Students must complete the following eight units:
This unit is a survey of the marketing process, introducing students to the marketing concept, strategic and marketing planning, marketing research, consumer and customer behaviour, issues of market segmentation, targeting and positioning as well as all the elements of the marketing mix (product/service, pricing, distribution and marketing communication strategies).
Advertising: Strategy is a practice-oriented course designed to teach students how to interrogate clients, brands, products, markets, and audiences, in order to develop effective advertising strategies. Through case studies and project-based work, students will gain an understanding of the importance of brand personality and positioning, 'selling' propositions, and how to write an advertising brief capable of generating successful campaigns. (Note: for students considering 'Advertising: Strategy' as an elective; priority will be given to Public Relations majors taking 'Advertising: Strategy' as an elective, as the unit is relevant to a career in Public Relations. After that priority will be given to other Bachelor of Communication and Bachelor of Design students).
It is a practice-oriented unit designed to teach students how to conceive and produce original and effective advertising to meet strategic goals. From interpretation of a brief, to creating and evaluating concepts, and presenting campaigns, the course aims to mirror real processes within the advertising industry. Note: for students considering 'Advertising: Creative' as an elective: priority will be given to Graphic Design, Media Production and Writing majors taking 'Advertising: Creative' as an elective, as the unit is also relevant to a career in these disciplines. After that priority will be given to other Bachelor of Communication and Bachelor of Design students.
A focus on the consumer is critical in marketing philosophy. Effective marketing strategies are necessarily formulated as a result of the understanding of basic consumer behaviour. This unit covers assumptions and concepts related to understanding the consumer, including but not limited to cultural and ethnic values, social class and status, personal influence, family and household influences, situational influences, consumer resources, involvement, motivation and knowledge, attitudes, individual differences in behaviour, personality, values and lifestyle, information processing, learning, influencing attitudes, diagnosis of decision process and behaviour, consumer decision-making process and need recognition, information search, alternative evaluation, purchase and its outcomes, retailing and consumer trends, market segmentation, diffusion of innovations, global consumer markets, consumerism and social responsibility.
This unit introduces each of the key areas of advertising (which includes media). This unit examines media planning in more depth: media terms, media objectives, the pros and cons of different media (advertising and marketing communications), use of consumer insight in planning, measures of performance, buying, creativity in planning, integrating marketing communication with advertising, maximising effectiveness, and media plans.
Writing for the Professions studies various forms of writing that are used extensively in professional contexts and examines how these texts work from the perspective of the reader and the professional context in which they are used. Students will gain knowledge and skills in elements of professional writing style and text production processes including researching, audience analysis and editing. They will also be introduced to a range of complimentary theories and issues of writing such as rhetoric and persuasion, plain English, text layout and design, readability, influence of culture and the impact of various computer technologies on the processes of writing and reading.
In this unit students work together in teams - taking on roles as they would in a real life advertising agency - to research, develop strategy, media & marketing communication plans, and creative concepts for clients. This is the final unit in the advertising major and brings together learning from previous studies. (NB: B Design and B Communication students who have completed the pre-requisites, or equivalent, are also encouraged to take Advertising Campaign. In practice, these disciplines work with advertising agencies to produce advertisements and develop campaigns).
This unit provides students with the opportunity to apply the skills and knowledge they are developing during their studies to tasks within a workplace (the host organisation). The unit is likely to involve substantial contact with the public through workplace placements and, for this reason, it is deemed a professional placement. The unit is restricted to students in their third year of study (or part time equivalent). In addition to the following points, prospective students must submit an application for entry (see below). It is the responsibility of students to nominate suitable workplaces. Students must provide adequate details of the placement they have been able to organise. You will need to do your own canvassing and arrange a suitable workplace on your own behalf. While, on occasion, academic staff may help you find a placement through contacts with employers, as well as offers from employers seeking students, you should not rely on anyone but yourself to arrange a suitable work placement. You will need to: find a suitable placement; discuss your choice with the course coordinator (phone or email); complete the workplace agreement form.