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What is J319 Strategic Communication?
Everyday we are exposed to thousands of advertising messages. Do you know how advertising really affects
you? Do you know how it affects your friends and family, the economy, and society as a whole? Good news… J319 helps you answer these and many other questions regarding the effects of advertising on
society and our well-being. J319 provides a basic understanding and overview of the advertising process and industry. This course helps you to better understand (and appreciate) what advertising is, what it is
not what it can be, how it works, along with a basic knowledge about the environmental constraints and legal regulations. You will even see how advertising has evolved over the years and how it has become the
most effective and efficient tool used in the marketing industry.
J319 Principles of Strategic Communication is a survey course that aims to provide a solid
foundation of the tools used in the advertising and public relations industry to reach niche audiences (target markets). The course is designed to help beginning journalism and mass communication students know and
understand why and how persuasive messages used in advertising and public relations work. Even if you are not an advertising major, taking J319 equips all students with the tools and knowledge needed to make
the best possible advertising and marketing decisions.
My Teaching Objective
The focus of this course, therefore, is to enhance understanding of and appreciation for the practice and
development of strategic advertising and public relations campaigns. The main teaching goal of the course is to provide students with information and learning
experiences that increase knowledge of the methods, policies, and practices used in advertising and public relations. Here are my other teaching objectives:
1) Develop and enhance strategic thinking and critical
thinking skills. In this course you will be asked to complete several projects and assignments. The purpose of these assignments is to motivate you to actively
participate in the learning process. In this course, I expect all students to actively participate and learn more about important topics or issues by participating in verbal
discussions during class lectures, participate in small group activities and discussions, and engage in other activities or complete assignments outside of the class
room in order to help stimulate strategic, independent, critical thinking. These activities, you will learn will help facilitate your decision-making and creative problem-solving skills.
2) Understand how advertising fits within the broader
disciplines of business and marketing. During the next few weeks, marketing students as well as journalism students will learn how advertising relates to other
professional careers and disciplines within as well as outside of the field of mass communication.
3) Discover what advertising people do and how they do it. Students will learn about various career
opportunities in and outside of the advertising agency.
4) Appreciate (and tolerate) the artistic creativity and technical expertise used in many strategic
communications campaigns.
Basically, J319 provides a bird's eye view of the advertising field for students interested in learning about
advertising, but who probably will take only one course in advertising and J319 is that one course. BE WARNED: This course is not an easy course nor was it designed to
be an easy "A" class. Because J319 is an introductory survey course designed to introduce you to all the persuasive "tools" used in planning advertising strategies
and campaigns, there is a plethora of "detail-specific" information, concepts, and issues for you to absorb and comprehend. You will find that to succeed in J319, you
must be motivated to learn the material and willing to work very hard in order to succeed just as you would "in the real world."
J319 Study Habits and Learning
Often, students like to know what they can anticipate from a course and the instructor. The following list should
provide you with a basic idea of what you might look forward to in the next 14 – 15 weeks.
- Extensive reading and time outside of class completing reading and other assignments
- To spend approximately 4 – 5 hours per week outside of class on homework and other assignments.
- Difficult and challenging projects and exams. You may feel like you've studied your heart out… you
should feel that way. You may feel like you've invested an extremely huge amount of time to completing projects and studying for exams. Time invested into studying and preparation does not
equal or mean instant A!!! So, please don't say, "I spent a lot of time on the project and should get an A." To be prepared for one of my exams, students
typically re-write lecture notes, read the chapters before coming to class, think of examples of the concepts independently, complete review sheets, participate in lecture discussions, ask questions,
visit the J319 web site and instructor regularly, attend review sessions, and meet with the instructor early in the semester before problems get worse or arise (more students meet with me even before
problems arise).
- A chance to enhance your creative, independent thinking skills. From time to time, I will leave a lot of
room for you to "add your own thoughts and opinions." I purposely leave a lot for you to "work out" on your own. Please know that in order to tap into your creative potential and encourage you to
think creatively, I leave a lot of details up to you and your imagination. This is done so that you are and will be prepared to work "in the real world." Today,
supervisors and managers expect professional behavior and for qualified candidates to think independently (without a lot of instruction) and to be able to think creatively and strategically.
