Business Administration Department
Spring
2008
BA
344 Advertising Management Office:
219D
Sec. A: Weds.
6:30-9p.m. p.m. (Duffy 105) Email:
Glantos@stonehill.edu
Dr. Geoffrey P.
Website: http://faculty.stonehill.edu/glantos.index.htm Cell phone: 508.369.4324
(evenings,
Department
Administrative Assistant: Mrs. Carolyn weekends)
McGuinness Duffy
217, 508.565.1463, Messages
can be left on either phone
cmcguiness@stonehill.edu
any time
Fax: 508.565.1444
Office Hours: Mon. 1:30-4 p.m.
Tues. 9-11a.m
Weds. 10 a.m.-noon; 4-5:30 p.m.
Thurs.
10 a.m.-noon
Fri. 10 a.m.-noon
Other times by
appointment or informal drop-in
E-mail, voicemail, and instant messages 24/7
Textbook: O’Guinn, Thomas; Allen, Chris T.; and
Semenik, Richard J., Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion,
4e,
Additional Required
COURSE DESCRIPTION
"Nature and scope of advertising
and its place within marketing strategy decisions and society. Examines the advertising management function
in its historical, social, legal, and economic contexts. Studies methods of planning, preparing,
placing, and evaluating an advertising message in the applicable media. Advertising principles are applied in the
development of an advertising campaign project.
Prerequisite or
corequisite: BA340" - Stonehill College Catalogue
The course is designed for you to
develop an appreciation of the advertising process as it relates to the
advertiser, the advertising agency, the advertiser’s customers, and the
public. Although BA 344 allows you the
opportunity to gain insight into the total advertising process, the approach
will be primarily from the perspective of marketing management rather than
solely the creative advertising people.
I expect that at the course’s conclusion, not only will you find
yourself looking at and analyzing ads differently, but perhaps your perceptions
of the advertising industry and the mass media will be more realistic.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is designed primarily for
students considering becoming either an advertising practitioner or a marketing
manager who works with, evaluates, and approves the work of advertising professionals.
The course will provide you with an
understanding of:
1. Basic
concepts of and terminology in advertising theory and practice;
2. The
advertising process from a managerial perspective, including an ability to apply advertising concepts to solve
advertising management problems;
3. Creative
strategy and execution—the principles for conceptualizing and producing
effective
advertisements;
4. Media
strategy and media buying—the principles for effectively and efficiently
planning placement of advertisements in the communications media; and
5.
Advertising’s societal,
ethical, and legal issues.
The course will enable you to:
6. Become
better able to analyze advertising as a consumer;
7. Develop
your written communication skills and ability;
8. Improve your ability to think and write
critically and creatively;
9. Develop
your oral communication skills and ability to orally explain and defend your
ideas;
10. Learn
to work effectively and efficiently in a team situation;
11. Integrate
your Christian faith with learning (optional but encouraged).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
You will achieve the first six objectives: 1) by carefully reading and studying the assigned reading, and 2) by attending class, participating in classroom discussions, and reviewing and reflecting on what you learned from classroom lecture and discussion. You will realize the seventh objective when you 3) select and complete a brief written assignment applying course concepts. You will accomplish the first, fourth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth goals when you 4) complete a team advertising campaign project for an organization or for a new product or service of your choice. You will fulfill the ninth goal when you 5) participate in classroom discussions of course material and cases and if you participate in an optional in-class debate (in lieu of the written assignment). Finally, you will attain the last (but not least) goal if you elect to pay attention ton opening class devotions from How to Stay Christian in College by J. Budziszewski and participate with me in evaluating course material from a Christian worldview as informed by the Scriptures. The written assignment, advertising campaign assignment, and debates are detailed in separate handouts.
