Faculty
Professor Thomas R. Duncan
Objectives
Overview of the Course
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, it became obvious that the traditional methods for using advertising and promotion to create and manage brand identity, knowledge, and brand equity were no longer working effectively. The reasons the old ways no longer as effective as they used to be was because of media fragmentation, increased expertise of the “below the line” MC functions, the increased use and sophistication of computer technology, and, of course, the increasing impact of the internet and the significant increase in interactive, two-way communication possibilities.
The methodology that was created to manage the new brand communication landscape was Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC). This new concept and process showed how the 4Cs needed to be added to the 4Ps, why we need to pay more attention to brand contact points, and why we need to manage customer expectations and experiences (rather than trying to manage customers themselves). In essence, IMC recognizes that everything a company does, and sometimes what it doesn’t do, can send a powerful brand message.
Some people look at IMC as a more modern and sophisticated way to do “advertising.” This is not incorrect and underlines the fact that much of IMC is still about “advertising,” it just goes much deeper and is much wider in scope. You have probably noticed that I have put the word advertising in quotes. This is because the popular meaning of the word includes all the marketing communication functions that we look at separately in IMC and then strategically combine. Because “advertising” is so much a part of IMC, it is worth stepping back and taking a look at “advertising” (in the popular sense) in order to appreciate the value of IMC.
“Advertising” is directly responsible for how most people spend the major portion of their waking hours. It is nearly a half trillion dollar industry worldwide. And it attracts all types and levels of workers—from the most creative and strategic to the lowest sleaze bags and con artists. Many who want to get into “advertising” often work free for months in hopes of getting a job. But at the same time, when people are asked to evaluate careers, “advertising” is just above selling used cars.
So what’s the big attraction (for those of us who don’t mind being seen as being just above used car selling)? There are many and I don’t claim to know them all, but here are the ones I do know about.
For some “advertising” is a surrogate for being on stage—in the limelight. When people work on a brand, they identify with the brand, and its “advertising” becomes part of them. Therefore when ads and other promotional brand messages appear on TV, radio, in magazine and billboards, a part of them is there too—on stage. Another reason is the challenge. The majority of “advertising” messages are not very good and some are down right insulting, as I’m sure you have noticed. Thus, the opportunity to do something that works and that you can be proud off, is always sitting out there. Finally, for me, “advertising” is a way of being in sales without all the constant face-to-face rejection. When you are part of any kind of halfway decent promotional effort, you will sell something. It may not always pay out, but at least you changed some people’s behavior.
What this means when it comes to studying “advertising” is that the learning experience can be interesting, informative, and really fun. Having said that, however, I will warn you right now that this course spends the majority of the time talking about what is behind the “advertising” curtain. When most people think about advertising, they think about the creative side--the clever slogans and attention getting pictures and illustrations. For these clever slogans and graphics to be effective, however, requires a lot of research, strategic thinking, and a good understanding of customer behavior. It also requires knowing and being able to apply basic industry practices. These are the things we’ll talk about most, but I will do my best to link them to end results and thus the fun part of “advertising.”
Regardless of the career you choose, having a basic understanding of advertising and IMC will be extremely helpful for several reasons:
Marketing communication uses many of the basic communication skills that are found in both personal and business activities
For most media, advertising is the primary source of revenue which insures editorial freedom by paying the salaries and other bills necessary to operate the media.
As a consumer, you are exposed to approximately 1,500 commercial messages every day. You need to understand how and what companies and organizations are doing to persuade you.
Because marketing communication is so public and pervasive, it is increasingly a major business and social concern.
For those of you who are not marketing majors, this course will provide a basic understanding of persuasive skills which can be used no matter what vocation you choose. For those who are marketing majors, the course will provide you with a basic understanding of the marketing communication practices, concepts, and language.
In this course we will discuss all the major forms of marketing communication such as mass media advertising, PR, sales promotion, direct response marketing, sponsorship and events, packaging, customer service, and personal selling.
Course Objectives
This course is designed to provide you with
an understanding of how the major types of marketing communication messages are created and delivered. This means you should come away knowing the strengths and weakness of the major marketing communication functions (e.g. advertising, PR, direct response, sales promotion, packaging) and the major media used by them.
a theoretical basis and strategic understanding of how to build and manage the marketing communications that impact customer relationships and brands.
an understanding and appreciation for the IMC concept and process
hands on experience analyzing and making recommendations for real company situations.
Course Structure
Because this is a relatively small class, it will be conducted as a seminar rather than a lecture class. What this means is, you and your classmates must do most of the talking! As I am sure you have heard before, you remember 10% of what you hear, 20% of what you see, but 90% of what you participate in. Therefore, class time is your opportunity to “participate in” the subject of the day. To make this class successful, you will need to
ask and answer a lot of questions
challenge what you hear when it doesn’t make sense to you
share you work experiences and other relevant thoughts and ideas
As a survey course, we will cover a lot of subjects quickly. As with all professional areas, marketing communication has its own language which you will be expected to learn. And because the textbook has over 700 pages, I won’t be presenting a lot of additional topics. What the packet readings and my PP slides will do is present some different perspectives, more examples, and fuller explanations than what might be in the book. As you will learn (if you already don’t know) when we cover media, one principle of communicating a message is message frequency. That principle will be applied to this class—the major topics will receive added frequency to help insure the message is received!
