Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

This is a generic view of my Integrated Marketing Communication course Syllabus, variations to the syllabus are made each semester.

Instructor Information

Instructor:                     Dino Villegas, PhD.

Office:                            Rawls College of Business/ Room W356

E-mail:                           dino.villegas@ttu.edu

Website:                         dinovillegas.com 

Virtual Office Hours: By Appointment, you will find a link to a calendar for appointments on blackboard.

Description and Course Background

According to the AMA, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) definition is “the planning process designed to assure that all brand contacts received by a customer or prospect for a product, service, or organization are relevant to that person and consistent over time.” In this class, we will work under this framework.

The purpose of this class is to provide you with the knowledge and tools to be able to build an IMC plan successfully for the real world. The class is a mix of practice and theory. We will work with an actual client and participate in a competition.

This class is design to be highly participative, you will be working in teams as consulting companies, and participating in two competitions. The expectation of class discussion is very high. You are expected to read the chapters before every class and be prepared for class discussion.

Textbook

Integrated Marketing Communication – Second Edition with KHQ study App – ISBN 9781792423345

Dino Villegas

The book is available in a digital version at the lowest price from the Publishing Company Website.

Other requirements

• As a team, you will need access to canva.com. Some teams may need access to a Social Listening tool or Data Analytics Tools. You will find the instructions for access for these and other tools in the respective module folder during the semester.
• During the semester, you will have to work in teams. Also, you may need to present via us to a client and the professor. For this, you need a computer with internet access, a microphone, and a camera.
• We will be using Top Hat for class participation and attendance. Instructions will be posted in Blackboard and discussed in class.

Student Learning Objectives for This Course

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

1. Analyze and identify possible underline questions of real marketing problems.
2. Distinguish and decide on marketing research methods, according to the context, marketing problem and limitations.
3. Design, develop and manage a research project, including managing quantitative or qualitative data, for a specific marketing problem.
4. Interpret marketing research findings.
5. Recommend business strategic solutions from marketing research data findings.
6. Effectively communicate marketing research findings and business solutions to marketing executives.
7. Work on a marketing problem in a collaborative environment.

Student Learning Objectives for the BBA in Marketing

1. Creative Solutions: Develop creative solutions to Marketing problems.
2. Define and Assess: Define market segments and assess attractiveness.
3. Application: Apply Marketing knowledge to manage relationships.
4. Ethical Decisions: Identify ethical content and decisions.
5. Marketing Plan: Identify components of a Marketing plan.
6. Globalization: Identify the implications of globalization.
7. Role of Marketing: Explain the role of Marketing in the organization and society

Attendance

You are expected to attend all class sessions and to have to read the assigned material or cases prior to each week. If you miss more than 9 days, you will get 25 points discounts (exception to this rule may apply with doctor’s note, official University business or specific professor permission) from the total points of the class.

If you need to be excused from a class, please send me an email with the following subject line:

“Attendance Integrated Marketing Communications” (I reserve the right to accept or refuse the excused depending the circumstances). I will review this email just if you have more than 9 absences.

Participation/Class Dynamics

The course is design to encourage critical thinking, active participation and class discussion, with a balance mix between theory, tools and practice in Sales Management. In order to achieve this balance, we are going to use a variety of pedagogical techniques, including lectures and practical assignments.

Some of the activities that we are going to do in class are:

• Readings: You have to read one chapter a week (unless stated differently in the class schedule), please read the material before class.
• Exams: We have 3 exams to evaluate your understanding of the book material. Exams will be done in The Rawls Testing Center according to the dates in Blackboard, Exams open at 8 AM and close at 5 PM. You have 50 minutes to complete the exams.
• KHQ study App: Your book comes with a study App, the app provides access to flashcards, quizzes, and study sections for the book.
• Team Assignments: You and your team will work on 6 assignments during the semester. Some of these assignments can be used in your final project.
• Lectures and Workshops: The class consists of short lectures followed by class discussions and workshops.
• Participation Cards: Participation cards are available for class participation. You will need to have 10 PCs at the end of the semester. If you have more than 10 cards, every extra Participation Card will be extra credit.

Each team will meet with the client during the first two weeks of classes.  During the semester each team will have two report meetings with the marketing professor  and one mid semester presentation with the client. At the end of the semester each team will have a formal final presentation in front of the client. 

Competitions

You need to participate in one of these two competitions:

The Digital Marketing Competition

International Digital Marketing Competition for College students with a real-life client. You will have to form a 2 to 4 members team for the competition. You can find more information on the website of the competition.

Hub City Student Advertising Competition

A collaborative competition where participants will team up with students from across Texas Tech, South Plains College, and LCU. The competition is on Nov. 5 and will require all day. You will have to create a competition report for the class.

Instructions for reports and competitions will be discussed in class and posted on Blackboard. Links to the competitions and other instructions are posted on Blackboard.

Modules and IMC Class Structure

Module	Class	Chapter Reading	Assignments
1 – Introduction to IMC	Syllabus Day	Chapter 1	Team Assignment- Structure and Organization
	IMC Definitions
	IMC Challenges
	Project Briefs and Team Selections
	Project Instructions
	Competition Instructions (James Hodgins Presentations)
No Class Day
2 – Understanding brand Context	Research Workshop	Chapter 2	Team Assignment – Research Plan
	Digital Research Workshop
3- Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning	Segmentation Workshop	Chapter 3
	Targeting and Customer Persona Workshop
	Positioning Workshop
4 – Brand Creation and Development	The Brand Message	Chapter 4	Team Assignment -Consulting Company Branding
	Branding Workshop
	Logo and slogan workshop
5- IMC Mix Planning	Exam 1 (Opens Sept. 27 Close Sept. 28)	Chapter 5	Team Assignment -Projects Goals
	Career Fair/Optional Meeting with professor
	IMC Planning Workshop
6 – Advertising the Brand	Message Workshop	Chapter 6	Team Assignment -Project Advertising
	Media Planning
	Project Workshop
7 – The Digital Brand	DM and SEO Workshop	Chapter 7	Team Assignment – content Strategy
	Content Generation Workshop
	Mid-Semester Presentation
Mid Semester Presentation	Exam 2 (Opens Oct. 18 Close Oct. 19) and MSP	N/A	Mid-Semester Presentations
	Mid-Semester Presentation
	Mid-Semester Presentation
8 – The Social Brand	Social Media Workshop	Chapter 8	Team Assignment -Project Social Media
	DM Competition Workshop
	DM Competition Workshop
9 – The Public Brand	PR Workshop	Chapter 9	Competitions Reports (Individual)
	Advertising Competition Workshop
	Advertising Competition (all day)/ No Class
10 – Promoting the Brand / 11 One to One Brand	Sales Promotion Workshop	Chapter 10 and 11	Team Assignment -Project Sales Funnel
	Sales Funnel Workshop
	Exam 3 (Opens Nov 12 Close Nov 15)
Final Presentations	Project Workshop		Final Project
	Final Presentation
	Final Presentation
	Final Presentation
	11/24 to 11/26 Break
	Final Presentation
	Final Presentation

Grading Format (Operating Procedure 34.12)

This course has a grading of 620 total points, allocated as letter grades in the following manner:

90 – 100 %        =           A

80 – 89 %          =           B

70 – 79 %          =           C

60 – 69 %          =           D

0 – 59 %            =           F