CLASSROOM FORMAT
Class sessions will involve a variety
of teaching techniques. Much of this
time will be devoted to lecture on and discussion of material related to the
assigned reading. I will present the
topics in a supplemental (to the assigned readings) and illustrative manner
(transparencies, DVDs, CDs, videos,
audios, pass-arounds, product props, website visitations
etc.) to permit you to better understand the textbook topics. These presentations will be integrated with
classroom discussions to encourage active (not just passive) learning.
Just as you expect me to come to class
prepared to discuss the assigned topic(s) for the day, I expect you to come to
class prepared to participate in the discussion. In order to get ready for active classroom
involvement, you should read the assigned material prior to attending class so
that you are able to raise insightful questions, answer my questions, and intelligently
discuss the day’s topics[1].
NOTE: If you are unavoidably late
to a class, you should notify me immediately after class so that you may be
marked late instead of absent. Chronic
tardiness will result in a lower class participation grade and perhaps refusal
to be admitted to the classroom.
My general philosophy is that learning
by doing is the best way to master advertising principles, concepts, and
techniques. Regular assignments—readings
and discussion questions/exercises—will be scheduled for each class
session. Although you won’t hand in
homework for formal grading purposes, it is important to work through the
assigned material prior to class. The
way to success in this course is to be an active learner/participant and not to
be a passive lecture note-taker. One
recommended approach to dealing with the regular assignments is to form an
informal study group that meets and discusses assignments prior to class.
You will participate in informal
classroom discussions of assigned end-of-chapter discussion questions as well
as of in-class group creative exercises.
Audio-visual presentations will be discussed to illustrate applications
of advertising techniques and to provide further catalysts for classroom
discussions. An advertising practitioner
will be guest speaking to make the theoretical material “come alive” and to
provide a further catalyst for classroom discussions. Some students might opt to participate in an
in-class debate on a controversial advertising issue. In short, there will be a wide variety of
in-class activities, so you won’t want to miss a single class!
STUDENT EVALUATION
You will decide within certain parameters
what your workload will be and how you will be evaluated. Standard student evaluation will be based on
performance on each of the course requirements in the following heaviest-possible-workload
standard
grading plan. Note: This is “choose-your-weight” grading. Each student using
this plan will select his or her own weight for each course requirement
within the ranges shown in the third column below. For instance, you can count the first exam as
low as 10%, as high as 20%, or any percentage point in between (e.g.,
18%). Percentages must add up to 100%.
Requirement Date(s)
of Completion Relative
Importance
1. Exam #1 Feb.
20 10-20%
Exam #2 April
2 10-20%
Final exam May
7. 15-25%
2. Advertising
active Group #1
– Feb. 6 5-15%
involvement learning Group #2 – Feb. 20
written assignments Group #3 – Feb. 27
Group
#4 – April 2 Group
#5 – April 9
Group
#6 – April 9
Group
#7 – April 30
Group
#8 – April 30
OR OR
Classroom debate Debate proposal – Feb. 13 15-25% - (extra 10%
Debate dates to be arranged for weight deducted from
second half of semester another course require-
ment with lowest grade)
3. Team advertising campaign Form teams – Jan. 30
term
paper project Proposal
– Feb. 13 20-30%
Interim
peer evaluations – Feb. 27
Progress
report – March 26
Peer
evaluation forms – April 30
Finished
report – May 2, 10:30 a.m.
4. Class participation and
attendance
Each
class session 10-20%
100%
However, you
may also choose one of the following three nonstandard grading options, each of
which evaluates you in on exams and on the ad campaign term paper project plus
none or only one (instead of two) of the other areas (i.e., (1) written
assignment or debate and (2) class participation):
Option 1:Exams and
term paper only:
Exam #1 – 15-25%
Exam #2 – 15-25%
Exam #3 – 20-30%
Ad campaign term paper project – 30-40%
Option 2: Exams, term paper, and either a written assignment or debate:
Exam #1 – 12-22%
Exam #2 – 12-22%
Exam #3 – 18-28%
Ad campaign term paper project – 25-35%
Written assignment – 8-18%
OR
Debate – 18-28% (with 10% weight deducted
from another course requirement with
lowest grade)
Option 3: Exams, term
paper, and class participation:
Exam #1 – 11-21%
Exam #2 – 11-21%
Exam #3 – 17-27%
Ad campaign term paper project – 23-33%
Class participation – 13-23%
You must let me
know your individualized grading plan by Jan. 30. After that date you are locked in to your
plan—no changes permitted! The default
plan is the heaviest-possible-workload standard grading plan.
