Course Syllabus

MGMT E-6650: Digital Marketing Strategy 

Syllabus: Spring 2016

Overview 

The course examines digital marketing strategy, implementation and executional considerations for BtoB and BtoC brands and provides a detailed understanding of all digital channels and platforms. Participants will complete the course with a comprehensive knowledge of and experience with how to develop an integrated digital marketing strategy, from formulation to implementation. 

Objectives 

  1. Understand how and why to use digital marketing for multiple goals within a larger marketing and/or media strategy 
  2. Understand the major digital marketing channels - online advertising: Digital display, video, mobile, search engine, and social media 
  3. Learn to develop, evaluate, and execute a comprehensive digital marketing strategy and plan 
  4. Learn how to measure digital marketing efforts and calculate ROI 
  5. Explore the latest digital ad technologies 

 

Instructors 

Charles Breckling, MBA. Content and Digital Marketing Strategist

Britt Teravainen, Director, Digital Engagement Strategy, Boathouse Group, Inc. 

Contact Info 

Charlie Breckling 

cbreckling@gmail.com

Phone: 617-821-5342 

Britt Teravainen 

britthteravainen@gmail.com

Phone: 617-571-6554 

Both will make every effort to get back to you within 48 hours. 

Class Time and Location 

Wednesdays beginning January 27, 2016, 7:40-9:40 pm Eastern Time via live web conference. Class discussions are an important aspect of the learning and students are expected to attend the live sessions. The link to the web conference will be published on the course website (see below).

If attending class during the scheduled class time is a hardship, please drop this class and enroll in a different course that better fits your needs. The Extension School has other courses where lectures can be viewed on your own schedule. 

The course website will be an important resource for students throughout the course. Lecture slides, articles, and links to helpful resources will be posted to the website. Students are encouraged to respond to discussion questions posted to the website each week. Please note that you will be required to log in view course content and submit assignments and no exceptions will be made to this policy. 

Required Textbooks 

There are no required textbooks, however, each week you will be assigned readings that will be sourced from leading industry publications and websites including, but not limited to:

SEOMoz.org 

mashable.com

http://www.convinceandconvert.com

ClickZ.com

eMarketer

forrester.com 

contentmarketinginstitute.com

adage.com

adweek.com

And more...

Each week, students are required to complete the assigned readings as well as the corresponding discussion questions BEFORE each corresponding class. Required readings/questions will be posted on Canvas the day after each class for the follow session. Your question responses will be factored into your class participation grade.

Twitter 

Social media is an important marketing tool and students interested in the marketing field should be comfortable using social media. Therefore, we will use Twitter to post some course-related material. Students may view this information by following @brittybap and @cbreckling on Twitter. We will tag course-related posts with the hashtag, “#mgmt6650.” Students are strongly encouraged to create a Twitter account and add to the discussion by tagging their posts with “#mgmt6650.” 

Additionally, during the course of the class, we will conduct Twitter chats using our class hashtag, the class instructors will conduct biweekly Twitter chats based on the materials discussed in class. Tweet chats will be part of the class participation grade.  The first Twitter chat will take place on 2/4 at 7:30pm EST. 

Grading 

25% Class Participation (discussion questions, verbal comments, chat activity, Twitter Chats)

30% Quizzes (3 "pop quizzes" 10 question/10 minute limit and 3 "take home/open book/long form answer" quizzes) 

15% Written Research Assignment 

30% Final Project (Group paper and presentation) 

This is a graduate-level course and students should expect a graduate-level workload. The ability to express oneself effectively in verbal and written communication is essential for success in marketing and management careers. As such, active participation in class discussions and high-quality written work is expected. 

Written work should be clear, logical, grammatically correct, and free of spelling errors. Data and sources should be appropriately cited using Chicago or MLA format.

Short Bio Assignment 

Prior to the beginning of the first class session on January 27, you will be given instructions on how to post a short bio on the course website. For the bio, please include your name, where you are from, what the local time is for you when attending our web conference class, schools you have attended, and professional experience, including where you currently work. This will count toward the class participation grade for the first class. 