Tips to help you succeed
- Be prompt for and attend class lectures regularly.
- Engage in active class participation (i.e., willingness to participate in class activities, prompt and
consistent attendance, willingness to ask and answer questions during class lecture, etc)
- Read the textbook and complete the questions at the end of every chapter.
- Check the J319 web site regularly or announcements from the TA or instructor
- Adhere to course syllabus and policies.
- Submit assignments and projects on or before deadlines
- Study for exams on a weekly basis
- Visit or e-mail instructor about areas of concern or about unclear concepts, issues or discrepancies in
and misunderstandings presented in lecture.
- Do not memorize definitions or concepts. Think of situations and current examples.
- Watch and critique TV commercials and print advertisements regularly in order to apply course
material and learn important advertising concepts.
- Don't take the class lightly or assume that you (not anybody else) can violate rules and/or ask for exceptions to the rules.
- Know and understand that each test is hard and will challenge you to apply the concepts, not just respond to facts and/or dates.
Remember: In order to succeed at anything, you must first be motivated to try. And, in this course, that means
that I expect you to spend approximately 5 hours outside of the classroom studying, completing homework assignments, and other tasks. Five hours may seem like a
lot to you, but here's the rule: for every credit hour you have, you must and should devote approximately 2 hours studying for that course. J319 is a 3 credit hour course,
so that means you MUST devote 6 hours of your own time studying for my course, completing projects and assignments, preparing for exams, and reading.
COURSE POLICIES
[Class Attendance] [Reading assignments]
[Lecture Behaviors]
[Academic Dishonesty] [Missed deadlines] [Exams]
[Make-up Exams] [Lecture Notes] [Writing Recommendation Letters] [Getting your absence
excused] [Office Hours]
IGNORANCE OF THE LAW IS NO EXCUSE!
Please read and refer to these course policies throughout the semester.
Class Attendance
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. In this class, however, skipping is not a wise choice as many quiz and exam questions will come directly from lectures, videos, guest speakers, and
other activities. I assign various points on the basis of your class participation and unexcused absences can severely affect your class participation grade, and
ultimately your course grade. You should be aware that students who attend class lectures regularly also tend to make better (higher) grades.
To be able to successfully complete this course, you MUST attend classes regularly. From time-to-time, I will
take attendance in the form of small group discussions and other in-class activities. This means that your attendance and participation will be assessed in the form
of your level of participation in and during lectures and pop or announced quizzes and short-essay answers. Your regular and consistent attendance is a MUST. I will
not and cannot allow make-up assignments or class participation activities.
You are also responsible for any and all lecture information and materials presented in your absence. If
handouts were provided and you did not get one… there may or may not be extras. Ask a friend or fellow J319'ite to provide a copy for you. NOT THE INSTRUCTOR. The
only people I make exceptions to this rule for are those who have excused absences and had their absence approved by me PRIOR to class. BTW: Calling in sick,
(calling me just before class starts) so to speak is not an excused absence, but does help me in assessing your performance at the end of the course.
Reading Assignments
It is also expected that you will have completed the assigned readings or projects BEFORE coming to class.
This means that it is expected that you come to lecture prepared to discuss what you have read in the chapter. Remember that we will be holding a lot of discussions. If
you are not "up on the readings" you will most likely perform poorly when evaluated on your class participation, on the exams, and quizzes. If you save your
readings until the last minute, this only helps you to feel "overwhelmed" and overloaded with information. It is not unlikely or unusual for me to ask you to describe and
summarize the chapter that you were assigned to read for that day. Just be aware: if few people are ready to summarize the readings or discuss concepts in the
assigned reading, I will be prepared to distribute a "pop quiz" or other "surprise" activity. This policy is not constructed to hurt good students, but to encourage
active participation in the learning process. It is the instructor's duty to prepare lectures, but it is the student's responsibilities to "soak in the material," learn it and apply
it. By responding to my questions on the readings, you help me ascertain your level of understanding and comfort with the readings.