GRADING POLICY
The formal grading system serves two purposes--motivation and evaluation. Criteria used in grading performance on the above course requirements include mastery of course material, oral and written expression skills, originality/creativity, critical thinking skills, and problem-solving ability.
Examinations
Material included in examinations will be based primarily on material covered in classroom lectures and discussions, including material from videos and case discussions that is conceptual (not factual information from these materials, such as names and dates) and material presented by guest speakers. Secondarily, exams will cover assigned readings in the textbook, readings book, and articles. There is much more material in your textbook and related assignments than is possible to cover and develop in detail in class. Our class discussions will touch on and further develop only some of the most important issues. Thus, although tests will place primary emphasis on topics that are covered in both the readings and class, they will also cover the core material and key concepts from your assigned reading and end-of-chapter questions not covered in class. Pay special attention to chapter learning objectives, key terms, and end-of-chapter questions for each assigned chapter. You should integrate the lectures, class discussions, and assigned readings to best prepare for exams.
The first two exams will each focus on material from the particular one-third of the course just covered. The final exam will encompass primarily the last portion of the course (approximately two-thirds) but will also cover the first two sections of the course (approximately one-third).
Each exam will consist of a format emphasizing application of concepts learned. Each exam will include the following types of questions: (1) concepts (definitions/explanations and examples), (2) conceptual/descriptive short answers, and (3) situational applied problem-solving short answers. See the exam template handout and practice exams from a previous semester on my website, to be covered in review sessions held outside of regular class time. All exams from this semester remain in my office after being graded and reviewed in class; feel free to stop by and review/discuss them with me any time during the semester.
No make-up examinations will be
administered except under unusual circumstances. If something prevents you from attending an
exam or from turning in an assignment on time, you are expected to notify me
and alternative arrangements will be made BEFORE
the exam or class period during which the assignment is to be submitted. If you are unable to contact me
directly, please leave a voice mail or email message as to where you can be
contacted. A written medical
excuse will be accepted as a legitimate reason for missing an assignment or
exam and being allowed to take a makeup exam or turn in a paper late.
Compelling reasons, such as illness or death in the immediate family, are
generally acceptable while, for example, outside activities or more than one
exam in a day, are not. (Please plan
accordingly.) If I am not contacted in
advance, I will reserve the right to assign a failing grade for the exam
missed.
If class is cancelled on a scheduled
exam day, the exam will be given the next scheduled class day.
I strongly recommend that any student who earns a test score below 75 on the first (or any other) exam see me within a week of getting that test back for a private tutorial session. This will help us diagnose why you did poorly, set goals for the next exam, and determine study strategies to help you improve your grade for that following exam.
Written Papers
Requirements for written papers (written
assignment and term paper) are as follows:
1. All written material must be typed (double-spaced, standard margins, 10-to-12 point font
size, 8-1/2 x 11" white paper).
2. The title assignment’s title, your student identification number for this course (no names, please—student numbers will be assigned), the course name and number plus section letter (A), and the professor’s name should appear on the cover page. For term papers use your name, not student identification number.
3. Papers received after the due date will
be penalized 5 points (out of 100) for each weekday that they are late, unless (a) prior arrangements have been
made with me (including taking an Incomplete for the semester) or (b) unusual
unforeseen circumstances arise. Grades
on late assignments might be adjusted downward, depending on the
circumstances. If you are absent from
class when an assignment is due, you may e-mail me your paper (as an attachment
in MS-Word format), fax it to me at 508.565.1444, or drop it off at my office
by 5 p.m.