While my mini-lectures will expand on the readings, their objective is to provide you not only with a deeper understanding of the subject, but with a spring board for discussion. To further facilitate discussion, we will use cases so you can apply the various topics to real business situations. If at the end of the quarter you retain the major topics of each chapter in the book, it will have been a successful experience for both of us.
My Teaching Philosophy
Having worked in industry for 15 years and taught graduate students and consulted for nearly 20 years, my philosophy of teaching has evolved to the point where I find a balance of theory and practice provide the most added value for MBA students. It is not enough to simply tell marketplace war stories or just read cases for examples of how to do something. This is because every situation is different. Therefore, in order to learn how to create and manage brands, you need to analyze and deconstruct examples and cases. From these exercises you will begin to get insights into WHY things happen or don’t happen. In other words, you will begin creating your own theories of how branding is done.
What always fascinates me is how often students and professionals are either scared or disinterested in the “T” word—theory. Many say theories are made by pointy-headed academics living in ivory towers who have little or no knowledge of the real world. Others say theories are so far removed from reality they are a waste of time.
To me, however, theories are good. This is because they are basically a conceptual explanation of why something happens. For example, a coupon in a newspaper will result in a sales increase for a brand. The theory explaining this is that an incentive can be used to motivate desired behavior. Thus, by understanding why a coupon works, we can greatly expand how to use incentives.
Theories are the “backrooms” principles and the foundations of best practices. So, we will talk about theories, we will apply theories, and we will test theories. However, will talk most about strategies, principles and practices--the things that good theories produce. And we will do this keeping in mind the whole time that we must sell things and make a profit if we are to stay in business!
Another aspect of my teaching philosophy, especially working with graduate students, is that they—you—often have as much or more current real-world work experience as I do which makes you a valuable asset in our educational experience . To that end, I strongly encourage you and your classmates to share what you have learned from your work experiences. The neat part of this is, I get to learn as much as you do.
Because all of your are business professionals, it is my belief that you are in this class because you want to be here and want to learn about branding. Therefore, I see my role as a facilitator to learning more than a motivator that threatens with tests and grades if you don’t perform in a certain way. Grades are required, but I see their role as providing a comparative evaluation so you will have some idea of your competitive position in a certain discipline—brand management.
I approach marketing and branding from the perspective that a company is a corporate citizen with a social responsibility. I hold this view not as a social do-gooder, but as a pragmatist. Branding is about business sustainability. Because it is virtually impossible to have long-term secrets in business or in any aspects of society today, I strongly believe companies that play it honest and open will be the long-term winners. (If you doubt this, read Collin’s book, Good to Great.) This is why I think a good definition of brand equity is the net sum quantity and quality of its stakeholder relationships (about which we will talk more in class).
Finally, and very important, I think having a sense of humor is critical in learning, and thus in the classroom. If we can’t smile and occasionally laugh together, we are a sorry and boring lot.
Requirements
Course Requirements and Evaluations
There are three primary course requirements. You will demonstrate your competency in IMC by your performance a) in class discussions b) on team case projects, and c) on a final exam.
Team Case Projects
You will have two team case assignments, working in teams of three members each. The first is a “class discussion” case. This will be a 15 minute PP presentation to begin the discussion on the assigned case for that week. The objective is to analyze the case and make recommendations that what we have been reading and discussing. These discussion-starting presentations should be structured along the following lines (suggested times):
Case overview and major challenges (2 minutes)
Strengths and weaknesses relative to the major challenges (3 minutes)
Recommended objectives, strategies and rationales (10 minutes)
Final team project is an annual IMC campaign recommendation for Dunkin’ Donuts which is focused on repositioning the brand and making it more contemporary. The final team project will be evaluated by both the client and myself.
Near the beginning of the quarter I will post on Tuck Stream background for this project. On Monday, April 10 Dunkin’ Donut’s VP of Consumer Insights and Dunkin’ Brands will be on campus to elaborate on this assignment. The presentation should include:
SWOT analysis
Targeting and positioning recommendations
Measurable objectives
Strategies and rationales (most important)
Promotion calendar
Recommended measurement and evaluation methodologies
By no later than 4 pm Thursday of each week, please email to Doreen Aher a one page summary of what you learned from our two class sessions that week.
The final exam will use the short answer essay format and be designed to evaluate your recall and understanding of the basic concepts and practices of IMC. If you have to miss the final exam AND have a valid reason for doing so, you may make it up by writing a 15-page, double spaced, research paper (minimum of 12 journal citations) on a topic assigned by me. (Being on vacation, job interview, getting married, going to a wedding, etc. are not valid reasons.) This make-up paper is due no later than three weeks after the missed exam. Papers turned in after this deadline will be penalized 20% of final score for each day late. Class participation measurement will be based on the quality and quantity of your discussion.