Lecture Behaviors
One thing you need to know about me is that I cannot stand nor will I tolerate talking while I am lecturing. That is
my one and biggest pet peeve. Talking, with the exception of when you are asked to contribute and talk, is disrespectful and disruptive to your fellow classmates and
me. "Gossiping" with your neighbor during lecture is FORBIDDEN and engaging in the behavior will result in an embarrassing situation for you, your friend(s), and for me.
Please don't let me glance up and see you "visiting." The policy regarding talking during lecture is this: I will stop the lecture once until you and your friend finish your
conversation. I may ask you to share your conversation with the rest of us, particularly since you've found it more entertaining than lecture, or I may ask you to visit me
during my office hours before you come back to class. If in the event I am going to fast and you are having a hard time catching up, please do not share this with a neighbor,
particularly if it takes more than a minute for you to "catch up." I much rather you send me an e-mail, visit with me after class or during office hours, or make an appointment
to discuss the matter in lieu of chatting. Incessant (continuous) talking during a lecture will result in even more serious and negative consequences i.e., being put
on probation or having to speak with the department chair or Dean).
Packing up and deciding to leave before 9:50 or when class officially ends is another behavior that is and will be
highly discouraged. If you need to leave before class is scheduled to end, let me know before class begins at 9:00 a.m. This also means that at 9:50 or end of class, you do
not need to pack your bags. I tend to be very aware of the time and realize that many of you have other courses that also demand "on-time" arrivals. However, from time to
time, I will need every bit of class time and am asking for your cooperation and understanding if I happen to run late.
This is an extremely rude and disrespectful classroom behavior exhibited by students. Most professors are
aware of the time and do not need for you to begin closing notebooks or placing items in your backpack before being officially dismissed. I personally despise it when students
begin to close notebooks and/or place books in a backpack before my official "stop time" of 9:50 a.m.
BTW: When I lecture, I use a timeralong with a stopwatch
to assure that students leave "on-time." (I assume that as adults, you will arrive on time as well). I do, however, lecture until 9:50 a.m. and for those of you with classes in
other buildings across campus, I suggest you find a seat in the auditorium that will allow you easy entrances and exits. It is not my responsibility to dismiss my class before
the scheduled 9:50 hour. You will also find that on dates when we have quizzes, exams, and other activities, you will need all the time you can get. For example, due to
quizzes or my attempt to prepare you for an upcoming exam, there might be times in which class does not end until around 9:53 a.m. I am asking that in cases when this
does happen, please refrain from packing up until you are given permission to do so. *This rule applies when guest lectures are present or when substitutes instructors are in the classroom as well.
ACADEMIC DISHONESY
One of the goals of the University is to insure that students are honest and forthright in their academic
endeavors. Therefore, all students are required to abide by the Academic Honesty Guidelines. When in doubt about plagiarism, paraphrasing, quoting, or collaboration,
consult the course instructor. The instructor is required to report all suspected cases of academic dishonesty to the Provost office in Jesse Hall. This can be an extremely
anguishing and embarrassing situation for the student(s) involved.
Your participation in this course comes with my expectation that your work will be completed in full
observance of the Honor Code. Academic dishonesty in any form is unacceptable. Automatic failure and honor code violations include:
- Cheating or the improper taking or tendering of information that 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.
MISSED DEADLINES
Late projects and assignments may be accepted but will NOT receive any credit. In other words, you will receive a
ZERO for the assignment, if turned in after the deadline.
EXAMINATIONS
Examinations are objective, machine-graded tests
consisting of 50 multiple choice, and true-false questions. Because the main objective of the course is for you to understand, interpret, compare and contrast, and explain
issues and practices involved in advertising, many of the questions test your ability to apply facts and concepts to situations. Thus, you should not memorize definitions or
lecture notes. My tests are not designed to assess your ability to recall specific facts, but to challenge you to go beyond memorization so that you might enhance your
critical thinking abilities and ultimately increase your level of understanding and knowledge.
Seventy percent of the questions on exams are derived
from lecture materials (videos, examples, discussion, etc). The remaining questions will be taken directly from the book. Focusing exclusively on one at the expense of the other is not a wise decision.
Exams are NOT to leave the auditorium—or from the instructor's office. You may come by my office to see and review your exam.
