CMGT 555

Online Marketing: Design, Development and Critical Analysis

Spring 2018

Class time: Thursday, 5 p.m. – 7:50 p.m.

Location: ASC 204
Instructor: Dr. M. Framroze
Contact: e-mails: [email protected]
Office Hours: By appointment

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In an era of shifting patterns of media consumption, highly dispersed methods of

content creation, and the ever-expanding role of consumers as originators, receivers,
and distributors of marketing messages, new online marketing and advertising models
are emerging at gathering speeds. Today’s marketing professionals need to know how
to connect with their audiences using an array of new media, how to develop winning
campaigns that engage consumers with their brands, and how to discern which
strategies work and which don’t. In short, they need to market, monetize and measure
what they do in order to succeed in an increasingly saturated digital environment.

This course is for students who want to learn about marketing in the new media
environment. It offers a mix of theoretical approaches to digital marketing as well as the
opportunity to actively participate in the conceptualization and creation of digital
elements and narratives for real clients – thereby enabling students to apply theory and
learned constructs to real-world issues and problems.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

You will be expected to come to class having completed the required readings. This is
non-negotiable; the breadth of what we cover in this class is vast, and theoretically
informed readings will significantly enhance your understanding of the digital marketing
landscape. Engaged participation is an important element of this class, and part of your
overall grade. You are expected to read not only your own selected readings but all the
readings so you can actively participate in class discussions.

You are expected to turn in all assignments on time (in class on the date due). If an
assignment is turned in after the deadline, a deduction of one full grade point per day
will occur. If you have a serious issue that prevents you from turning in your
assignment, please discuss this with me as much in advance as possible.
The course components are as follows below. All instructions for each assignment
segment will be posted on Blackboard and questions will be discussed in class.

Mid-Term Project: Campaign/Brand Analysis: 45%

You will be required to select an online campaign that features several of the key
elements discussed in class and critique the salient features of the online strategy in a
15-page double-spaced research report. This is an academic paper, with citations and
references per APA style. It is expected you will offer ‘bigger picture thinking’ for this
paper and NOT merely provide descriptive analysis of the various components of your
selected campaign.

Additionally, to provide you with a hands-on learning experience, you will be required to
develop two online extensions for the campaign. These must not already be a part of
an existing campaign; they must involve a degree of ‘stretch’ for you. Examples include:
blogs, apps, videos, animations, surveys, contests, games, infographics, etc. If you
decide to utilize social media for a campaign element, you MUST do something more
than create an Instagram page, Snapchat filters, or a Facebook page. You must create a
compelling narrative and reason for what you’re doing on social media. Note that
relying on such simple-to-create elements may affect your grade and not provide you
with the degree of stretch this assignment asks for.

The purpose here is to engage you in the process of conceptualizing and actually
“making” something yourself. These elements must make sense with respect to your
overall analysis. You must be able to articulate why they fit into the online brand
narrative for the campaign and how they fulfill key business objectives.

You will also need to prepare a 2 to 3-page summary of your online elements – what did
you do, how did you do it and why do you believe these were the best options for this
brand? This is in addition to your 15-page paper.

You will present these elements in class, and demonstrate to the best of your ability the
real-life workings of these elements. Rehearse your presentation and make sure it’s
working. Do not spend much time reviewing your brand’s background. The timing for
each presentation will be determined later in the semester and depends upon the
number of students enrolled in the class.

Final Project: 35%

This project requires you to work as part of a team. You will work on behalf of an
organization/brand and develop a comprehensive strategy to help this entity achieve its
online marketing business objectives. You will engage in a discovery phase with this firm
in order to systematically assess its organizational goals and specific marketing
challenges. You will then deliver a marketing plan for the online space to achieve those
targets. THIS IS NOT AN ACADEMIC PAPER, THOUGH YOU MAY ELECT TO CITE SOURCES
TO BOLSTER YOUR POINTS. IT IS AN ONLINE MARKETING REPORT FOR A REAL CLIENT.

