Communications

Course Description

Prerequisites

Course Goals (includes core competencies, incorporation of SCANS, etc.)

Instructor Information

Textbook Information

Lab Requirements (if any)

Students with Disabilities

Academic Honesty

Be Honest:  No cheating on a test (copying from someone else's paper during a test or secreting notes or other devices on your person.

Be Honest:  No plagiarism (using another person's  words, information or ideas in the student's own written work without appropriate acknowledgement (and quotation marks when exact words are used.

Attendance and Withdrawal Policies

Student must attend class regularly and punctually, missing no more than four and a one-half hours. (HCCS Absence Policy:  If a student is absent more than 12.5 percent of total class time, the instructor may drop the student.)  

It is the student's responsibility to withdraw from a course.  (For example if a student simply stops coming to class and considers that the instructor will drop him or her, they should think twice about that. The instructor can give a failing  grade to someone who does not officially drop from the class.  It is up to the student to take care of the paperwork associatied with withdrawing from a class.

Grading Policy

The Houston Community College System grading system must provide for flexibility in approach to instruction in order to allow instructors to meet the needs of their students and courses.  It must also be consistent in its overall grading policy so that students are treated similarly throughout the college. The following criteria should be observed in all courses and divisions.

Final grades in courses at the Houston Community College are as follows:

It is the policy of the Houston Community College instructional area that letter grades A through F can be translated into the numerical ranges listed above.  These ranges should be used in all classes in which grades A - F are appropriate.

This policy does not mandate a specific strategy for grading.  Any number of  kinds of grading scales might be appropriate. They should, however, be able to be equated to the point system; e.g., that system should award an A for 90 to 100 percent of possible points accumulated.

While the final course grade is always a letter, the grades that go into making up that grade should either be numerical or should be translatable into numbers for the purposes of averaging grades.  Example:  If an A, A-, B+, etc., is to be used as the  grade for an essay or report of some kind, the instructor's syllabus should indicate specifically how those grades will be translated into number grades for purposes for purposes of achieving a final average. Every student who is to receive a letter grade in the range of A - F should also receive a final numerical grade that is the basis for the letter grade.

Course Requirements for example: Testing, Projects, Assignments, Portfolios, Service Learning, Internships, etc.

GRADING SCALE

4 Unit Tests = 40%
Creative Assignments = 20%
Critique Notebook = 20%
Advertising Campaign Project = 20%

Make-up policy

Attendance and preparation, participation and timeliness are all required.  No more than six class hours may be missed without make-up work, and the student is always responsible for anything covered in class.  Excessive tardies are also unacceptable.  All work is due when noted; late assignments cost grade points.

Course Content

Introduction to Advertising provides the student with a thorough grounding in the principles and skills involved in advertising.  Kleppner's text, now in its fourteenth edition, has been the worldwide accepted text since it was first published in 1925.  Constant updating and revision ensure that the text remains vivid and on target.  In addition to this excellent text illustrated with hundreds of ads, storyboards and radio scripts, COMM 2327 includes a creative component, where students learn hands-on the principles of design, from concept to camera ready, as well as the importance of teamwork and presentation skills.  The major project is an advertising campaign of six to ten pages accompanied with examples of print, radio and television ads for that campaign.

PROJECT

Using the models and media sheets provided, design from strategy through execution an advertising campaign for any product or service, real or imagined.  Clear your topics with instructor.  The six sections of the narrative will  probably run six to ten pages, depending on the emphasis given the different elements.  Examples of creative work to execute the plan should be included – at least one print ad, one TV storyboard, and one radio script to represent the major media.

Course Calendar with Due Dates for Assignments and Testing

COMM 2327  Advertising

WEEK     DATES        Assignments, Tests, Projects, etc.

1                                    Introduction. . Advertising campaigns.  Ch. 1, 22.

2                                    Ch. 2.  Marketing and advertising. Goals.  Kinds of ads.

3                                    Ch. 3, 4.  Ad spiral.  Target marketing
                                      Unit 1 - Test.

4                                     Ch. 16, 17.  Copywriting.  Layout and design. 
                                       Assignment #1 - copywriting.

5                                     Ch. 5, 6.  Ad agencies.  Marketing/Creative services
                                       Assignment #2 - Group Work.

6                                     Ch. 7, 15.  Media.  Research. 
                                       Unit 2 - Test.

7                                     Ch. 10, 11.  Assignment #3 - print ads (2).

8                                     Ch. 18.  Print production – type and art.
                                       Critique notebooks due.

9                                     Ch. 8, 19.  Television.  Planning, buying, producing.
                                       Campaign ideas due.

10                                   Workshop TV storyboards 
                                       Assignment #5 - Rough TV board.

11                                   Ch. 9, 20.  Radio.  Buying, creating
                                       Assignment #6 - Revised TV board
                                       Unit 3 Test.

12                                   Ch. 12, 13, 14, 21.  Outdoor and transit advertising.  Direct
                                       mail.  Trademarks and packaging. 
                                       Assignment #7 - Radio script.

13                                   CAMPAIGNS DUE

14                                  Ch. 23, 24.  Retail and International Advertising.

15                                   Ch. 25, 26.  Social and Legal Environments for Advertising

16                                   Unit 4 Test at scheduled Final Exam time

Other Student Information (clubs, tutoring, web resources, student services, etc.)

HCC Student Communication Association - Napoleon Johnson, Faculty Adviser

Law and the Media Seminar
Annual seminar (February) and panel discussions with professional members of the bar and the media to which student lawyers and student journalists are invited.

Texas Community College Journalism Association (TCCJA)
Annual state-wide student journalism conference in October

Texas Intercollegiate Press Association (TIPA)
Annual state-wide student journalism conference in April

Texas Association of Broadcast Educators (TABE)
Annual state-wide conference for student broadcasters.  
Occasionally held in conjunction with the Texas Association of Broadcasters (TAB).