Interactive Marketing Communication
MET CM 719

Overview: This course provides an overview of the theories, practices, and techniques in the emerging field of interactive marketing communication (IAMC).  The course will explore almost all the ways interactive marketing can be practiced via the Internet: historical introduction, dotcom era, basic principles, database marketing, email, search (SEO & SEM/PPC), display advertising, social networking, gaming, mobile, et al. (4 cr.)

Students  will:
•    Gain an understanding of the strategy and tactics of IAMC and its place in the more comprehensive field of marketing communication.
•    Review IAMC’s relationship to and its effects on society, culture, and the economic system.

Sample Course Assignments

Week #1 - Assignment
Cookies Report

Please surf the Internet, find good, factual sources (including some that are articles with authors, titles, dates and publications) and write an explanation of cookies and how they can enhance both user experience and interactive marketing in general. Please include BOTH sides of the controversy surrounding cookies (privacy concerns v. enhancing the user experience). Write your own 2-page synopsis of the cookie concept and current situation. Include current industry trends or issues related to cookies. Include the title, author, date, and publication of your articles on a separate page: Article title, author, date, publication/URL.

Note: You will not have access to Lecture 1B before you submit this assignment.

Length: Two-page report plus a resource page.
Weight: 10% of your overall grade.

Week #2 - Assignment/Exercise
Database Marketing/LTV

Research the concepts of database marketing and Lifetime Value (LTV) to develop a grasp of the key principles and basic theory behind them. There are thousands of good articles available online, so you’ll have to sift through and find some good ones (they don’t have to be dated within the last two years, but you should have a couple that are up to date for perspective).

Note: You will not have access to Lecture 2B before you submit this assignment.

Length: Three-page report plus a resource page.
Weight: 15% of your overall grade.

Site Navigation Exercise (ungraded)

Though this is an ungraded exercise, the discussion aspect will be factored into your overall discussion grade. Read the course lecture notes and a couple of articles you find on your own to develop a grasp of the key principles and elements of good, intuitive website navigation. Since 1993, a number of fairly standard design and navigation elements or practices have evolved to make it easier for users to know what to expect and how to find what they seek.

Choose a site that is related to health communications for your critique. Deconstruct its objectives and strategies:

• How does the site attempt to acquire personally identifiable information (PII) for purposes of future database marketing?

• Has the site built-in any ways of personalizing the experience for return customers? If not, what are the opportunities?

• Critique the design and navigation: what’s good? Bad? What could they do to improve it?

• Critique special actions such as user-involvement games, the appointment/transaction process, information download, or registration process:

• How many steps are involved?

• How easy is it?

• What would improve it?

Please also be prepared to discuss your findings in the discussion area, titled “Site Navigation Exercise Discussion.”

Week #3 - Exercise
eMail Exercise (ungraded)

Though this is an ungraded exercise, the discussion aspect will be factored into your overall discussion grade.
Read course lecture notes on email as well as a couple of current articles you find on your own. Deconstruct and analyze a non-spam commercial/marketing HTML email—meaning an email that uses graphics and tries to accomplish a marketing objective. Discuss the marketing objective(s), the target market, the subject line, the preview panel, the offer, privacy and unsubscribe options and the effectiveness of the landing page (the link they want you to click through to).

Please also be prepared to discuss your findings in the discussion area, titled “eMail Exercise Discussion.”

Week #4 - Midterm and Exercise
Midterm Exam Due
PPC/AdWords Team Exercise (ungraded)

Although this is an ungraded exercise, the discussion aspect will be factored into your overall discussion grade.
The challenge is to imagine you’ve created a health-related service, either nationally or regionally (nothing weird or unusual, please). Our goal is to create a typical AdWord campaign to drive traffic to the site and then conversions (you decide what the “conversion” should be: registration for newsletters or future database marketing, generating appointments, etc.

The instructor and facilitators will determine the 2- or 3-person teams prior to the beginning of Week 4.
Please also be prepared to discuss your findings in the discussion area, titled “PPC/AdWords Team Discussion.”

Week #5 - Assignment
SEO Report

Research and write a two-page report (2.5 pages max, plus resource page) on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and include a paragraph on the Paid Inclusion controversy. These are two separate but related concepts.

Summarize Search Engine Optimization, SEO best practices and why it’s important (note: SEO is not, and should not be confused with, paid per click search, sometimes referred to as PPC).

Summarize Paid Inclusion and objectively explain both sides of the debate (why Yahoo uses it and Google never did). Explain why Paid Inclusion does guarantee your web page will be included in a search engine’s index, but NOT necessarily included as a listing in the search results for your desired keywords.

Note: You will not have access to Lecture 5A before you submit this assignment.

Length: Two-page report plus a resource page.
Weight: 10% of your overall grade.

Week #6 - Assignments
Rich Media Report

Research current information on rich media online advertising: definition, IAB guidelines, popular formats, as well as online video advertising. What are the advantages of using rich media ads as opposed to static display ads? What are its limitations? Examine two popular web publishers (Washingtonpost.com, Marthastewart.com, etc.) that accept rich media ads and compare their technical specifications. Look for the Media Kit—usually there’s a link for it or for “Advertisers” at page bottom. Include what they say about audio and what they allow in terms of length/timing/file size, etc.

Note: You will not have access to Lecture 6B before you submit this assignment.

Length: Two-page report plus a resource page.
Weight: 10% of your overall grade.

Week #7- Final Projects
Final Exam Due