Marketing (MKTG) 420

Overview

There is no doubt that the ability of an organization to communicate effectively and efficiently with its target audiences is critical to its success. Marketing communications, including advertising, sales promotion, public relations, direct marketing, personal selling, and Internet marketing, are increasingly used to sell products and services as well as to promote causes, market political candidates, and deal with societal problems. With the fragmentation of traditional media, the use of more sophisticated interactive media, and the growing privacy concern for customers, marketers are constantly searching for new alternatives to communicate with their target audiences. This course introduces you to this fascinating field. You will learn how to cope with recent environmental challenges, research and evaluate an organization’s marketing and promotional situation, and use the different elements of promotional mix to develop effective marketing communication strategies and programs. The course is divided into fifteen lessons as described below.

Outline

• Lesson 1: Integrated Marketing Communications
• Lesson 2: Organizing for IMC
• Lesson 3: Consumer Behaviour, Target Audience Decisions, and Brand Positioning
• Lesson 4: Communication Response Models
• Lesson 5: Objectives for the IMC Plan
• Lesson 6: Creative Strategy Decisions
• Lesson 7: Creative Tactics Decisions
• Lesson 8: Measuring the Effectiveness of the Promotional Message
• Lesson 9: Media Planning and Budgeting for IMC
• Lesson 10: Broadcast Media
• Lesson 11: Print, Out-of-Home, and Support Media
• Lesson 12: Sales Promotion
• Lesson 13: Public Relations
• Lesson 14: Direct Marketing and Internet Media
• Lesson 15: Regulations, and Ethical, Social, and Economic Issues for IMC

Evaluation

Your final grade in MKTG 420: Advertising and Promotion will be based on your performance on three assignments and a final examination. The passing grade for the final examination, under Athabasca University's Alpha/4.0 undergraduate grading scale, is “D” (50 percent).

To receive credit for the course, you must pass the final examination and achieve an overall course grade of at least “D” (50 percent). The weighting of each assessment activity is indicated in the table below.

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Note: The final examination for this course must be taken online at an invigilated location. It is your responsibility to ensure a computer with an Internet connection and Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher is available for your use at the invigilation centre.

Course Materials

Textbook

Other materials

The course materials also include a CD-ROM. Students will access all other materials online.

Challenge for Credit Course Overview

The Challenge for Credit process allows students to demonstrate that they have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university level course.

Full information for the Challenge for Credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.

• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Policy
• Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Procedures

Challenge Evaluation

To receive credit for the MKTG 420 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least “D” (50 percent) on the examination.

Online Exam

Undergraduate Challenge for Credit Course Registration Form

• Challenge for Credit Form