Marketing Communication :: Graduate: Integrated Marketing Communication

MA in Integrated Marketing Communication

Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) establishes a dialogue between the providers of a product or service and their respective publics or markets. Students learn how to integrate advertising, public relations, direct/database marketing, sales, sales promotion/event marketing, and e-communication. In addition, they learn to develop strategic IMC plans within the context of the overarching organization/ marketing plans.

Based on their individual interests and career directions, students may also elect courses that focus on advertising or public relations within IMC.

All students will exit the program with a portfolio that demonstrates their ability to develop a comprehensive IMC plan. The final required course for IMC M.A. candidates is MH668 or a Capstone course, which provides students with an opportunity to develop such a plan and compete for the approval of an outside client organization selected by the faculty.

Program Requirements

Required Courses

Course Code	Course Information
MK604	Introduction to Research Methods 4.00 Credits This course is organized around the research process whereby students learn how to formulate a research question and define a research problem, decide upon a research design, assess data collection methods, define a sampling frame, determine types of data analyses, interpret data appropriately, and prepare a research report. Topics in both qualitative and quantitative research methods will be included. In addition, students will gain an understanding of the importance of research in the development of communication strategies.
MK610	Marketing Management 4.00 Credits Marketing Management is a course that examines value creation, value delivery, and the communication of value. The marketing orientation is explored in a strategic framework. Corporate marketing planning stages are covered with consideration given to the short/long range environment in a global, inter-functional context. After completing this course, students will understand marketing as a market-oriented philosophy and value-creation function. Students must demonstrate their ability to apply marketing concepts using case studies and exercises. The relationship between Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) and marketing will also be investigated in this course.
MK617	Consumer Behavior 4.00 Credits Students investigate comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and theoretical views of consumer behavior and apply these to marketing communication contexts. Integrated Marketing Communication plans require sophisticated consumer behavior analyses that facilitate segmentation, targeting, and positioning efforts. Students learn about the determinants of consumer behavior through the application of theories from disciplines such as communication, marketing, cultural anthropology, economics, sociology, and psychology. Case studies, exercises, and research will help students to understand the complexity of consumer behavior given intrapersonal, interpersonal, and situational influences.
MK618	Introduction to Integrated Marketing Communication 4.00 Credits Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) is a cross-functional process for creating and nourishing profitable relationships with customers and publics by strategically controlling or influencing all messages sent to these groups and encouraging purposeful dialogue with them. In this course, students learn how to integrate all of the marketing communication elements and why this integration is critical to an organization's success. Advertising, public relations, sales promotion, event marketing, direct marketing, e-communication, and selling must be integrated to present customers and publics with a consistent message, identity, or theme, and to contribute to brand equity for an organization. Case studies and exercises will be used to help students learn how to develop consistent messages across all marketing communication elements. (Co-requisite: MH 610.)
MK668	Capstone in Integrated Marketing Communication 4.00 Credits This integrative capstone course examines the strategic roles of a variety of marketing communication elements including advertising, brand management, direct/database marketing, interactive marketing, media planning, public relations, sales promotion/event management, and sales/sales management. Students will develop an IMC plan for an organization as the culminating experience in the IMC program. This project requires students to demonstrate their knowledge of IMC and work with team members to either solve an organization's marketing communication problem or to help the organization to pursue an opportunity through the implementation of an integrated marketing communication strategy. Students must demonstrate competencies in market analysis and measurement, productivity and profitability analysis, strategy development, implementation of an IMC program consistent with selected marketing strategy, and evaluation. (Prerequisites: MH 604, MH 610, MH 617, MH 618.)

Electives

All core requirements (except MH 668) must be completed before electives unless permission is given by the Graduate Program Director to do otherwise. IMC students may choose 5 elective courses, three of which must be chosen from among organized courses in the IMC program (including GM 612 and GM 614). MH 697 (Directed Study) and MH 690A (Internship), though not classroom courses in the IMC program, can be taken as electives for up to a maximum of 8 hours in a student’s program. The list below shows courses in the department that may be taken as electives.