Finally, I will ask you to evaluate yourself and your teammates via peer evaluations. I will pass out forms to be used for the project evaluation and for the peer evaluations.
Materials
Class Materials
Required Text:
Principles of Advertising & IMC, by Tom Duncan, McGraw-Hill 2005, 2nd edition
Best Practice Case in Branding by Kevin Keller, Prentice Hall
Course Packet
Contact Information
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding the course. I check my e-mail regularly, so this will be the most efficient way of reaching me.
If my office hours are not convenient I will be more than happy to schedule appointments during other days of the week. Please give me a short notice and I will make every effort to accommodate your request.
Honor Code
Abide by the Honor Code
Class Schedule and Assignments
(Subject to change-changes announced in class and on Tuck Stream)
Class times and location
Classroom: Frantz
Mondays and Tuesdays, 10:15am-11:45am and 1:15pm-2:45pm
Grading
Class participation 25%
Final team project 25%
Peer evaluations 25%
Final Exam 25%
Total: 100%
Schedule
Monday
March 27
Introduction and course overview
Ch. 1 Using Advertising and Promotion to Build Brands
Ch. 2 IMC Partners and Industry Organization,
Video: How an ad agency works
Video: Aflac commercials
Tuesday
March 28
Ch. 3 Brands and Stakeholder Relationships,
Exercise: Name that brand! In 25 words or less, describe yourself as a brand without using your name. In other words, when someone who knows you and hears your name, how would they describe you. Hand this description in at the beginning of class and I will read them to the class to see if your classmates can recognize you from your brand profile.
Monday
April 3
Ch. 4 How Brand Communication Works
Ch. 5 Consumer Response
“Growing the Trust Relationship,” Christopher Hart and Michael Johnson, Marketing Management, Spring, 1999, p. 9
“Inside Intel,” Cliff Edwards, Business Week, Jan. 9, 2006, p. 47 Case: Intel Updated
Tuesday
April 4
Ch. 6 IMC Planning
Exercise: SWOT Checklist (Handout)
Ch 8 Data-Driven Communication
"Do You Want to Keep Your Customers Forever?" Pine, Peppers,and Rogers, (Handout)
“The Right Customers: Acquisition, Retention, and Development,” excerpted from Marketer’s Toolkit: The 10 Strategies You Need to Succeed (HBR, 2006)
Monday
April 10
Back grounding for Dunkin’ Donuts case—Regina Lewis, Ph.D
and VP the Consumer and Brand Insights Group at Dunkin' Brands, Inc
Tuesday
April 11
Ch 9. Creative Message Strategy
“Marketing Malpractice: The Cause and Cure,” Clayton Christensen,
Scott Cook, and Taddy Hall, HBR Dec. 2005, #Ro512D
Video: Boyko’s examples of good and bad
Case: California Milk Board
Monday
April 17
Guest lecturer: Prof. Ann Marie Barry, Boston College
Dr. Barry is the author of Visual Intelligence, The Advertising Portfolio, and various articles and creative works on the neurology of the image, graphic design, and media studies. Her background is multidisciplinary, including graduate degrees in English, Marketing Communication, and Perceptual Aesthetics. A recipient of several Distinguished Research Awards, Dr. Barry is a Capstone and Communication professor at Boston College
Ch 10 Message Execution
“Persuasion,” an Advertising Education Foundation paper Internet search for information on neuromarketing articles
Tuesday
April 18
Mini Case
Monday
April 24
Jerry Dow CD Introduction of TED
Tuesday
April 25
Ch. 11 Media Characteristics
“Get out the Map and Take a Journey,” Allan Adamson, Brandweek, July 12, 2004, p. 25
Monday
May 1
Ch 12 The Internet and Interactivity
Ch. 13 Advertising and IMC Media Planning
Customer's Bill of Rights in an Interactive Age (Handout)
Case: Yahoo
Tuesday
May 2
Guest Lecturer: Arlene Gerwin
For eleven years, Arlene was with Diageo where she held various senior marketing positions in Promotions, New Product Development and Brand Management for brands such as Smirnoff, Baileys, Jose Cuervo and Captain Morgan. Before that she was with Thomas J. Lipton Company. Arlene developed marketing expertise at other package goods companies including Continental Baking Company, American Home Foods and Beatrice Foods.
Ch 14 Consumer (and Trade) Sales Promotion and Packaging
Monday
May 8
Ch 16 Personal Selling and
Ch 18 Direct Marketing: The Dialogue Builder
Tuesday
May 9
Ch 17 Public Relations and Brand Publicity
Ch 19 Experiential Contact: Events, Sponsorships, and Customer Service
Monday
May 15
Ch 20 Social, Legal, and Ethical Issues
“Truth in Advertising: Rx Drug Ads Come of age,” Carol Rados, please find this at this site:
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2004/404_ads.html
Video: Focus agency commercials
Case: Red Bull
Tuesday
May 16
Ch 22 Measurement, Evaluation, and Effectiveness
Monday
May 22
Rehearsal for final presentations
Tuesday
May 23
Final presentations – Dunkin Donuts
Exam week: Final Exam
