J318 COURSE DESCRIPTION

J318 is a course that will introduces students to the world of advertising sales.  Students enrolled in this class learn how local advertising media can meet the advertising needs of retailers.  Students become part of a practical and (we hope) interesting course in advertising sales--the selling of space for newspapers, magazines, and the selling of air time  for radio and television stations.  We  examine the various ways media are bought and sold.

When students finish the course, they should have greater knowledge and skills in several areas that will be useful to them, especially if they are interested in a job or career in advertising sales.  If students are not sure about such a career interest, the course  gives  a better idea of what to expect.  And, if students are merely interested in another aspect of the fascinating and challenging world of advertising, the course  teaches students the basics about some of the nation's leading advertising media and gives them a valuable perspective that will be useful in other fields.

Teaching Objectives

After taking J318: Intro to Selling, students should be able to:

1. Understand the process of media sales and the role it plays in the economy, business, and marketing environments.  Even if you are going into Public Relations, Account Management or Creative Services, in order to be successful, you must have a basic understanding of how sales. 
2. Gain a basic knowledge of the media process including the basic terms and concepts used in advertising media sales and planning.
3. Be able to identify the various components and elements needed to compose a media sales kit
4. Confidently deliver "cold call" sales presentations and network with clients.
5. Create speculative ads and use them to sell creative concepts to prospective clients
6. Think creatively and strategically by translating market research into a context that will adequately describe the audience and reach the client's prospective target audience.
7. Be able to use specific criteria that will allow you to create the right media mix for a client's business.  We learn in this class, not to speak negatively of other media, but how to help clients use media to reach specific advertising objectives.
8. Enhance your writing and communication skills by writing, organizing, and presenting a media sales kit for a local media vehicle.

LEARNING TOOLS AND ACTIVITIES

Students enrolled in J318 are afforded several opportunities to demonstrate learning and performance.   First, students take two exams:  a mid-term examination and a final examination (cumulative) on materials from class discussions, text books, and assignments.  The tests will consist primarily of multiple choice and short answer questions as well as one or two case studies.

The mid-term exam will cover materials from class discussions, textbooks, and lab assignments/projects.  The main purpose of the mid-term is to help students begin to apply and gain insights into and obtain a better understanding of the process of creating, writing, and organizing a media sales kit.

The final exam (comprehensive) will cover materials from the entire class. This exam is not to scare students, but simply to see if teaching objectives were met and if you are a better strategic thinker and persuasive salesperson.  Thus, the exam will assess your ability to effectively make cold calls,  "get a job," as well as your understanding of what it takes to create media sales kits, represent the media, and win clients.

Students also get a chance to show how they have applied all of the material in this course by participating in a group sales presentation.  Students are able to form groups and pretend to work as a sales force for a particular advertising agency, newspaper, broadcast station, or creative boutique.  The rest of the class and the instructor will serve as the client customer (probably a local retailer). 

Student sales teams also prepare a written media sales kit as well as the oral sales presentation for the client/customer.  Your group report and presentation will be evaluated on the quality of your research and its professionalism.

The client sales presentation is your ultimate selling tool.  Be sure that the presentation covers the categories discussed in Chapter 14 of the Shaver text. An outline can be found on pp. 250 - 254.  Your sales kit should be very creative, persuasive, and can be done in a minimum of ten (10) pages.  The sales kit should be typed, double-spaced and should include the names of all group members.

Students sometimes would like to know if they have to dress up for the oral presentation.  I am NOT requiring students to buy a new outfit for the presentation.  I have learned, through personal experience, that students who do dress up seem to feel more professional and more confident and do a better job.  It is up to the student!

Each member in the group must participate in preparing the presentation, however, it is not necessary that each group member participate in the presentation. You will have the opportunity to assess the contribution of each group member to the overall quality of your presentation. 

Students demonstrate their ability to sell themselves by planning and developing a  resume and self-promotional ad.  .  This project will be used to enhance  chances of getting noticed and interviews.  Students also write a cover letter to a company they would like to work for and then prepare a resume for that particular a sales job.  DUE:February 9^th, 2000 by 11:00 a.m.

Because I believe that students cannot get maximum benefit from the course if they are not present and participating, I have placed emphasis on class attendance.   Pop quizzes may be given periodically to ensure that you are keeping up with your readings.  (Note: Grades on the pop quizzes will count toward your class participation grade, so be sure to do the readings).

Students will demonstrate your comprehension of reading material and assignments through  class participation and attendance.  Students will lose a letter grade (or 10 points whichever is more sever) for every unexcused absence!

The purpose behind assigning reaction papers is to encourage students to keep up with the reading assignments as well as to pique student interest and curiosity outside of the classroom experience.   To help students learn how to identify media and market sources, they have to complete weekly reaction papers.  This activity has been designed to help students build your basic knowledge and understanding of media and terms. Students are asked to think/reflect upon the reading assignments.  Students may or should also write a brief paragraph or two that details their understanding of the topic for discussion (i.e., how does the topic or media concept relate to your experience(s) and advertising career?). 

Difficulty in providing a brief paragraph pertaining to the assignments and/or difficulty in answering or developing questions is a signal that the student and instructor must spend time reviewing the related concepts.

