SYLLABUS MKTG 4760
DIRECT MARKETING, FALL 1998, Dr. Campbell

Text: Successful Direct Marketing Methods, Bob Stone, 6th Edition, NTC Business Books, 1994.

Course Description: An examination of the concepts, strategies and applications involved in direct marketing, including mail order and direct response advertising. Measurability, accountability, lists, data and the integration of direct marketing programs into total marketing efforts and overall organization goals and functions are discussed. Prerequisite: MKT 305.

Course Objectives:

1. To provide an overview of the media, environment, and terminology of direct marketing;
2. To provide a framework for implementing direct marketing within a marketing management framework;
3. To foster awareness of the many aspects of direct marketing, and to investigate some aspects of direct marketing in depth by having students apply direct marketing; and promotion skills to a "real-world" direct marketing situation; and
4. To develop interest in future learning and to provide a base of concepts and skills that will facilitate further learning and thinking. Communication: This syllabus and other documents of interest are on my home page at http://www.valdosta.edu/~campbell. You may contact me at my office (Pound #317) or at

245-2237 (O),
245-7936 (H),
245-2234 (Department secretary),
245-2248 (Fax), and
campbell@valdosta.edu (e-mail).

Consultations: You do not need an appointment if you meet me during my scheduled office hours:

Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1215-1300 and 1930-2000 and
Mondays and Wednesdays at 2100-2130.

(Note the 24-hour clock. Almost all of the rest of the world uses it for train/plane schedules, and the like. You should know how to use it, too.) If you want an appointment for other some time or place, talk to me in class, catch me at my office (Pound Hall #317) or call me at my home. Don't hesitate to call my home (Honest, I don't mind; the reason I give you my home number is so you can call it!) or my office to make an appointment, tell me you won't be in class, or discuss a problem. If you think you may have a problem, come see me. If you know you have a problem, it is probably too late.

Special Needs: If you have a handicap or some special need, you should make an appointment with the Office of Special Services at 245-2498. That office makes sure VSU complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Examinations: The exams will consist multiple-choice and/or true-false questions and will be open book. Do not be mislead by the open-book part, however; these are difficult tests. Study for them as intensely as you study for an ordinary test. Because they are open book, I reasonably can ask more detailed and difficult questions than I can on a closed-book test. The only thing harder than an open-book test is a take-home test.

Group Projects: There are three projects: Direct Response, Yellow Pages, and Sales Promotion, each of whom is addressed below. The projects are unrelated to each other.

The benefits of group work include

• Development of planning and organization skills;

• Increased discipline and time management abilities;

• Improved group dynamics - cooperation with others, motivating others; and

• Synergy - better quality output.

 Each team will appoint an Account Coordinator and let me know who it is. The coordinator's job includes keeping track of members' contributions, coordinating between the team and me, coordinating among the team members, and performing whatever other activities to help assure that the job gets done and each member receives proper credit from the team. The coordinator’s job is to coordinate, not supervise. It can be time consuming, especially if the other team members are not cooperative.

Direct Response Campaign: You will compete in ECHO, a national competition sponsored by the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation. Your work product will be submitted even though the judging will not take place until after the term ends.

The first grading will be of each group's Preliminary Marketing Strategy. This portion of the campaign must follow the style sheet, rules, and regulations of the competition. COMPLETE CITATIONS OF OUTSIDE SOURCES AND ENDNOTES ARE REQUIRED. Other segments of the direct response campaign will also be due for preliminary grading. After preliminary grading of each segment, each group is responsible for improving the graded segment and returning the improvements with the next segment that is due. Each segment will be graded twice, during the preliminary stages and as a final paper.

The Final Presentation Manual will be graded using the same judging criteria set forth by the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation, the contest sponsor. A GRADE PENALTY OF ONE LETTER GRADE FOR EACH DAY LATE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED (for both preliminary and final entry versions.)

Sales Promotion Campaign: The same groups will compete in a national Sales Promotion Campaign contest that is unrelated to the direct response contest. I have not yet received the campaign packages from the sponsor. You will receive the information as soon as I can get it to you.

Yellow Pages: The same groups will design a Yellow Pages ad campaign for an assigned business. The ads must be designed, priced, and the publisher selected.

Group Member Evaluations and "Free Riders": Group Member Evaluations will be conducted two or three times during the quarter. Conscientious contribution and cooperation throughout the quarter is required of each student. Free riders (an individual who collects the benefits of group output without contributing) will not be tolerated and will result in individual grade adjustment. The options for dealing with free riders include:

• A free rider can be "fired" from the group by the other group members. This option requires a unanimous vote, can occur only after obtaining permission from me, and should be done in the first half of the term.

• Individuals may quit their groups regardless of whether the other members agree. This "divorce" option requires permission from me and should be done in the first half of the term. If enough individuals quit a group, of course, that group ceases to exist.