MAKE-UP EXAMS
Essay make-up exams are an option. If you miss an exam given for an inexcusable reason (oversleeping, a job
interview, forgetting, airline flights/pr-purchased tickets, or other reasons identified in this syllabus as inexcusable), you are allowed to take an essay exam. If you have to take
this essay exam, see or call the instructor as soon as possible. If your absence is excused, please make arrangements with Dr. Frisby immediately! Students who
have been excused prior to exam day, you will be allowed to take the same exam given to the class (i.e. multiple choice and true/false questions).
LECTURE NOTES
If you miss a lecture AND your absence was not excused, it is YOUR responsibility to obtain the lecture notes. I
provide a shell of my lecture outline on the J319 web page. I have been known to make last minute changes to lecture information. While the notes and outlines provided
on the web site are not exact replicas of the actual lecture, you should be able to follow and keep up. I reserve the right to change the content of my lectures because I like to
use current examples that many of you can relate to. In order to do this, last minute changes to lecture outlines is necessary. (note: I tend to make the changes around 4 or 5:00 every Thursday).
For those of you who think that having an outline provided makes "skipping lecture" easier, please be
advised that simply printing and filling out the outline WILL NOT help you on exams or quizzes. I suggest you join a study group or get a study partner to help motivate you and provide lecture notes.
RECOMMENDATION LETTERS
I am happy to write recommendation letters, but I only do so under certain situations. Before you ask, be sure that
you meet the following criteria. I write recommendation letters for students who:
- have been enrolled in J319 and attended lectures for a minimum of 8 weeks (or have taken at least 2 exams).
- are prompt and attend class lectures regularly.
- engage in active class participation
- adhere to course syllabus and policies.
- submit assignments and projects on or before deadlines
- visit or e-mail instructor about areas of concern or about unclear concepts, issues or discrepancies in
and misunderstandings presented in lecture.
OFFICE HOURS
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" my office and expect me to meet with you and discuss review questions, exams, or other problem areas. When I am not holding office hours, I am
usually grading papers/assignments or working on other commitments, publication deadlines, and/or 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 your instructor know immediately, particularly if those problems might potentially hamper
your performance in class.
Incompletes and postponed deadlines are more often granted in this class when a problem is noted early. 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.
Getting An Absence Excused
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;
or
- University business certified by a University official and approved by the instructor.
In general, the "excusable" reasons for missing class include: severe illness, military obligation, religious
holidays, and participation in university sponsored activities such as athletic competitions, debate, or music performances. Students who are absent from classes or
exams because of these and other reasons should contact me. (Note: Oversleeping is NOT an acceptable excuse!) Job interviews are not excusable. You must tell
the interviewer that you have a class that meets at that time and need to find another time to schedule the interview. Trust me, your willingness to put your class
work first communicates a more powerful message about you and your priorities than your willingness to "skip" class. Job interviews will not be tolerated! The policy
about missing deadlines is this: 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, please understand that you receive a grade of zero for that activity. I am willing to evaluate the project. You just will not receive a grade for your work.
LEARNING TOOLS USED IN J319
[J319 Ad File] [Intro Survey] [Class Participation]
[In-Class Exam Preparation]
[Creative Strategy and Self-Promo Ads]
[Participation in class and in research studies]
The Introductory Survey
You will demonstrate your comprehension of reading material, class lectures, and other assignments by
completing several on-line assignments. The first online assignment is the "Intro Survey" which can be found here on the J319 Web site. There, you will find a navigation
button titled "intro survey." You need to complete this introductory questionnaire before Friday, Sept. 01, 2000.
The intro survey is worth a maximum of 5 points. This initial survey is used to help me get to know you, your
learning style and preferences. Please be sure to print out a hard copy of your survey after you submit it. (i.e., when you hit "submit survey now," you will see a page
that says something like, "thank you for your feedback. The following is information submitted to Cynthia Frisby." When you see this screen, please print the page. Your
hard copy will serve as back up in the event of computer "failure." If you do not receive credit for this assignment, Mandy or I will ask you for the hard copy
The J319 Ad File
At the end of every chapter, discussion and/or lecture, you will find a different set of questions or assignments. I
will place these assignments on the web site. You should find them when you click on the navigation button titled "Ad File."
