IMC Hawks Blog

Tag: IMC

  • Goodbye COM 495

    The day has come – the last day of the 2010 spring semester.  This day is bittersweet for many as today brings the end of an academic year, the closing of a chapter, and the end of some great courses.  I speak on behalf of the IMC-Hawks team when I say we all agree this class was superb.

    From day one I think we all knew this class was going to be different than many others taken previously.  I remember, before nestling into my seat, I sat next to Terry Hayes on the first day when he turned to me at the end Dr. Persuit’s opening and said, “This is the first time I feel like I am taking a real college course based on the projected workload.”  I also remember agreeing and sharing excitement with Terry.

    To get an idea of what we were presented, read the following to gain minor insight to Dr. Persuit’s syllabus:

    Your experience in this course will include the application of ideas in writing, presentational skills within a professional communication context, and consideration of the ethical implications of your actions.

    Course Objectives:

    In this course, we work from a praxis (theory-informed action) orientation to prepare you with the knowledge and skill to put what you learn into action in the marketplace.  This approach stresses that you cultivate the habit of learning.

    This class will provide opportunities to:

    • Understand and engage theoretical approaches to IMC.
    • Advance your practical knowledge of IMC strategies and tactics.
    • Engage your intellectual curiosity.
    • Function in a professional organization, on a project team, as a project manager.

    All fifteen of the IMC-Hawks were very excited for what the semester had in store, for we knew we had great opportunities and challenges awaiting us.  The above portion of Dr. Persuit’s syllabus generated a great deal of anticipation and expectation from the team, which I now look back and question how it went by so quickly.

    Many syllabi produce agony, misery, depression, and all other synonyms pertaining there to, but not Dr. Persuit’s.  However, her syllabus did present large shoes to fill as we all were looking forward to the best.  I again speak for everyone when I say these shoes were filled, but perhaps too small as she exceeded any and all expectations we had.

    From the beginning we moved at a very fast pace just as Dr. Persuit warned.  We opened with Bowling Alone and hit the ground running from there.  Dr. Persuit’s intent was to provide a classroom to resemble either a work environment with real and valid deadlines or a graduate school course with simultaneous work and loads of discussion, all while teaching us time management and stress relievers – I never said we had an easy class.

    All of our assignments had genuine meaning and related directly back to Dr. Persuit’s objectives.  We were able to take what we were learning from our course textbooks and apply them to each and every project, better known as praxis, one of Dr. Persuit’s goals.

    As one of Dr. P’s first intro classes, I am pleased to also be one of the first in her advanced course.  At the end of the introductory course, I wondered if the department would allow for the exploration of an advanced course.  I am so glad the department read my mind, or so I like to think, because this course has been one of my and my classmate’s favorite classes because of the application the course provided.  I hope the department hears the praise all of the IMC-Hawks team screams, and this course will have permanence and longevity.

    Rachel Kaylor, another type of lucky student, was allowed to take the course based on outside experience.  Her class assessment is as follows:

    Before taking advanced IMC, I learned about IMC through various internships. Bringing corporate knowledge of IMC to the theory-based classroom was an interesting but incredibly helpful experience. Though I understood IMC before taking Dr. Persuit’s class, I had not learned the academic side. Through the projects we completed all the way down to the nightly readings, the class enabled me to look back on campaign experiences I previously had and better understand what worked, what didn’t, and why! This was interesting because typically we learn in the classroom and apply it to the “real world.”

    Lucky for us, Allyson and I had the opportunity to take this class together from different perspectives, but the course still enabled the same opportunities.  Advanced IMC has offered us the opportunity to rename a company and participate in activities in which we want more experience.  For example, there were three choices for groups: IMC Conference planning (Academic Planning), Cape Fear Center for Inquiry Anniversary (Event Planning) and Google-Ad Words (Marketing/Advertising).  With an interest in the academic world of IMC, we both chose to research the logistics of having an IMC Conference here at UNCW – yes people, this is really happening!  This opportunity provided us the opportunity to learn all of the aspects of planning conferences, which is incredibly important in the realm of academia, as well as how to write a proposal, and how to pitch it.  We learned about the hoops and hurdles of reserving space, working with time and budget constraints as well as the infinite amounts of research it takes to complete something of this scale.

    (Back to Allyson typing) Even though we had different backgrounds coming into Advanced IMC, we are both leaving with great course experience that will help us indefinitely.  We are hopeful that IMC will become as popular in the COM Dept. as we perceive it to currently be.  We would like to send a shout out to Dr. P for all of her effort and hard work put into our awesome class.  Thank you, Dr. Persuit!!

