IMC Capstone Q&A with Instructor Archie Sader

Q: Tell me a little bit more about the structure of the campaign.

A: An IMC campaign is a complete plan describing the details of your proposal to utilized multiple marketing communications vehicles in an integrated fashion to accomplish specific marketing goals. The key sections of the campaign plan include:

• Marketing Goals
• IMC Campaign Objectives
• Target Audience Definitions
• Marketing Research Findings
• Integrated Communications Strategy Statement
• IMC Campaign Budget and Justification Based on Proposed Goals
• Media Plan Details
• Creative Executions
• Explanation of How Results Will Be Evaluated

Q: How can this class be of value in my future?

A: A well-developed IMC campaign plan will serve you well throughout your career.

You may find that your present employer needs an IMC campaign plan. Very few people have the understanding of our discipline needed to develop a thorough plan. Your employer will welcome, appreciate and value your work. You will have new respect with your current employer.

You may want to work for a specific firm or in a specific industry. Developing a campaign plan for a firm in the industry of your choice will open doors for you in that field.

You may be an entrepreneur or be seeking to start your own firm in the future. Learning the discipline of IMC campaign planning will enable you to develop an effective campaign plan and grow your business successfully.

 Q: How does this class differ from the other classes in the IMC program?

You will be expected to utilize and apply materials from all previously completed IMC courses. Save your notes and textbooks from these courses. And, you will be expected to search for materials in the WVU online library. It is impossible to present all needed materials in our course weekly lesson notes. You will have to take the initiative to find the information needed to develop an effective campaign plan.

Q: How do I choose a client?

If you think marketing communications can be improved at your present organization, your current employer might make for an ideal client. You should keep in mind, however, that a campaign plan with a minimum budget of $250,000 for twelve months must make sense.

If you would like a future position with a specific firm or in a specific industry, choosing a firm in that industry will greatly improve the receptivity of your application for employment in that industry. It is helpful to show potential employers that you have done your homework about that firm and its competitors.

You may have a hobby or interest that is very meaningful to you. It might be art, gardening, sports or one of several others. Choosing a firm in that area may enable you to do your best work.

You may be planning a career in the not-for-profit area. Choosing an organization in this area will be instrumental in your career advancement efforts.

 Q: What level contact, within the company, is needed to complete the campaign?

Having client contact can be instrumental in the development of a successful campaign plan. Your contact can help you establish your marketing goal, present meaningful input on the firm’s background and will agree to review your completed plan. Many executives are extremely busy and have little time to spare. Others have privacy concerns that limit the information to be shared. This is not usually a problem when choosing your present employer as your client. If you choose another firm, however, make several attempts to get a marketing manager or marketing director to agree to spend a few minutes on the phone with you.

Q: What are the requirements around the client proposal?

Your client proposal should include the following information:

• Organization Name
• Industry
• Location
• Marketing Goal
• Primary Target Audience
• IMC Campaign Budget
• Reason for Choosing this Client

---

Archie Sader is an adjunct instructor for the West Virginia University Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) program and teaches IMC 636 – Campaigns. 

Put Your IMC Campaigns Into Context

What if you had a tool that made it easier for you to bring your entire IMC campaign off the page and into the context of the real world? This would allow you to take your layouts and apply them to surfaces, which might include outdoor billboards, or magazine covers without having to leave Adobe Illustrator. The application that makes this a seamless process is called Context and it is designed specifically for the MAC platform.

Up until last week, I had never heard of this tool. As I continue to move closer to taking the Capstone course, I definitely want to investigate how I can make my future integrated campaign appear as realistic as possible.

With just one click in the surface library, you can turn any flat art into three-dimensional mockups! This takes the headache for searching for stock images that might not work in the context of your specific layout. Instead, have the layout dictate the concept and not the other way around.

Has anyone ever used Context before? If so, I would love to hear about your experience!

Hello Midterm Week

Wow! What a busy, interesting, educational and unforgettable few weeks its been. I’m enrolled in IMC636 Campaigns or as many of us refer to it as Capstone!

Entering Week 5, I’ve learned more than I could have imagined about the organization we’re creating a plan for, the American Red Cross, and our target audience for the project – millennials (my favorite generation!). Large projects can be tiring, but piecing all the parts together, like I did this weekend for our midterm assignment due April 15, can be rewarding.

I found myself reading through my 39 page Word document a few times, but not to look for typos, to reflect on the work in its entirety. It’s pretty cool to think I started with a blank Word document and it eventually turned into a project I can be proud of.

Even with working full-time and tackling a huge project, I’ve had time to enjoy some fun things!

I went to a Cleveland Indians game with my parents this past weekend

I couldn’t resist taking this photo one morning last week. Spring is here!

Have you been able to enjoy the little things during the semester? If so, tell me about them in the comment section!

How I Used Evernote to Rock my Grad Project

IMC Campaigns can be a bit overwhelming when you consider the fact that you have a whole slew of activities on your plate from strategy statement development to SWOT analysis and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Top marketers will vouch for insights and we all know where insights come from right? Research!