Course Policies

It is assumed that you are here to learn and that you want to learn.  For some reason or another, a lot of students choose to "skip" lecture.  I expect that students enrolled in J318 are serious students and want to learn.  I treat this course as if it was a "real-world" job.  That means, if you are going to miss a class, I expect for you to "call-in sick" just as you would an employer.  And, remember, just as it is in the "real-world," calling in sick does NOT excuse you from class.  It is simply a sign of respect.  On most jobs, "calling in" comes at a price: you must take a sick or vacation day, lose pay, or suffer some other consequence.  In this course, missing class will be treated with similar repercussions.  Students will lose all points, particularly if the absence is unexcused.  Remember, if you do not come to class, you will miss out on actually seeing and hearing important concepts, terms, and class discussions. You should know that students who attend class lectures regularly tend to make better grades. 

Thus to be able to successfully complete this course, you MUST attend classes regularly.  Attendance in the lecture and lab will be taken on a regular basis.  You are responsible for all information and materials presented in your absence.  NOT THE INSTRUCTOR!!!  If handouts are distributed during a class lecture in which you were unable to attend, then you need to contact a fellow student for the notes and/or handouts.

It is also expected that you will have completed the assigned readings or projects BEFORE coming to class.   Because you have to generate weekly thought papers and discussion questions, this means that I expect for you to come to lectures prepared to discuss your readings and any information provided in the chapters.

I assess your class participation grade by using the following criteria to evaluate your behavior in and out of the classroom.  Your class participation grade will be evaluated on:

• The extent to which you initiate and answer discussion questions and provide insightful comments about assignments.
• Your consistent class attendance and completion of in-class activities and worksheets.

*Note:  I will not take points away if you don't talk for an entire class.  I recognize that there are times when some of us may have nothing to say.  What I am concerned with here is having quiet, dull, and boring class discussions with only two or three people making comments or answering questions.  This criteria is a guideline for you to use to conduct self-evaluations of your class participation!

See the calendar and syllabus for the deadlines for all projects, assignments, and reports. Late projects and assignments may be accepted but will not receive any credit.  In other words, you and your group will receive a ZERO for the assignment, if turned in after the deadline.  If you have a legitimate excuse, which may be verified, and given that you have talked to me about it in advance, I will allow you to submit the assignment on another date without penalty!

The School of Journalism is committed to the highest standards of academic and professional ethics and expects its students to adhere to those standards. Students are expected to observe strict honesty in academic programs and as representatives of school-related media. Should any student be guilty of plagiarism, falsification, misrepresentation or other forms of dishonesty in any assigned works, they may be subject to a failing grade from the course teacher and such disciplinary action as may be recommended pursuant to University regulations. Academic misconduct includes the following:

• Cheating or the improper taking or tendering of information which shall be used to determine academic credit.  Taking of information includes, but is not limited to copying graded homework assignments from another student; attempting to take an exam from the instructor's office; working together with another individual on a take-home test or project when not specifically permitted by the instructor, and looking at or attempting to look at another student's paper during an examination.  Tendering of information includes giving your work to another student to be used or copied; giving answers to exam questions either when the exam is being given or after taking an exam, and giving or selling a term paper or project to another student.
• Plagiarism involves representing and submitting the work or ideas of another fellow student or colleague; using someone else's ideas, designs, or copy ideas.
• Misrepresentation includes lying to a teacher to increase your grade; lying or misrepresenting facts to affect your grade.

It is possible that some of these guidelines may be waived under special circumstances, so if you wish to avoid problems, please ask in advance.

I do my best to make myself accessible to you.  Your opportunity to learn and to get in touch with me is very important to me.  I will do my best to be in my office during the designated office hours.  However, it is always a good idea to call ahead, send an e-mail message, or otherwise set things up ahead of time, if you can.

If my office hours are over, I ask that you try not to  "show up" or "stop by" expecting me to meet with you and discuss review questions, exams, or other problem areas.  I ask this because when I am not holding office hours, I am working on other commitments, publication deadlines, and conference papers.  If you want my full attention, it is always a good idea to call before you "stop by" and schedule a time that is good for both of us.  Also, I may occasionally need to shift office hours.  If I do this, I will let you know ahead of time and/or during class so that we can arrangements.

If problems arise let me instructor know immediately, particularly if those problems might potentially hamper your performance in class. Postponed deadlines (and even an incomplete grade) may be granted in this class when a problem is noted early and the student speaks with and establishes contact with the instructor ahead of time.  If you have no documentation-and your excuse sounds like a last ditch effort not to get a bad grade, you should probably forget talking to me about it.

Provisions to policies regarding attendance, makeup exams, and late projects will be given for the following situations ONLY:

¨ Observance of a religious holy day of your faith, upon approval by the instructor.

¨ Personal or family health conditions, certified by a physician or counselor and approved by the instructor.

¨ Personal or family legal conditions, warranting your attention during class time and certified by an attorney or judge and approved by the instructor;

¨ University business certified by a University official and approved by the instructor.

Students who are absent from classes or exams because of these and other reasons should contact me ASAP. If you have special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and need assistance, please notify me immediately.  A reasonable effort will be met to accommodate your needs. PLEASE DO NOT EXPECT ME TO HEAR YOUR EXCUSE FOR A LATE ASSIGNMENT OR MISSED EXAM AFTER EVERYTHING IS OVER! If you miss a class, exam, or project deadline without an acceptable reason approved IN ADVANCE, you will receive a grade of zero.