    -Rachel Kaylor & Allyson Corbin

  • Back to Undecided

    As Shannon said in her previous blog, I must also admit as well that I am not graduating in May. But, I am technically a senior and will graduate in December along with some of my fellow IMC-Hawks! My decision to graduate in December is based on saving money. Having 24 AP credits from high school has definitely been worth it, as I was only “undecided” for a semester!

    After taking a mass communication class and learning briefly about IMC, I immediately looked into graduate school programs. I absolutely fell in love with Emerson College’s program in Boston. I wanted to go to Emerson for undergrad, but there was no way I wanted to spend that much money, so when I found they had an IMC graduate program, it was like it was meant to be. I immediately requested materials (yes, as a sophomore) and plan to apply when the time is right. IMC has been a very influential subject in my academic career, and I cannot wait to apply it outside of the classroom and help others understand what IMC is about.

    Thus, though I am moving past the undergraduate level, I am going back to my “undecided” roots. After I graduate, I don’t really know what path I want to take. I plan to continue with IMC in some way, shape or form, whether it’s incorporating it in my job, or continuing my education through a graduate program. Hopefully next semester I’ll move away from “undecided” to something a little more focused! I think continuing education is important and keeps your mind sharp as you proceed past the “undergraduate” stages of your life.

    Rachel Kaylor

  • A new vision for IMC

    Confession… I am not graduating in May. I am instead one of those few students who graduate in December. Nevertheless, watching many of my friends and classmates prepare to enter the real world upon graduating in a matter of days, I cannot help but feel overwhelmed and excited. My input on senior week will be much different than many of the other students, because my feelings of these next week are more of a pre-senior week and pre-graduation emotion. My emotions are more filled with planning, weighing options, and finally deciding what I want to do when I graduate. So while it is exciting to see so many classmates graduate, I have the opportunity to determine how to bond my education with my future.

    I am a double major in Communications Studies and Political Science, which makes me one of those rare students with double majors or concentrations who are trying to figure out how to merge both areas of study. I plan on going to graduate school for Political Communication or Political Management, and focus on Campaign Strategies and/or Strategic Campaigning. In IMC, the most often type of student you will see are Marketing and Communications Studies students, so you might ask “What is a Political Science student going to do with IMC?” My response…A LOT. In any political campaign or election, you have many different goals which are elemental to the ultimate goal of having your constituents deciding to vote for your candidate. This is very parallel to the goals of companies who hire Marketing, PR, or IMC agencies to advocate for their product, service or organization. Their goals are also very similar in the fact that they want the consumer to choose to purchase their product. As an IMC student you are taught ways to implement the theories and ideas you’ve learned to brand your company in a way that the consumer will choose it. The two goals of campaigning and IMC are so similar that if campaign strategies collaborated with IMC strategies, it seems that both fields would open up a whole new world of development. With this understanding, I plan on taking what I’ve learned through IMC and applying it to what I’ve learned in Political Science in order to successfully brand and market the politicians, their ideas, their legislature and their hopes for the United States. I will call it…Integrated Marketing Communications and Campaigning. IMCC.

    -Shannon Meadows

  • A Framework for Our Future

    I never could imagine all facets of my Communication Studies career at UNCW would come to a close at the exact same time. I am in the cusp of finishing my departmental honors project, currently transitioning positions for the COM honors fraternity Lambda Pi Eta, and now the last day of classes is dawning. I am moderately overwhelmed; however, it is a familiar feeling. As a student entering the department three years ago, I was quite oblivious to what career I truly wanted to pursue come May, 2010. Unfortunately now a week shy of May, I am still just as oblivious. BUT before everyone reading recedes in shock, I DO possess one feeling in regards to my future I did not before, which is passion. Passion for my major, passion for my department, and passion for IMC (not a promo for the class, I promise). Having taken classes in integrated marketing communications truly has opened my eyes to a whole new way of pursuing communication studies.

     Hybridizing marketing and communications while outlying features such as social media, public relations, and advertising, creates a captivating discipline. It is truly unique in that IMC provides a surplus of prospective job opportunities, graduate school programs, and opportunities abroad for students interested in the field of study. IMC students have the advantage of being multifaceted within their major, gaining both client and corporate experience while utilizing new forms of social media to boost their own personal brand. It is such a rich subject that allows students the flexibility for growth and expertise.

    So as my time at UNCW and my participation with the IMC Hawk team comes to a close, more than overwhelmed, I now feel confident. I feel confident in the success of my peers, confident for myself, and confident for our future. No matter what career, school, or volunteer path we decide to take, IMC Hawks rest assured, our knowledge of IMC will be there offering support, and laying the groundwork for all the implausible feats we are surely to face.