And that’s where Evernote comes into play. I’m sharing a bit of my experience with Evernote because it really helped me put together a solid campaign. A rebrand and any marketing effort for that matter should be done with strategic rigor. Analyzing articles and customer sentiment is a lengthy process and we’re not even talking about citations. Evernote made it easy for me to categorize my material.

There’s no need for a disclosure because I’m not connected to Evernote. I’m just a big fan of the tool because it helped me stay organized and on track in IMC Campaigns. What are some of your favorite tools for doing some incredible work? Feel free to hit me up for some additional tips on how to rock your Grad project.

Here’s to making it happen.

What I Did Over My Winter Break

So…how was everyone’s winter break? Did you enjoy the time off or were you itching to return to class?

My break went by quickly, but I feel that I accomplished a lot! On Christmas Eve, I submitted my final project for Social Media and Marketing and from then on, I kept busy! These three week breaks in between the Fall and Spring semesters are often a nice reward for the hard work we’ve put into our courses.

My staircase always looks so boring post-Christmas!

Once our final grades were posted, I relaxed a little, celebrated finishing my 11th course, took down my holiday decorations and worked. I traded writing papers for reading, shopping and cleaning my house, but all in all, by this past weekend, I was looking forward to class beginning. I was ready for something new! There is something special about that first week, whether it be finding out who is in your class, learning about your classmates in their Week 1 posts or finding out your assignment schedule.

This term I’m taking Internal Brand Communication followed by Campaigns in Late Spring. This weekend in Northeast Ohio, it was 60+ degrees, making it actually feel like spring when beginning the Spring semester.

I know this semester will be extra exciting, because it’s my final one. I’m looking forward to the next 18 weeks because I’m so very close to the finish line!

Hello Capstone.

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Perspective is a principle thing. Your vision is a catalyst for the prolific. One of the most beautiful elements of an academic journey is the ability to stop and take some time to look back and soak in the highs and lows. Enter IMC 636 Campaigns. Some say it’s the journey not the destination that counts. Here’s a little perspective into my capstone journey in the IMC program at WVU. Hold on tight. Grab a latte because it’s a wild one!

Home/office converted into an ideation lab? Check. Mock whiteboards? Got you covered. A full arsenal of colored whiteboard markers? You betcha! Email conversation with a senior advisor to none other than the Knight Foundation, a leading champion of transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts? Thank you Mr. Newton. A full online survey with over 50 responses powered by Survey Monkey. 84 references containing unique insights.

So…that’s how you come up with the big idea? Hello research. Hello Pinterest inspiration board. Focus group comprised of story completion tests, word association, q&a, and drawings. Now that’s a bit much que no? How about actual business cards to promote my new mock multicultural youth marketing agency Unrivaled (I call first dibs on that one. I might actually use it in the future!) All part of an effort to soak in the full graduate experience and put into practice everything learned and explored over my tenure in the IMC program. Of course, heading to New York on official business would be the ultimate cherry on top!

The IMC Campaigns experience is a great opportunity to get that agency feel and understand what it’s like to put together a proposal and plan for a stellar pitch. Unfortunately, a real agency probably wouldn’t have been afforded the luxury of nine weeks.

Overall, the energy put into this project is the energy you can expect. It’s been a real blessing to participate in what has been a great capstone experience. I look forward to continued momentum and what lies ahead as a WVU IMC graduate and a champion of bold ideas, prolific communications, and impactful engagement. As a token of respect to my fellow IMC graduates and those about to begin the capstone journey…may I present to you none other than the entertainment of the one…the only Hovercat!!

Where Have I Been?

Hello? Is this thing on?

It has been a while and I don’t have much to say except “Donate Blood!,” but I figured I should crawl out from under the rock that is IMC636 to say hello and see what’s happening in the outside world. Yes indeed, I have made it to the Campaigns class and suddenly find myself past the midterm, with four more weeks and the biggest final of my life staring down at me. I remembered that my predecessor on the IMC blog, Stacy Wise, posted around the same point in her Campaigns experience (after a similarly long absence), so I decided to re-read her post and see how her experience compared.

Turns out that we both got so excited by the prospect of not having to turn in weekly assignments that we both decided to kick back during Week 1, feeling completely assured that we’d just get caught right up in the weeks to come. It also turns out that she warned us, as in all future IMC636 students, not to do this, but clearly I had forgotten her advice in the months from April to October. So, even though you will probably forget my words too, let me go ahead and say it: Don’t Skip Week One! Bad, bad, bad. Unless you enjoy the prospect of not sleeping during weeks 2, 3, and 4.

Like Stacy, though, I do have to say that the class so far is as enjoyable as it is challenging and a fitting close to the IMC program. It really does tie all of your work from earlier classes together and I’ve been surprised at how many times I have referred back to my papers, notes, and research from the past two years.

If you’re a current IMC student, be sure to leave a comment about how your current classes are going or your own thoughts/questions about the campaigns class. Happy Holidays to you all, by the way, because I’m pretty sure you won’t be hearing from me again until December 27 🙂