Integrated Marketing Communications

Integrated Marketing Communications (or `IMC') has been a popular `buzz phrase' since the fragmentation of mass media and the proliferation of different ways to reach consumers. IMC essentially looks at how companies use messages and channels to communicate about their brand, in an integrated fashion. The emphasis of this course will be on understanding the advertising process from content creation to placement and evaluation. Specifically, our initial focus will be on crafting powerful and persuasive messages. Later, we will consider how different channels and IMC components are used to influence consumers. Throughout the course, we ask you to be aware that you are surrounded by communications in your daily life. You will be challenged to think about these critically from the perspective of both the marketer and the consumer. By the end of this course, students should not only be familiar with a large body of advertising knowledge but also be
able to apply this information to create powerful advertising campaigns.