The following components should be included as part of this project:

 Marketing plan. This document, between 25-30 pages, double-spaced, should
contain the basic elements of a marketing plan, but with an emphasis on online
marketing strategy. Include: Company and industry overview, target audience,
strategic objectives (as well as strategic sales/marketing objectives), specific
online marketing tactics designed to meet those objectives, competitive analyses
(SWOT, other), media analysis (with specific emphasis on reaching targets via
digital media), success metrics, measurement tactics (ROI of online strategies),
and integration with traditional marketing activities as appropriate. This is NOT
an academic paper but a business report; however, please use APA style as
required and cite scholarly texts as appropriate.
 Creative presentation. You are pitching your real client on the last night of class.
As such, you should be prepared to “wow” them with your command of their
issues as well as by the brilliance of your creativity. You will create a minimum of
4 digital marketing elements for your client and contextualize these elements
within the broader arc of your marketing narrative. In other words, create a new
story for your brand. Do not merely extend what your client is already doing.

ATTENTION TO CREATIVE EXECUTION IS CRITICAL. REMEMBER: YOU ARE BEING

EVALUATED BY YOUR CLIENTS ON THE NIGHT OF YOUR PRESENTATION. TREAT
THIS AS YOU WOULD A REAL-WORLD PITCH. IT’S GREAT PRACTICE!

Class Activities + Participation: 10%

In-class activities (such as the Lurk and Look assignment and Brand Slams), discussion of
readings, and contributing meaningfully to general class discussions is imperative for
everyone to have a substantive class experience.

Reading Paper Assignment: 10%

Short paper based on readings. This is part of your write/rewrite assignment.

Grading Range

A 93.0% or higher
A- 90.0% - 92.9%
B+ 87.0% - 89.9%
B 83.0% - 86.9%
B- 80.0% - 82.9%
C+ 77.0% - 79.9%
C 73.0% - 76.9%
C- 70.0% - 72.9%
 D 60.0% - 69.9%
F 59.9% - or lower

REQUIRED TEXTS

Banet-Weiser, S. (2012). Authentic: The politics of ambivalence in a brand culture. New

York, NY: New York University Press.

Hemann, C. & Burbary, K. (2013). Digital Marketing Analytics: Making sense of consumer
data in a digital world. Indianapolis, IN: Que Publishing.

Jenkins, H., Ford, S. & Green, J. (2013). Spreadable Media: Creating value and meaning
in a networked culture. New York, NY: New York University Press.

All other required readings will be posted on Blackboard for the appropriate weeks.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY POLICY

The Annenberg School for Communication is committed to upholding the University’s

Academic Integrity code as detailed in the SCampus Guide. It is your responsibility to
understand and abide by university policies on academic dishonesty, which includes
plagiarism, cheating on exams, fabricating project data, submitting a paper to more than
one professor, or submitting a paper authored by anyone other than yourself.
Resources on academic integrity can be found on the Student Judicial Affairs Web site
(http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS.) “Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism” addresses
issues of paraphrasing, quotations, and citation in written assignments, drawing from
materials used in the university’s writing program. All academic integrity violations will
be reported to the University Student Judicial Affairs office (SJACS) and to the USC
Annenberg School for Communication Dean’s Office on Student Affairs. Any serious
violation or pattern of violations will result in the student’s from the Communication
program.
Disabilities Policy: Students requesting academic accommodations based on disabilities
are required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A
letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP when
adequate documentation is filed. Please deliver that letter to me at the start of the
semester.

STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC CONDUCT AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Academic Conduct:
Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s ideas as your own, either verbatim or recast in your own
words – is a serious academic offense with serious consequences. Please familiarize yourself with the
discussion of plagiarism in SCampus in Part B, Section 11, “Behavior Violating University Standards”
policy.usc.edu/scampus-part-b. Other forms of academic dishonesty are equally unacceptable. See
additional information in SCampus and university policies on scientific
misconduct, http://policy.usc.edu/scientific-misconduct.