• At my discretion, and considering group member comments, I may break up a group at any time.

 Any group (even a "group" of one person) remaining after one of these options has been evoked is responsible for the same output expected from a normally constituted and normally sized group. All work completed up to the time of the breakup is "community property" and will be available to all members without restriction.

Progress Reports, Group Meeting Reports, and Contribution Files:

A progress report is a record of all times, working individually and/or in a group, spent developing the various group projects. Each project must be reported and accounted for. Reports should be detailed with time periods rounded to the nearest quarter-hour and totaled. All the reports from a group must be in the same format. Separate reports may be compiled for each project or one report may account for all projects. In the latter case, the time spent on each project must be reflected.

Group Meeting Reports normally should be completed by the Account Coordinators and signed by all attending members at the end of each group meeting.

Individual Contribution Files will be maintained by all students. Each file should contain rough drafts and other proof of personal contributions to the direct response campaign. I may review the Contribution File at any time so you will have to bring it to class every day.

Progress reports and group meeting reports will be used by me and other group members to determine if appropriate contribution is being given by each group member. Late, incomplete, or inaccurate reports may result in (1) an individual grade reduction, (2) a reduction in participation credit, and/or (3) break-up of the group.

Participation: This grade will be based upon (1) evaluation of  group members, (2) class attendance/tardiness, (3) evaluation of group meetings, (4) accurate completion of progress reports, (5) relevant discussion based upon outside reading and (6) completion of in/outside class assignments.

One absence, excused or not, will be permitted. Beyond one absence, 20 points (out of 140) will be deducted for each unexcused absence. To be "excused," the student must notify the Account Coordinator and provide the Account Coordinator with any materials needed for the in-class group work. Failure to come to class prepared, or to provide these materials in advance, will result in an individual grade reduction and/or break-up of the group. Tardiness will also be considered in determining the final participation grade.

Ethical Expectations: College of Business Administration students are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the highest standards of academic honesty. Cheating, plagiarism, illegitimate possession and disposition of examinations, alteration, forgery, or falsification of official records and documents, and similar acts, or the attempt to engage in such acts are grounds for disciplinary action. "Disciplinary action" can include the following in addition to any University disciplinary action: (1) a failing grade for a particular assignment, (2) a failing grade for this course, (3) suspension from COBA, or (4) expulsion from COBA.

Schedule of Assignments: I will provide a schedule as soon as we know how many students we have and the contests’ requirements. Expect three tests, presentations of your contest entries, and required submission dates of your group work products. The tests will probably be completed by mid-November.

Grading:

Your Solo Grade

Test 1                                        10 points
Test 2                                        10
Test 3                                        10
Participation                                 5
Total                                                                               35

Your Group Grade on Direct Response

Preliminary Marketing Strategy    20
Media Plan                                 10
Creative Plan                              10
(w/draft creative samples)
Final Presentation Manual           25
Total                                                                               65

Your Group Grade on Sales Promotion

Division unknown until we have the rules

 Total                                                                               25

Your Group Grade on Yellow Pages                                15

 Grand Total                                                                  140

Notes:

1. I plan on not having a final exam. That could change, however.

2. Final course grades will not be posted. I will mail you yours if you provide a self-addressed stamped envelope at the final class period.

 Idiosyncrasies:
  1. I will not write letters of reference for you unless you are registered for the vote unless, of course, you are not an American citizen or are a convicted felon.
  2. We will use the 24-hour clock: 9AM = 0900, noon = 1200, 1PM = 1300, etc. The rest of the world uses it as a matter of routine for scheduling and you should know how to use it, too. Class starts at 1015 and gets out at 1215.
  3. Ungrammatical speech is not acceptable. This is a professional school; our graduates should know how to speak standard American English.
Additional Information: Your feedback is essential for course improvement. I encourage continuous teaching evaluation. At any time you may provide me, orally or in anonymous form, with evaluations of my performance. I am particularly interested in (1) Strengths, (2) Weaknesses, and (3) Suggestions for Improvement.

Library Resources - Use the Odum Library and GALILEO to supplement assigned readings, to complete the projects, and other assignments. GALILEO is a world-class resource. Use it.

Business Ethics - Ethics and marketing decisions will be addressed in the text reading and classroom discussions. Keep ethical dimensions in mind as you complete your assignments.

International - International marketing will be addressed in the text reading, classroom discussions, and in several case analyses. Keep international dimensions in mind as you complete your assignments.

Eligibility - You are responsible for having met the prerequisites in all courses you register for. You can plan on being dropped from classes for which you have not completed the prerequisites.

Cooperative Education - For jobs in college that lead to careers in your major, contact Cooperative Education at 333-7172, http://www.valdosta.edu/vsu/dept/staff/coop, or through VSU's home page.


Last updated 9/29/98