JOMC 671.001 (Southwell) Spring 2016 syllabus 7
Social Marketing Campaigns
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
JOMC 671.001
Spring 2016
Instructor: Dr. Brian Southwell Class: TTh 8:00 AM to 9:15 AM, CA 340
Office: 371 Carroll Hall Office Hours: by appointment
Phone: 919.541.8037
Email:
Note: This course syllabus is a general plan for the semester and I understand its utility for your planning. We may collective decide to alter these plans, meaning regular class attendance will be necessary to ensure you stay up to date regarding the schedule, but any decision to alter the schedule will reflect class consensus as much as possible.
Course Description
Welcome! I am pleased you are taking JOMC 671. We need more students to pursue the laudable work of social marketing and it is my hope that at least some of you will decide to do so following our time together. Regardless, the intellectual challenges posed by social marketing problems are as difficult as any faced by advertising and public relations professionals of any sort, and so I am certain you will at least benefit from this course as you get ready for the next step in your career.
Social marketing is the application of marketing concepts and practices for the purposes of encouraging social change (or continuity), rather than solely focusing on financial profit through commercial product promotion or on political candidate election. Social marketing is an approach to planning and implementing projects and programs that emphasizes the importance of learning what people want and need in order to encourage particular perceptions or behaviors. Social marketing does not always exclusively focus on social issue advertising, per se, but we will focus largely on advertising campaign development in this class. Nonetheless, social marketing, in practice, sometimes overlaps with public relations, lobbying, direct marketing, education and entertainment, and students interested in each of those approaches as ways of addressing social issues also will find the course useful.
I will be working to ensure that we address the needs of a number of different types of students. The interdisciplinary approach of the course provides a unique learning experience. Undergraduate students can learn research skills from graduate students, MPH students can impart their knowledge of public health to advertising and public relations students, and many students in the class will have the necessary skills and training to translate abstract discussion of campaign strategy into vibrant creative materials and concrete campaign plans. I am excited by the mix of students attracted to the course and look forward to tapping each of your talents.
I have designed this course as a service-learning course so as to fulfill the Experiential Education requirements of the University. Service-learning is a pedagogy integrating academic coursework with meaningful service in the community. The APPLES Service-Learning Program aims to build sustainable, service-learning partnerships among students, faculty, and communities in North Carolina and beyond. This experience is valuable in that it provides experience working in the non-profit realm and addresses important needs in our local communities.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
· Define and identify appropriate applications of social marketing
· Articulate the principles and methods typically used in social marketing
· Apply a social marketing planning process to develop a campaign. This will include:
o Conducting a situation analysis
o Conducting formative audience research and writing a research report for an actual client
o Developing a social marketing strategy
o Designing and testing social marketing materials and concepts with members of the target audience
o Writing a social marketing campaign plan
o Presenting the plan to a client
This course also addresses a number of competencies valued by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC), including the ability to do each of the following:
· Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of peoples and cultures and of the significance and impact of mass communication in a global society
· Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information
· Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity
· Think critically, creatively and independently
· Conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to communication professions
· Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for communication professions, audiences and purposes
· Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness
· Apply basic numerical and statistical concepts
· Apply tools and technologies appropriate for communication professions
· Contribute to knowledge appropriate to communication professions
Required Reading
Lee, N. R. & Kotler, P. (2015). Social Marketing: Changing Behaviors for Good (5th Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Southwell, B. G. (2013). Social Networks and Popular Understanding of Science and Health. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Other readings and materials will be posted to course website.
Requirements for the Course
The requirements for the course are designed to provide you with the concepts and experiences needed to meet the above-stated objectives. You are required to complete three individual assignments as well as six group assignments for this course, as well as to complete assigned reading and participate in class discussion.
Class Organization
During roughly the first month of the semester, we will gather as a typical seminar to discuss assigned reading. I will offer formal lecture comments during many class sessions as we all approach the basic issues raised by social marketing together. Following that first month, we will largely be working in groups. We will develop campaign plans using an “agency team” approach and the class will be divided into three teams; each team will address a different set of concerns posed by one of three local non-profit organizations that have agreed to participate this semester. We will frequently gather to discuss and reflect on progress and experiences; the goal is to learn from one another.
Grading
Average individual assignment score: 20 % of final grade (schedule lists due dates)
Average score for group assignments 1 - 4: 20 % of final grade (schedule lists due dates)
Comprehensive campaign plan: 30 % of final grade (schedule lists due date)
Presentation to client: 20 % of final grade (schedule lists due date range)
Class participation: 10 % of final grade (see notes on class participation)
Registration in this course is by A-F only. On average, students should expect to spend about 9 hours in learning efforts per week (inside and outside of class) to satisfactorily complete this course.
A – achievement that is outstanding relative to the level necessary to meet course requirements.
B – achievement that is significantly above the level necessary to meet course requirements.
C – achievement that meets course requirements in every respect.
D - achievement that is worthy of credit even though it fails to meet fully the course requirements.
F – represents failure and signifies that the work was either completed but at a level of achievement that is not worthy of credit or was not completed.
I (Incomplete) – Assigned at the discretion of the instructor. An incomplete grade will be considered only when documented, extraordinary circumstances beyond control, or ability to anticipate, prohibit timely completion of the course requirements. Incomplete grades are rare and require a written agreement between instructor and student.
Class Participation
I teach because I enjoy interacting with students. As a result, I am hopeful that we can all have a meaningful and useful experience this semester.
Class participation points are yours to lose. Show up to class on time, do the reading, be respectful of your classmates, participate in class discussion, ask questions when you have them, and be a responsible contributor to the group projects and you will receive a high class participation score. This means that you can guarantee a high mark for the final 10% of your course grade through your effort alone. That said, if you are not able to do the above, these points are not guaranteed and could be forfeited.