The assignments are usually related to and are designed accommodate material we've covered or will cover during
lecture. For example, when discussing creativity, you might be asked to write a short paper that involves a critique of a particular ad or broadcast commercial. You
will be asked to place this critique in "your ad file." This ad file will be collected three or four times throughout the semester and its submission may be unannounced. You
could receive up to 50 points each time the folder is collected. Please understand that you WILL NOT receive 50 points just because you turned in an "Ad File" or
because you spent 5 hours working on the file. To receive credit for your Ad File, you must do the following:
Bring your Ad File to each lecture. Listed in the hard copy version of the syllabus are the "possible" deadlines
for submission of your ad folder. We reserve the right to keep all J319 Ad File folders submitted for each section.
- Complete the assignments/projects when they are provided. (I give deadlines and due dates, therefore,
there will be no need to say "I didn't know").
- Be sure that your Ad File is well-organized, neat, and arranged in topical order.
- Type all entries. (If asked to find examples of advertisements, please place the ads on
construction paper. Then type your descriptions or rationales and glue them to the other side of the ad example or place a typed index card underneath the
advertising example. This makes for a nicer, much neater project and assignment… one that helps the grader(s) tremendously.
I will NOT REMIND you to do your weekly Ad File assignments. This will be understood to be your responsibility.
Class Participation
Because I believe that you cannot get maximum benefit from the course if you are not present and participating, I
have placed emphasis on class attendance. I also place huge emphasis on interactivity from and by my students. Despite the fact that J319 is a large lecture class I still
expect students to actively participate in lectures and in the learning process. This means that from time-to-time, I will ask you to participate in lecture by completing an
in-class reaction paper and/or homework assignments. This means that in order for you to receive credit for class participation, you must attend class lectures regularly!
In-Class Exam Preparation
In-class quizzes will be given periodically to ensure that you are keeping up with your readings. These quizzes
will not be graded or evaluated. Before each exam, I may give a quiz or show prior tests to help you identify problematic areas and weaknesses that may be remedied. It is my hope that these in-class exam
preparations will be used to help me AND you identify problem areas-those areas that may require either clearer instructor by me or closer study by you. Please use this
time to study for the exam and notify Dr. Frisby immediately when discrepancies or problems are found. This will help your grade tremendously.
Creative Strategy and Self-Promo Ad
Nothing is harder than to sell yourself. This activity not only helps you learn how to write a creative strategy and
copy platform, but you will have to execute and produce an ad that can be used to help you get noticed and land that "perfect" job or internship. The self-promo ad
assignment will be provided during lecture on creativity, so stay tuned!
Research Participation Opportunities
There may (or may not) be opportunities for you to participate in research studies. For every hour that you
participate, you may earn up to three points in course credit. Dates and times of the research studies and other outside classroom participation activities will be
announced in lecture (at the beginning) and may be posted on the "What's New" page.
Criteria for Evaluating Written Assignments and Creative Projects
Your written work (i.e., journal entries, homework assignments, and any written in-class activity) will
primarily be graded based on your ability to organize and present information. Your written assignments will be specifically evaluated on organization, clarity, insight,
creativity and creative thinking skills, completeness, and accuracy. Here's how the points will be distributed:
30% Overall organization, style, look, and presentation of thoughts.
- Is the submission neat and well-organized? Is the paper confusing?
- Are the content and/or ideas creative?
- Is the big idea understandable?
- Is the paper typed? (If applicable), Was the paper and/or project within the page limit requirements?
10%Writing accuracy (i.e. grammar)
60% Depth and Breadth of Expression.
- Does the submission reflect a critical understanding of the concept, issue, and/or question?
- Did the author provide a thorough discussion of the idea and/or concept?
- Does the answer include references to information provided in lecture and the
textbook? Thus, did the author include terms, concepts, issues, and/or ideas that have been learned so far?
- Does the author provide personal opinion and extend his/her thought processes to reflect a
critical understanding and evaluation of the material presented?
- Were appropriate samples and/or descriptions provided that helped the author answer the question correctly and thoughtfully?
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