4.
If you have a writing problem, or if
English is not your native language, please come see me so we can work on such
problems.
5.
I am available during office hours to
discuss and review outlines or drafts of your assignments. You may also seek assistance from the
professional tutor in the
6.
See your Holt Handbook for help
with formats. You may select any referencing format you wish,
but be consistent in your usage of a format.
7.
Other more detailed requirements are explained
on separate handouts explaining each written
assignment.
You will have an optional opportunity
to revise your active involvement learning written exercise to improve your
grade. You will have one week after
receiving your graded paper to improve it according to my suggestions on each
of the grading criteria. You are to hand
in both the original graded paper and the revision. I will then average the grade of the original
and the revision together. For instance,
a paper that earns a 70 the first time and a 90 on the revision would receive
an 80. (Note: I usually return papers
during the class following the class in which they were handed in).
Classroom Participation
Class sessions should be treated as
scheduled business meetings: Come prepared to participate in the
activities. I will reserve the right to
hold pop quizzes any time that the class as a whole appears unprepared for
class. Pop quiz grades, if necessary,
will be factored in as part of your three exam grades. If you stay awake and act prepared and
interested, no pop quizzes will be necessary.
It is vitally important that you play
an active role in the learning process.
As a result, your participation in class discussions will be encouraged,
expected, and rewarded (quality, not just quantity!). The "4 P’s" of student involvement
in class are: 1) Preparation (read the assigned material), 2) Presence (attend
class), 3) Promptness (don't be late and thereby disrupt the class), and 4)
Participation (get actively involved).
Specifically, classroom participation
grading will be based upon:
a) Volunteering answers to my questions
and/or being called upon by me to answer my questions;
b) Asking questions of me which indicate
awareness of and interest in the topic under lecture/discussion and/or which
challenge my and other students' thinking;
c) Participating in discussions of lecture
material, end-of-chapter questions, ad/commercial evaluation exercises, and
audio-visual materials;
d) Relating your own relevant personal
experiences, examples, and insights regarding the discussion topic;
e) Participating in in-class group creative
assignments;
f) Being able to spot an occasional
"red flag," i.e., a statement or conclusion I present that
contradicts the assigned reading;
g) Participating as an audience member
during debates (if held); and
h) Attendance.
In addition to soliciting your
voluntary participation, I will frequently "cold call" on quiet
students, even those who have opted not to be graded on class participation. Please keep in mind there is a difference
between not being prepared to respond and simply wishing to be less
verbal. Students who show a pattern of
not being prepared will be downgraded.
After each class period I will grade
you on a one-to-six scale for your daily participation: 1=100, 2=90, 3=80,
4=70, 5=60, 6=50. Criteria I will
consider in evaluating your classroom performance include: preparation (content
mastery), oral communication skills, interaction (constructive criticism and
building on and reacting to others' ideas), creativity (generation of insights
and applications), and attitude (enthusiasm and interest). And
always remember: It is okay to be wrong when you participate, but it is not
okay to not participate! I value your
efforts equally with the "correctness" of your thoughts.
Although I recognize that some
students are naturally shy and/or reluctant to speak out in a classroom
situation, it is important that quiet students overcome these characteristics
and learn to actively participate in class, since oral communication and
ability and willingness to participate in discussions and to respond
extemporaneously to questions are vital in the business world as well as in
life. Hence, shyness and/or reluctance
to speak out will not be accepted as
excuses for poor oral classroom participation.
If you are quiet and have trouble speaking up in class, see me. We can develop some ways for you to improve
your class participation grade (e.g., for a given chapter, turn in written
answers for the end-of-chapter questions, questions accompanying boxed
exhibits, or questions to a case, or turn in a list of definitions of key
terms).
Regarding
attendance, since
the success of the course depends in part upon active
participation by class members, you must be regularly present to participate in
the classroom discussions. Attending
classes reflects your personal commitment to learning and your willingness to
participate in and contribute to your own and your classmates' development of
good advertising and marketing skills.