    –Stephanie Saulsbury

  • IMC Identity Project

    Over the first few months of the semester, our IMC class was given the opportunity to name and develop an identity for the UNCW Professional Education. We were asked by the organization’s leaders to help them re-name the name so that it would be better understood and accessed by possible clients.  As a class we were able to walk through the actual process IMC teams in the professional world use to develop a corporate identity. Our process was broken down into four phases, and our resources included the organization’s IMC plan, personal contact with the client, primary and secondary research, as well as the ability to work together as a team to achieve our goal.

    In the first phase, our main objective was to do as much research as possible in the allocated time in order to learn and understand more about UNCW Professional Education. Specific parts we explored the most included the industry’s definition, management, competitors, competencies, and the culture or character or the organization. This primary research was helpful to us to comprehend more about what exactly the client’s organization did on a day-to-day basis as well as the personality the organization chose to represent. We next compiled secondary research which provided more insight than the primary research did based on outside factors which molded UNCW Professional Education.  We discovered information on the audience and what they responded to, how other similar organizations characterized themselves, if the clients were brand loyal and whether or not the audience wanted services or products. Based on this primary and secondary research we compiled questions to ask the client in our interview through positioning statements. 

    During the second phase, the initial step was in interview the client, which in our case was Allison Rankin. She was in charge of the UNCW Professional Education and their efforts to reinvent themselves. In our interview we used our research to ask questions and to understand more about the organization in order to be able to create an image of their responsibly and roles. Next we made a master list of possible names to use and split them up into several genres or categories. Some of the categories include Latin, Greek, Cultural and Concierge. Once our lists were made and filled with possible words to use, we split up into 5 teams and moved onto the third phase.

    The third phase was where each of the 5 teams created a name based on the master list developed. Once the name was chosen in each group, we made position statements for each name using the same steps as we used in phase one. In the positioning statement, we had to explain our name, what it meant and how it accurately represented the UNCW Professional Education. The names that the five teams came up with included: AptusAlliance, UNCW COD, UNCWOPT, Accompass and NavInsight.

    The final phase was our presentation to the client, Allison. Allison came into our class and listened to each group present their name and positioning statement. Each team did a great job in first creating and name, and second showing why that name should be the new brand name for UNCW Professional Education. Allison was very pleased at all of our hard work and expressed how hard it was going to be to choose the new name for her organization.

    -Shannon Meadows

  • Tired of Bowling Alone?

    Have you ever felt like you were bowling alone? Don’t worry, this isn’t a how-to article on making friends in a bowling league…it’s a brief look at Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Putnam, a professor of public policy at Harvard University, claims Americans are experiencing a decline in reciprocity. Through mounds and mounds of empirical evidence (yes, charts and graphs!), Putnam identifies what he believes are reasons for the decline and offers his opinion on how we can improve our social capital in the future.

    First off, it is relatively hard to understand this book if you don’t know what social capital is. Now, I know when you all read this, you’re going to have an “aha” moment and realize you actually encounter social capital everyday. The term has gone through numerous phases and definition, but Putnam defines social capital as “connections among individuals—social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them” (Pg. 19). Putnam’s main argument in the book is that America has experienced a decline in reciprocity.

    I would definitely recommend this book to others, because I do think Putnam presents an interesting argument that is stimulating. I believe Putnam’s work needs to be updated and re-evaluated for the current age, considering this book was released in 2000.  Many could, and do argue that we are simply engaged in social capital in new ways, which is actually a question Putnam poses in his work.

    Social capital plays an interesting role in the study of IMC. We can maximize positive social capital through IMC, and yes, there is negative social capital. With the recent focus on social networking in the marketing world, a whole new bowling alley has opened up for social capital. We have shifted from a mass media public to a more specialized media, and IMC plays a large role in identifying target audiences, and building social capital through these networks. Perhaps we must refer back to the question, are we engaged in social capital in new ways? Putnam emphasizes that the Internet has contributed to the decline in social capital, but many feel their social networks have grown because of these platforms.

    We have referenced Putnam many times in our blog, and I encourage you to read back on the previous subjects discussed. His overall argument is generally convincing and resonates with many people. It is certainly a thought provoking read and makes you think about your own personal social capital and reciprocity.

    Some of our other blog posts that discuss social capital:

    Integrating Social Capital, The Court, and Beyond

    Is “Doing For” a Form of Social Capital After All?

    – Rachel Kaylor