Support Systems:
Student Counseling Services (SCS) – (213) 740-7711 – 24/7 on call
Free and confidential mental health treatment for students, including short-term psychotherapy,
group counseling, stress fitness workshops, and crisis intervention. engemannshc.usc.edu/counseling

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – 1 (800) 273-8255

Provides free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24
hours a day, 7 days a week. www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org

Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Services (RSVP) – (213) 740-4900 – 24/7 on call
Free and confidential therapy services, workshops, and training for situations related to gender-based
harm. engemannshc.usc.edu/rsvp

Sexual Assault Resource Center

For more information about how to get help or help a survivor, rights, reporting options, and
additional resources, visit the website: sarc.usc.edu

Office of Equity and Diversity (OED)/Title IX Compliance – (213) 740-5086

Works with faculty, staff, visitors, applicants, and students around issues of protected class.
equity.usc.edu

Bias Assessment Response and Support

Incidents of bias, hate crimes and microaggressions need to be reported allowing for appropriate
investigation and response. studentaffairs.usc.edu/bias-assessment-response-support

The Office of Disability Services and Programs

Provides certification for students with disabilities and helps arrange relevant accommodations.
dsp.usc.edu

Student Support and Advocacy – (213) 821-4710

Assists students and families in resolving complex issues adversely affecting their success as a student
EX: personal, financial, and academic. studentaffairs.usc.edu/ssa

Diversity at USC
Information on events, programs and training, the Diversity Task Force (including representatives for
each school), chronology, participation, and various resources for students. diversity.usc.edu

USC Emergency Information

Provides safety and other updates, including ways in which instruction will be continued if an officially
declared emergency makes travel to campus infeasible. emergency.usc.edu
USC Department of Public Safety – UPC: (213) 740-4321 – HSC: (323) 442-1000 – 24-hour emergency
or to report a crime.
Provides overall safety to USC community. dps.usc.edu

CLASS SCHEDULE

Jan. 11:
Welcome to your semester! Course and Syllabus Review.
Digital Culture/New Media Landscape

Jan. 18:
Online Marketing Component Analysis – 1: Getting the plan right.

Readings
Muntinga, D., Moorman, M. & Smit, E. (2011). Introducing COBRAs: Exploring
motivations for brand-related social media use. International Journal of Advertising,
30(1), 13-46.

Aaker, J.L. (1997). Dimensions of Brand Personality. Journal of Marketing Research,

34(3), 347-356.

Prahalad, C.K. & Ramaswamy, V. (2004). Co-creation experiences: The next practice in
value creation. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 18(3), 5-14.

Jenkins, Introduction + Chapters 1-4.

Jan. 25:
Research + Writing

Feb. 1 :
Online Marketing Component Analysis – 2: Storytelling and The Scorecard

Readings
Herskovitz, S. & Crystal, M. (2010). The essential brand persona: Storytelling and
branding. Journal of Business Strategy, 31(3), 21-28.

Taylor, R.E. (1999). A six-segment message strategy wheel. Journal of Advertising

Research, Nov-Dec., 7-17.
Iglesias, O. & Bonet, Ed. (2012). Persuasive brand management: How managers can
influence brand meaning when they are losing control over it. Journal of Organizational
Change, 25(2), 251-264.

Escalas, J.E. (2004). Narrative Processing: Building consumer connections to brands.

Journal of Consumer Psychology, 14(1&2), 168-180.

Final project groups formed.

Feb. 8:
The Clickable Consumer: Customer behavior online.

Readings
Kozinets, R.V., Valck, K., Wojnicki, A.C., & Wilner, S.J. (2010). Networked Narratives:
Understanding word-of-mouth marketing in online communities. Journal of Marketing,
74(3), 71-89.

McAlexander, J., Schouten, J. & Koenig, H. (2002). Building brand community. Journal of
Marketing, 66(1), 38-54.

Muniz, A.M. & O’Guinn, T.C. (2001). Brand community. Journal of Consumer Research,
27(4), 412-432.

Feb. 15:
Consumer Cultures: Our social selves online.

Readings
Schembri, S. & Merrilees, B. (2010). Brand consumption and narrative of the self.
Psychology & Marketing, 27(6), 623-638.