Therefore, attendance will be regularly taken and will be factored into
your classroom participation grade. Two
unexcused missed classes are considered acceptable, but each additional
unexcused absence will lower your final class participation grade by three
points. A medically-excused absence, in
writing, does not count as a missed class.
You may miss a limited number of classes due to varsity sports
obligations. However, work-related
absences (e.g., business trips, working extra hours, etc.) do ordinarily count as missed classes unless your
supervisor provides me with a compelling written reason. If you miss a class, you are responsible to
get notes (find an attentive and generous classmate who will allow you to copy
notes—mine are undecipherable), important announcements, handouts, etc.
Course Grade
All work evaluated will receive a numerical grade. Final course letter grades will be assigned according to the following schedule:
Grade Letter/Definition Percent Grade Letter/Definition Percent
4.0 A outstanding 95-100 2.3 C+ 77-79
3.7 A- 90-94 2.0 C satisfactory 73-76
3.3 B+ 87-89 1.7 C- 70-72
3.0 B superior 83-86 1.0 D passing but
unsatisfactory
2.7 B- 80-82 0.0 F failure <60
Note: The letter/definition column is defined in The Hill Book. For instance, a "B" is considered a
superior grade, not just a good
grade.
Final numerical scores will be a
weighted average of individual numerical grades, determined
by multiplying the relative weights by the numerical grade earned for each
course requirement. There will be
no curves on individual course exams
or on other graded course projects. At
the completion of the course, the course average will be computed for the class
as a whole. If the final class average
turns out to be less than a 75, points will be added to each student's
numerical grade so that the final class average is a 75. If this average is greater than a 75, no adjustment to the class average will
be made.
In fairness to all students, no individual will be allowed an
opportunity to do additional work for extra credit in the course to make up for
poor grades, missed exams, or other problems.
Consequently, you should plan your study needs and time well in advance
in order to earn the grade you wish when the standard opportunities are
available. There are a sufficient number
of requirements in this course for you to make up points should you do poorly
in a given area.
However, I will add points to your
lowest weighted grading requirement (in most grading plans this is class
participation) for the following “extra credit” contributions to classroom
materials, if I consider them
useful:
Five-to-ten minute introductory office
visit during the first two weeks of classes -
2 points
New products or package sample - 2 points
Interesting advertisement - 1 point
Very interesting examples
of one or two concepts discussed in
class or the textbook - 1 point
Interesting article on advertising
- 1 point
Videotape/DVD on advertising (e.g., -
2 points plus cost reimbursement
segments of "20/20," "60
Minutes," “Dateline,”
and other news magazine TV shows)
Sponsor ("Today's class is
brought to you by…") - 1 point
Corridor conversation question - 1 point
Great unanswered question
(goofy or serious)
- 1 point
Part III (applied) test question
and answer - 1 point
Recommending
a quest speaker - 3 points
(a
marketing professional who agrees to
speak to a class or the
Marketing/Management Association)
Making a brief presentation of a current article
on advertising to the class (including relating the
article to topics in
this course) and leading any
discussion which might follow - 2 to 4 points
Attending a relevant educational event on
or off campus - 2 points
Limit
of one each of these “goodies” per student customer.
Some general hints on how to succeed
in this course, based on prior years' student evaluations of the course: keep
up with the reading (and outline it); be able to define the key terms for each
assigned chapter (learn them, don’t memorize them); come to class regularly and
actively participate; take good notes and review those notes within the next
day or two (i.e., don't cram for exams at the last minute); study for exams
using the class lecture/discussion outline and transparency packet; and print
out old tests from the professor’s website early in the semester and work on them
throughout the semester.
SUPPLEMENTAL
READING
The following is a list of recommended
scholarly journals and trade periodicals that most closely follow current
research and events in the advertising world.
They might be of help in getting ideas for your written work or prove to
be useful reference sources later in your career.