On-Campus Course Schedule for Spring 2021

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 within 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.

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 within the program. A minimum grade of "B" is required to pass.

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. As of Fall 2018, students must receive a grade of "B" or better in this course.

Design for Communicators

This course teaches foundational and practical applications of visual communication in the digital environment. Students learn to apply basic typography, color strategies, digital imaging, and design principles to critiquing as well as creating visual content. Students should have basic working knowledge of Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator to take this course. Please note that MPMC-720 Visual Communications and MPMC-878 Design for Communicators cover the same content. Students should not take both of these classes at any point. Visual Communications is only offered online and Design for Communicators is only offered on campus.

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

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 & MPMC 602 to register for this elective course. This course is cross listed with MPPR 506-02 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 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.

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.

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 the foundation courses (MPMC 600 & MPMC 602) to register for this elective course. Extensive, documented academic activity and experiential learning outside of the classroom is required. Program Approval is required. This course is cross-listed with MPJO-860-01 and MPPR-863-01.

MPS IMC Internship II

Note: Students must have completed the foundation courses (MPMC 600 & MPMC 602) as well as MPMC 773 Internship I to register for this elective course. Extensive, documented academic activity and experiential learning outside of the classroom is required. Program Approval is required. This course is cross-listed with MPJO-861-01 and MPPR-873-01.

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.

Activating Audiences for Causes

Every cause is driven by it’s supporters — from donors, to volunteer leaders, to advocates. We’ll use the latest in behavioral economics, program analytics, and brain science to show how you can inspire your audiences to support a non-profit cause and do good in the world. This course will explore: - how people are “wired” to support causes, and how to best persuade them to increase their support; - how age impacts what people want from the causes they support; - best practices for strategies and tactics that non-profits (and progressive brands) use to drive support. In the end, students will know how to craft (and evaluate) a pragmatic conversion strategy -- acquisition, conversion, activation, engagement and retention -- that goes beyond just informing and educating, but actually drives behavior.

Note: This course is cross-listed with MPPR 906. Students must have completed the core and foundation courses (MPMC 600 and 602) to register for this elective course.

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 Management of IMC

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.

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

The Storytelling Lab

History has shown that stories and storytelling are inextricably linked to what it means to be human. Before we had formal communication, storytelling was the method through which we made sense of the world and that core function of the phenomenon has never changed. We dream in stories, buy products and support charitable causes because of stories, vote for candidates in part because of their storytelling ability, and, yes, even close our office doors and gossip thanks to the help of stories! This experiential and client-facing course will provide students with an opportunity to think critically about the endless ways in which storytelling can be utilized in modern ways for both professional and personal usage and then apply that knowledge through practical applications. To help them do so, students will work with a variety of clients, engage with guest storytellers and attend local field trips in order to analyze, create and practice a wide range of storytelling strategies.

Note: Students must have completed foundation courses MPMC 600 & MPMC 602 to register for this elective course. This course is cross listed with MPPR-895-01 and MPJO-895-01.