Disabilities
If you have a disability or condition that compromises your ability to complete the requirements of this course, please notify me within one week of receiving this syllabus. I will make every reasonable effort to assist you.
Diversity Statement
It is my intention to respect all types of students and viewpoints and I expect you to extend the same courtesy to your classmates.
Academic Integrity
Students are expected to adhere to the Honor Code. For more information, please visit honor.unc.edu.
Course schedule
1/12 First day of class; introductions
1/14 Social marketing?
** Individual assignment #1 due
Introduction to clients
1/19 What’s your problem? Identifying campaign goals
** Have read Lee & Kotler ch. 1, 2, & 3
1/21 Presentation by first two clients (Rhonda Lanning <>, UNC Volunteer Doula program, at 8 AM and Andrea Martin <> and Tara Ilsley-Murillo <>, Duke Community and Family Medicine, at 8:30 AM)
** Have read Lee & Kotler ch. 4 & 6
1/26 Presentation by third client (Mary Quezada <>, UNC Women’s Health Information Center)
** Have read Lee & Kotler ch. 5
** Have read Southwell (2000)
1/28 Presentation by last client (Paul Weaver <>, Durham County Health Department)
** Email top two group choices to Brian by 9 PM on 1/28
A framework for campaign development
2/2 Identifying and conceptualizing audiences
** Individual assignment #2 due
2/4 Using research to inform, persuade, & remind audiences
** Have read Lee & Kotler ch. 7
** Have read Atkin & Freimuth (2001)
2/9 Finding and reaching audiences: Channel selection
** Have read Lee & Kotler ch. 13
** Have read Southwell (2013), chapters 1-4
2/11 Creating messages
** Have read Lee & Kotler ch. 9
** Group assignment # 1 due in class
2/16 Group consultations in class with Brian in class regarding problem statements
Campaign development activities
2/18 Group meetings in class to plan for formative research
2/23 Formative research. (In field.)
2/25 Formative research. (In field.)
3/1 Full class discussion of formative research experience and issues.
** Group assignment # 2 due in class
3/3 Group meetings in class regarding creative message development.
3/8 Creative message development. (In field.)
3/10 TBD
3/15 & 3/17 Spring break. Have fun!
3/22 Creative message development. (In field.)
3/24 Group consultations with Brian regarding creative message development and pretesting
** Group assignment #3 due in class
3/29 Message pretesting. (In field.)
3/31 Message pretesting. (In field.)
4/5 Assessing campaign effects: Monitoring and summative evaluation
** Have read Hornik (2002).
** Have read Lee & Kotler ch. 15.
** Have read Southwell (2013), chapters 5-8.
4/7 Final consultations with Brian
** Group assignment #4 due in class
4/12 Presentation rehearsals A& B in class (order TBD)
4/14 Presentation rehearsals C & D in class (order TBD)
** Individual assignment #3 due in class
4/19 Final group presentations A & B (order TBD)
** Group assignments #5 & 6 due at time of presentation
4/21 Final group presentations C & D (order TBD)
** Group assignments #5 & 6 due at time of presentation
4/26 Course wrap-up session
** Peer assessments of group performance (other groups and your own) due in class
Assignments.
Individual assignment instructions
You will be asked to submit three double-spaced essays. More detail will follow in class, but here is a brief overview. All assignments are due in class on the date listed in the course schedule. (Any late assignment will receive a 50% penalty except in the class of medical or family emergency.)
Individual assignments
Individual assignment # 1: In a 2- to 3-page essay, you need to address the following two questions: “How do advertisements work?” and “Are advertisements likely to work equally as well to promote commercial sales as they are for most social marketing goals?” In order to address this task well, it will be useful for you to define “work” and “social marketing”. That said, I also am assigning this paper at the beginning of the semester and do not expect you to tie this first essay directly to course reading (though you might benefit from the assigned reading for the first week). You will have an opportunity to revisit these questions again at the end of the semester in a way that reflects our reading and work this semester. For now, the task is to be specific in your arguments and take a stand. Use examples. You can and should draw on your own experience and do not need to include formal citations in this first essay.
Individual assignment # 2: This is a two-part assignment. You must complete the CITI research training modules for social science research. (If you have already completed this training, please just provide documentation to me as part of this assignment and then complete the essay assignment listed below.) See http://research.unc.edu/offices/human-research-ethics/getting-started/training/ for instructions on registering and logging on and https://citiprogram.org for actual modules. Complete all recommended for social science research and include documentation of completion as part of the materials you submit to me. (One benefit of completing this assignment: you will become a CITI-certified researcher.) Following completion of the modules, write a 1- to 2-page essay answering the following question: “Why would someone assign the completion of the CITI research training modules to aspiring social marketing professionals?” Feel free to candidly assess what in the training was useful and what was not.
Individual assignment # 3: For assignment # 1, you addressed two questions (“How do advertisements work?” and “Are advertisements likely to work equally as well to promote commercial sales as they are for most social marketing goals?”). For assignment # 3, you will rewrite that paper based on what you learned during the semester. In a 3- to 5-page essay, you will need to specifically add citations from at least 3 of the articles or chapters covered during the semester or others you might find (with the Lee and Kotler book counting as just one source at most) and should prepare to have your paper judged as a formal academic argument. Please use American Psychological Association formatting. (Style guides are available on-line.) You can continue to draw upon personal examples in some instances and likely will find your work with a client this semester useful to discuss, but you also need to back up your arguments with citations to literature and empirical evidence when possible.
Group assignments
All assignments are due in class on the date listed in the course schedule. (Any late assignment will receive a 50% penalty except in the class of medical or family emergency.)