Class Participation and Attendance 

This course moves at a fast pace and much of the learning will take place during in-class exercises and discussion. Students are expected to attend all class sessions, complete all assigned readings prior to class and be prepared to participate. Attendance will be taken and participation will be evaluated at each class session.

Your weekly class participation grade includes the following:

  • Attendance
  • In class participation - both verbal and chat
  • Reading Discussion submissions - on Canvas
  • Quality of overall participation

Students are expected to arrive to the web conference on time and be engaged for the duration of the class. Participation in bi-weekly Twitter chats will be factored into the class participation grade. See calendar for exact dates and times of the Twitter chats. 

Written Assignment

There will be one written assignment designed to help students delve into specific topic areas. This assignment is expected to take approximately two weeks to complete. Students should not expect to complete the assignment at the last minute and receive a good grade. 

Submissions should be submitted in PowerPoint or PDF format. Assignments should be turned in to the electronic dropbox on the course website prior to the beginning of class. Written assignments turned in late will receive a zero. 

Quizzes 

Sometime during the course 3 short “pop” quiz will be given in class covering the assigned readings and course material. The quiz will be timed (10 minutes) and the date of the quiz will not be disclosed in advance. The quizzes are worth 15% of the final grade and students who are absent will not be given a make-up quiz. 

Additionally, there will be 3 scheduled "open book" quizzes.  These quizzes will also be timed ( 45 minutes); and will only be available for one week per the schedule.  The 45 minute time limit begins once the student initiates the quiz.  "Open Book" does not mean open internet. Students are only allowed to reference in class presentations, recordings, or assigned readings when preparing their answers to the 3-4 open ended questions.  

Final Project: Group Paper and Presentation 

Students will work in instructor-selected groups of four or five to complete a 15-20 page digital marketing plan utilizing the concepts and frameworks covered in the course.  Papers should be double-spaced using 12-point font and 1-inch margins, and submitted via Canvas by midnight EST on May 1, 2016.  All groups will be required to give a presentation in class highlighting the important points of their plan and submit their presentation slides for review. Presentations will take place in class via web conference on May 4 and May 11. Students will need to ensure their audio is working well in order to present.  All students will be required to complete evaluations of the group presentations given in class.  Students will also submit evaluations assessing each of their group members’ contributions to the final project. 25% will be deducted per day for late papers and slides.

Please note that because the final project is a group project, it is critical that students are considerate with regard to withdrawing from the class in a timely manner and communicating that information to the instructor and teammates.

Questions Regarding Grades 

The instructors will make every effort to provide detailed feedback on written assignments and the final project. If you question or request a higher grade for your written assignments or class participation, please know that your paper and participation will be re-graded with close detail and there is a possibility that your grade for the assignment will go down, not up. 

Academic Integrity and Professional Conduct 

Academic integrity and ethical behavior are fundamental requirements of this course. Students are expected to adhere to the school’s policies regarding academic integrity, which can be found at: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/exams-grades-policies/student-responsibilities. Please take time to become familiar with these policies as ignorance of the academic standards will not be considered an excuse for violating them. 

All instances of cheating and plagiarism will be forwarded to the Extension School Administrative Board which can issue a number of sanctions including academic suspension. The penalty can be the same if you intentionally or unintentionally plagiarize, if it is your first offense, or if it was a final paper, short assignment, or group project. Writing with Sources: A Guide for Harvard Students and Writing with Internet Sources, may both be downloaded from the above Extension School link. We strongly encourage students to complete the online tutorials regarding plagiarism: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources/career-academic-resource-center/plagiarism-proper-use-sources#tutorial 

Professional conduct and communication is expected throughout the class. Students are expected to treat each other and the instructor with respect. Please turn off all cell phones prior to class and refrain from texting, emailing or surfing the web during class. 

Course Outline and Schedule 

Please note: The instructors reserve the right to change weekly readings and assignments based on students’ level of understanding of key concepts and/or to accommodate guest speakers.

 

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due