMC 602 to register for this elective course. This course is cross listed with MPPR-891-01 and MPJO-891-01.

Purpose Brands

This course introduces students to business fundamentals of brands with “purpose” and the critical role they play in the future of business and society. Students will develop a conceptual understanding of purpose-driven branding and its role in corporate social responsibility, nonprofit brand strategy, and social and environmental impact communications. They will learn how to develop a purpose brand, manage it within the communications, public relations, employee engagement, advertising and marketing realm, and integrate it across an organization. In addition, they will learn how to establish processes to communicate and report on the social and environmental impact of a brand from a client and management perspective.

The Brand Concept

What is a brand? What is the definition of a great brand? Why do some brands survive generation after generation while others fail after a short shelf life? This course will explore the core principles of branding. You will learn how brands compete in an environment full of choices for consumers, and the tactics they employ to be best in class. Using a consumer-centric approach, you will learn how to think critically and creatively about measuring, sustaining, building, and defending brands in today’s competitive environment.

Note: Foundation course requirement for the IMC program.

The Creative Brief

The creative brief is the road map to a powerful IMC campaign. What does it take to marry business concerns with creative considerations? In this course, students will learn how to navigate this delicate balance and bring both sides of their brains to this important task. There are a number of different formats for creative briefs that make the job easier. Students will learn about the core components of a creative brief and gain exposure to different approaches, particularly those adopted by creative agencies. At the end of the course, students will appreciate that a strong creative brief is only as good as the consumer insights that drive it.