Chu, S. & Kim, Y. (2011). Determinants of consumer engagement in electronic word-of-

mouth (eWOM) in social networking sites. International Journal of Advertising, 30(1),
47-75.
Van der Heide, B. & Lim, Y. (2015). On the conditional cueing of credibility heuristics:
The case of online influence. Communication Research, 1-22.

Knoll, J. & Schramm, H. (2015). Advertising in social network sites: Investigating the
social influence of user-generated content on online advertising effects.
Communications, 40(3), 341-360.
Feb. 22:
Online Advertising: CPC, CTR, CPM and more…

Readings
Lambrecht, A. & Tucker, C. (2013). When does retargeting work? Information specificity
in online advertising. Journal of Marketing Research, L, 561-576.

Wilson, R.F. & Pettijohn, J.B. (2010). Tracking online ad campaigns: A primer. Journal of
Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice, 12(1), 69-82.

Brettle, M., Reich, J., Gavilanes, J.M. & Flatten, T.C. (2015). What drives advertising
success on Facebook? An advertising effectiveness model. Journal of Advertising
Research, June, 162-175.

Golan, G. J. & Zaidner, L. (2008). Creative strategies in viral advertising: An application of

Taylor’s six-segment message strategy wheel. Journal of Computer-Mediated
Communication, 13, 959-972.

Mar. 1:
Individual Meetings.

Mar. 8:
Mid-term project presentations. Turn in all papers and hard copies of your
presentations tonight.

Mar. 15:
Spring Break/No class

Mar. 22:
Guest Speaker.

Mar. 29:
Data and Search – Go big.

Readings
Hemann & Burbary, Chapters 4, 9, 11. Group discussion.

Gregg, M. (2015). Inside the data spectacle. Television & New Media, 16(1), 37-51.
Gillespie, T., Boczkowski, P.J. & Foot, K.A. (Eds.) (2014). Media Technologies: Essays on
Communication, Materiality, and Society. MIT Press: Cambridge, MA. (p. 167-193).

Batrinca, B. & Treleaven, P.C. (2015). Social media analytics: A survey of techniques,
tools and platforms. AI & Soc., 30, 89-116.

Boyd, D. & Crawford, K. (2012). Critical questions for big data. Information,
Communication, and Society, 15(5), 662-679.

Apr. 5:
Watching you, watching me – Social surveillance and your privacy.

Readings
Junglas, I.A., Johnson, N.A. & Spitzmuller, C. (2008). Personality traits and concern for
privacy: An empirical study in the context of location-based services. European Journal
of Information Systems, 17, 387-402.

Andrejevic, M. & Burdon, M. (2015). Defining the sensor society. Television & New
Media, 16(1), 19-36.

Shin, D. (2010). The effects of trust, security and privacy in social networking: A security-
based approach to understand the pattern of adoption. Interacting with Computers, 22,
428-438.

Babu & Vidyasagar (2012). Neuromarketing: Is Campbell in soup? Journal of Marketing

Management, XI (2), 77-100.

Apr. 12:
Guest Speaker.

Final project outline presentations.

Apr. 19:
Brands and Us: Spectacle culture and the self

Readings
Banet-Weiser, Introduction-Chapter 2. Group discussion.

Hogan, B. (2010). The Presentation of Self in the Age of Social Media: Distinguishing
Performances and Exhibitions Online. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society,
30(6), 377–386.

Labrecque, L.I., Markos, E. & Milne, G.R. (2010). Online personal branding: Processes,
challenges, and implications. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 25, 37-50.

Kwon, Y.J. & Kwon, K. (2015). Consuming the objectified self: The quest for authentic
self. Asian Social Science, 11(2), 301-312.

Papacharissi, Z. (2012). Without you, I’m nothing: Performances of the self on Twitter.
International Journal of Communication, 6, 1989-2006.

Apr. 26:
Final project presentations. Turn in your presentations tonight – not your final reports.

May 2 - 3:
Submit final reports. Last day to submit reports is May 3.