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MCOMXXX: Campaigns T-H 3:30-5 p.m. Professor: John N. Weis · Office: Phelps 113-D
Welcome to Campaigns! PLEASE NOTE: It is expected that this course be taken during your final term in the Mass Comm program to apply past concepts and principles to this real-world simulation. Do not take this course if you are going to be enrolled during spring term NEXT year or if you have not completed prerequisite courses. You will be asked to leave the course. You must present transcripts to demonstrate concurrence at the SECOND class session.
The "real world" involves a 9 to 5 job, right? Nothing could be further from the truth. The PR Campaigns course--which becomes Campaigns 2012 when we combine with Ad Campaigns course members the first day--provides a taste of the work environment you will get to enjoy for the next half century or longer of your life after graduation. Campaigns is an intensive simulation of a real integrated marketing communications (Promotion) campaign. The pace will prove to be hectic, the course will entail long hours working against seemingly impossible deadlines and, ultimately, it will prove to be the most rewarding experience of your college career. As I'm sure you are aware, PR Campaigns joins immediately with Advertising Campaigns class members, supervised by Prof. Tanya Ryan, for the term. Six agencies will be formed composed of as close to equal numbers of PR/Ad students as we can get. But as soon as the groups are combined they become integrated marketing communications agencies dealing with all of the Promotion considerations of the 4-Ps of the marketing mix (Product/Service, Price, Place/Distribution and Promotion). It would be a BIG mistake to think that PR students will do only PR activities during Campaigns and Advertising students will do the ads. The agencies that act together as a team using their various talents do the best, experience has shown. Everyone should pitch in to meet any challenges based on their skills and capabilities--as a single agency. "Campaigns," as the course has come to be known, is the closest thing to the real business world you will experience during your college years. This year
we continue to take the "real world" concept another step forward by
again using real management staff from the real business world who will be
provide specific challenges for your activities this term. Last year our client
was Best Buy, Inc., national corporate headquarters, Minneapolis. Three members
of the Best Buy corporate staff joined Campaigns faculty in evaluating agency
work last year. This year our client will be Mall of America, Bloomington. Corporate office representatives will be involved with the course directly again this year. For many years, we worked in conjunction with the Marketing Department students and faculty to simulate marketing communications promotion of retail businesses. Seven years ago we began working with real companies and real communication staff members from those firms. Other previous organizations involved in Campaigns include Target Stores Corporate Headquarters, Best Buy, Mayo Clinic, International, and Microsoft. This year the six integrated marketing communications agencies will develop promotional strategies and materials for Mall of America. Staff members from that organization will be on hand to provide the three, annual challenges you will face and help with rankings and evaluations. Text: There is no text for this course. There is also no text for real life.
Supplies: Your agency will require additional supplies and materials throughout the quarter. You must also have an e-mail account/address for communication purposes through D2L. As the capstone course in Public Relations, this course is the ultimate in group work...something you are very familiar with from Prof. Weis' previous courses ("Oh, so that's why he has us do so much group work!"). Your grades will, in very large part, be based on the "success" of your agency in three one-year business promotional campaigns. You will apply marketing communications promotional concepts, principles and theories to realistic exercises as your agency works to maximize promotional effectiveness on behalf of the Mall of America. The course work can be broken down into a series of activities as follows: Your agency will be involved in a "Trade Show" at which your agency will demonstrate its capabilities and the experience of your agency members. You will have booth space at a designated location for that purpose in close proximity to your competitor agencies. Faculty and representatives from the client company will rank your performance based on which agencies we think did the best job in "selling" themselves as they would in the real world to get hired to represent the client. You will be involved in the development of promotional materials and programs in support of the client company as part of your agency's operation. All of the agencies will be preparing promotional materials for a specific goal set for each of three years on behalf of the Mall of America. The first presentation will involve the first year's promotional campaign, second presentation, the second year, etc. So your agency will be involved in three formal presentations before your peers, faculty and business representative evaluators and visitors to present these promotional materials. Yes, you actually produce three years' worth of materials, one year's worth for each presentation. Things you say you will do on behalf of Mall of America in each of the three one-year presentations, you will actually produce. Agencies will be ranked 1 through 6 in the Trade Show and in each of the presentations and those rankings will determine final standings--and grades. No, sixth place does not mean you fail. Standings are an indication only of your effectiveness in competition with the other five agencies...something that, frankly, will become more important to you as the course goes along than grades anyway. As an "agency" member involved in a simulation of the business environment, conduct yourself as a professional, as a consultant to the client company. As such, attendance is absolutely imperative. Unexcused absence will affect your grade and the effectiveness of your agency. Unlike group work in previous PR courses, this time your agency will have the ability to fire you. If you're not carrying your share of the workload, they can dump you...and you can try again to successfully complete the course NEXT spring. Almost all of your work will be conducted within your agency and in conjunction with your client company outside the classroom. Some "housekeeping" time may be set aside periodically to deal with issues specific to this course and faculty will always be available to provide VERY general direction as needed. But most of the time the response from us to questions you have will be "What do you think?" All those semesters that I gave you so much latitude to figure things out for yourself culminate in this class. Again, that's why I did things the way I did for the prior three and a half years. Your grade ** for the official PR Campaigns course ** will be determined solely by Prof. Weis with input from your peers based on your:
Specific operational details involved in participating in this course will be outlined during the first session and in the subsequent combined group meetings. Again, almost all of the scheduled “class sessions” will involve group work in your agencies and not in the classroom. The faculty will present detailed information regarding how the course will operate, deadlines and general expectations, and timeframes ongoing throughout the term. --Prof. Weis Note: This syllabus is intended to be an outline of the tentative work schedule and assignments. It may be changed to meet the specific needs of this particular class and its members.
Planned Schedule for Spring 2012 Campaigns Class
Wednesday, Jan. 11—Class Begins Wednesday, Jan. 18—Briefing on the project the six newly formed integrated marketing communication agencies are to undertake for the first year of the campaign. This is the afternoon that information is presented to agencies and the details of the challenge for Year No. 1 are presented. The overviews for objectives in Years 2 and 3 will be given after presentations No. 1 and 2 respectively. Wednesday, Jan. 25—Trade Show. Agencies prepare displays and materials designed to convince the client company that they could best represent the client in its promotional activities. Faculty and Mall of America rep(s) participate in ranking the agencies on best displays/pitches and rank 1 through 6. Wednesday, Feb. 22—Presentation No. 1. Each agency presents its promotional materials for the first year of the campaign. Faculty and Mall of America rep(s) evaluate and rank agencies, one through six. Client rep(s) outline the project for the next year. Feedback is provided to each agency. Wednesday, March 14—No Class; Spring Break Week Wednesday, March 28—Presentation No. 2. Each agency again presents that year’s campaign materials. Faculty and Mall of America rep(s) evaluate agencies on promotional materials for second year of the campaign. Client rep(s) outline the project for the final year. Feedback is provided. Wednesday, April 18—Presentation No. 3. Agencies present campaign materials for the third year of the campaign. Faculty and Mall of America rep(s) evaluate campaigns ranking agencies one through six for their work on behalf of the client in the third year. Feedback is provided. Wednesday, April 25--Peer evaluations are conducted. Students will privately rank each of their fellow agency members by name using an evaluation form designed for this purpose. Final grades are based on agency rankings and peer-to-peer evaluations. There are no Finals Week activities. Ranking by faculty and Mall of America rep(s) is done immediately after each presentation. Rankings are posted to D2L shortly thereafter. Feedback is provided to agencies individually by faculty on dates and times to be arranged.
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