Course Code	Course Information
GM612	Global Public Relations 4.00 Credits The course offers focused consideration of the role of public relations in a global setting, the application of market research to public relations, the benefits and limitations of analytical frameworks applied to strategy development, and the models of the roles and ethical responsibilities of corporations engaged in public relations. It includes attention to the evolution and present practice of public relations in major markets throughout the world. (Global Marketing Communication and Advertising Students and select Integrated Marketing Communication students only.) (GM 612 and GM 614 cannot both be taken in the GMCA program).
GM614	Global Advertising 4.00 Credits This course concentrates on the organizational and external environments within which global advertising decisions are made. The impact of business trends, the regulatory environment, media structure and procedures, as well as agencies and advertisers in global communication planning, are discussed in detail. The dilemmas faced by global marketers and their agencies in constructing global plans are highlighted in decisions such as when and how to standardize communication strategy, how to choose an agency for global brands, how to allocate decision responsibilities across a global network, how to localize creative executions, how to collect information on foreign buyers and media audiences and how to select and buy media in multiple markets. Many of these topics will flow out of case discussions and student readings and assignments. (Global Marketing Communication and Advertising students only.) (GM 612 and GM 614 cannot both be taken in the GMCA program).
MK612	Direct/Database Marketing 4.00 Credits This course examines the communication, database management, and physical distribution aspects of the evolving field of direct marketing. Students learn how to mine a database, use database information for segmentation analysis, and merge external and internal database for gap analysis purposes. Students manipulate databases in traditional areas of direct marketing (e.g., catalogs, direct mail) and investigate how e-commerce has changed direct marketing from a promotional function to a field that triangulates communication, marketing, and delivery systems. Finally, students must demonstrate an ability to develop a direct marketing plan and an evaluation mechanism to measure the results of their actions. (Co-requisite: MH 610.)
MK620	Public Relations Management 4.00 Credits Students explore the role of public relations in the Integrated Marketing Communication mix. Students learn how to construct a public relations plan that requires them to analyze and interpret public opinion and attitudes that might impact the operations and plans of an organization, develop programs of action and communication to achieve public understanding (e.g., financial, media, or government relations), establish objectives, detail a budget, and describe evaluation techniques for measuring the impact of the public relations efforts. In this course, students are involved in developing all aspects of a plan, including constructing press releases and developing public service announcements, using case studies or field application. (Co-requisite: MH 610.)
MK621	Writing for Marketing Communication 4.00 Credits This course exposes students to a comprehensive survey of writing techniques for public relations, publicity, and public affairs activities. Students learn how to improve their writing of news releases, brochures, speeches, organizational publications (e.g., annual reports), copywriting, and public service announcements. Intensive writing exercises will be employed to help students achieve their goals. (Co-requisite: MH 610.)
MK627	Interactive and e-Communication 4.00 Credits Students learn how to communicate on the Internet and examine the differences between traditional media vehicles and the Internet within the context of strategic communication. Students explore how communication has changed given media and delivery system convergence as well as market democratization. Ethical and legal parameters of technology-based communication will also be covered in this course. (Co-requisites: MH 610, MH 618.)
MK630	Advertising, Sales Promotion, and Publicity Management 4.00 Credits Students explore the roles of advertising, sales promotion, and publicity in the Integrated Marketing Communication mix. Students learn to develop and manage advertising campaigns, including evaluation of said campaigns. In addition, students investigate how to use sales promotion to bring about behavioral change in the contexts of consumer and trade promotion. In addition, students learn how to generate and manage publicity. Students evaluate the legal and ethical issues surrounding these marketing communication efforts. (Co-requisite: MH 610.)
MK636	Creative Thinking: Copy and Design 4.00 Credits Students learn the creative thinking skills used in the development of Integrated Marketing Communication strategies, with a particular emphasis on copywriting, design, and layout. Students are required to demonstrate these skills through course projects. (Co-requisites: MH 610, MH 618.)
MK637	Interpersonal Communication and Sales Management 4.00 Credits An examination of interpersonal communication within the context of sales management, focusing on the individual, group, and relational dynamics related to the recruitment, selection, hiring, training, motivating, compensating, and evaluating of sales forces, and the cultivation and maintenance of customer relationships by sales officers. The contribution of selling and the sales forces to an organization's integrated marketing communication strategy is highlighted. (Co-requisite: MH 610.)
MK639	Communicating Brands and Brand Management 4.00 Credits This course stresses the importance of the role of the brand in Integrated Marketing Communication strategies. Students will learn about why brands are important, what they represent to consumers, and what should be done by organizations to manage them properly. Students will learn how brand equity can be created, how to measure brand equity, and how to use brand equity to expand global business opportunities. Students will learn through exams, a brand simulation, readings, and class discussions. (Co-requisites: MH 610, MH 617, MH 618.)
MK648	Media Management Strategies 4.00 Credits Success of an integrated communication program depends on effective management of both media choices and timing of placements. Students first learn about fundamental concepts in media planning such as gross rating points and effective reach. They then use software that allows them to see the effects of different media plans in operationalizing a media strategy. Opportunities for building corporate and brand relationships with different media vehicles are also discussed.
MK649	Marketing Finance 4.00 Credits An important function of the integrated marketing communication manager is being able to optimize investments across different aspects of ?the marketing mix? and ?the communication mix.? This class reviews fundamental tools of analysis used by marketing and communication managers, such as budgeting, forecasting demand, market and segmentation analysis, return-on-investment valuations, media expenditure planning, expense auditing, and evaluation of marketing communication efforts. The class will use a variety of techniques, including exercises, cases, and readings to provide students with exposure to the concepts and practice in applying them.
MK650	Multicultural Consumer Marketing 4.00 Credits This course emphasizes the use of multicultural marketing strategy and tactics in building relationships with consumers in American subcultures. Multicultural marketing communication has its own ?marketing mix? but shares the importance of understanding differences in consumer cultural value systems with global and cross-cultural marketing communication. Attention is given to significant American subcultures according to ethnicity, age cohort, lifestyle, and disability, and students will study consumer and media behaviors of specific subculture groups.
MK653	Web Page Development and Management 4.00 Credits This course presents the web site as an important venue for communicating with various publics and organizations, and as an integrated part of a strategic communication plan. Subjects such as principles of web design, evaluation of web site effectiveness, tracking user perceptions, and consolidating web page information into overall database management will be covered. Course topics are organized around web site development, maintenance, and assessment.
MK695	Special Studies in Marketing Communication 4.00 Credits Periodically, courses will be offered that capitalize on trends in the communication industries or which address topics not covered in other courses in the program. This course may be repeated when topics vary