MKTG 490 Promotion Project – MWF 3:10 to 4 p.m. – CRN 23425

Course Overview:
This is an experiential learning course in which you and your classmates become a marketing agency working for a real client. Over the course of your project you will plan and implement a promotional event and an associated advertising and public relations campaign designed to achieve your client’s objectives. In addition, you will manage a budget, conduct market research, make agency-style presentations to sell your ideas and communicate your outcomes to your client, and produce materials that document the implementation and results of your campaign. This course can help you improve your skills in marketing, HR, operations management, public relations, oral and written communication, event planning, time management, and teamwork. All students admitted to the course are expected to strive for excellence. This course requires substantial effort, but the rewards are great!

Who can take this course?
This course is open to business students of any concentration as well as non-business students (e.g., digital marketing, promotions, public relations, broadcasting, and communications majors).

Why should I consider this course?

• It fulfills up to 3 Broadening/Experiential credits required for business majors or may be used to fulfill the 3 upper division elective credits for Marketing concentrations. It also may be used to fulfill 3 elective credits for the Promotion and Advertising minors.
• Developing marketing strategies for today’s consumer marketplace is exciting and challenging. This course provides an opportunity for you to synthesize what you have learned in various courses. You will put your skills to work for a real client. You will have a chance to interact with business executives and see what it’s like to actually “do” marketing.
• Prospective employers value teamwork, communication skills, a sophisticated understanding of your area of interest, and evidence of project completion. By the end of the term, you will have practical marketing experience and a finished project to talk about and take to job interviews.

How do I get permission to enroll?
Submit a hard copy of your current resume and cover letter to Connie Lipsker by Friday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. (You can drop these off with the business school administrative assistants.)

In the letter, please indicate the following:
1. Which project areas (project coordinator, promotions, advertising, public relations, market research, communications) are your first and second choices
2. Why those areas are particularly attractive to you
3. Any experience (work, volunteer) or qualifications (including coursework) you have in those areas

Course enrollment will be capped at 16 students per project; therefore, it is in your best interest to put together a solid resume and cover letter. You will be notified by Dec. 6 whether you have been accepted into the course so that adjustments to your spring schedule can be made, if necessary.

The primary purpose of the application process is to make sure that students have course preparation in order to benefit from and contribute to the course and its outcomes. I will be looking for students who have coursework and perhaps some work experience related to marketing research, advertising, promotions, personal selling, graphic design, digital marketing, public relations, and communications. If you plan to take any of these courses concurrently with the Promotion Project course, you should find many opportunities in the project to apply the concepts you are learning. The project work is demanding (but fun!), and the expectations regarding the quality of work are very high. Therefore, we will also be looking for students who have good academic records and who have demonstrated a commitment to hard work.

Project Areas: These areas represent the organizational structure that has generally been used in the past. It may be reconfigured to better suit this project, as needed.

• Project Coordinator/Budget Director—overall team leader and liaison with instructor and client, oversees the budget and use of project funds (Note: the Project Coordinator is elected at the beginning of the semester. Please indicate in your cover letter if you are interested in this position.)
• Market Research—oversees pre- and post-campaign research design, data collection, and analysis
• Promotions—oversees all facets of any promotional event(s), including logistics and sponsorships
• Advertising—oversees design and placement of advertising for the campaign, including social media
• Public Relations—oversees media coverage and publicity, charity initiatives, prize donations, and correspondence
• Communications—oversees the layout and content of the marketing proposal and recap presentations made to the client as well as producing written documents.

Reflections from past Promotion Project students:

• “This project has given me the opportunity to learn what a classroom setting couldn’t offer me.”
• “Seeing all of our hard work come together on the event day was so exhilarating. Despite a few mishaps, I was so proud that we had the strength and determination to pull off an extremely successful event.”
• “Being in this agency has been an excellent opportunity to expand and fine-tune talents that have been four years in the making.”
• “This is an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.”
• “Through this project, I gained valuable experience, made new friends, and created life-long memories.”
• “The Promotion Project was the best way to wrap up my college career. It gave me a chance to take all of the knowledge I had gained in the classroom and apply it in a practical setting.”

Questions? Contact Connie Lipsker
lipsker@gonzaga.edu or 313-7042

If you are interested in discussing courses in a particular discipline or need help registering for classes in a particular discipline, consider contacting the discipline leader. Below is a list of discipline leaders with their email and office location. A list of office hours is available here.

Students may design an interdisciplinary concentration of courses related to their individual goals and interests.* This concentration must include twelve credits of upper division courses approved by a faculty advisor.

To apply for an “Individualized Study” concentration, a student should do the following:

1. Work with an advisor to identify 12-credits (or more) of coursework that will combine to create learning outcomes for the student.
2. Write a definition of the topic of the concentration and provide an explanation of what the student will learn both broadly and specifically from the 12 credits of coursework. Be sure to list the courses that will comprise the concentration.
3. Email copy of No. 2 to the student’s advisor and copy the associate dean to create an electronic copy. Advisor will also keep hard copy in the student’s advising file.
4. Complete a Change of Major/Concentration Form indicating all majors and concentrations. The form is available here. Attach the description of the individualized study proposal from No. 2 and forward to advisor for email approval. Advisor should forward the form and description to the associate dean for final email approval. Associate dean will forward form and description to the Registrar’s office.
5. If an alternate course selection is chosen after the initial course list has been approved (in No. 2 above), complete a substitution form for each new class in the individualized study concentration. The substitution form will allow the new course(s) selected to count toward the concentration. Here is an example of the information needed on the substitution form: in place of Gonzaga’s required business concentration course I will substitute BMIS 443 Tech for Web/Mobile-based Bus from GU because this course is part of my Individualized Study concentration in Project Management

Note that the concentration will be listed on the student’s transcript as “Individualized Study.” It will not list the name or topic of the concentration. Also, note that the other rules for concentrations apply to the individualized study concentration, including:

1. Only one course may be double-counted between two concentrations in all but the international business concentration, where no double counting is allowed.

2. A course taken to fulfill a concentration requirement may not be double-counted to satisfy a requirement in the Broadening, International, or Experiential area for the Business Administration major.

*This blog post is based on the 2019-2020 catalog. Future catalog may not have this provision.

Please visit your advisor to be cleared to register, review your mid-term grades, and talk about your future. A list of faculty office hours is available here. Tips from the Registrar are available here.

Frequently asked questions about registering for Spring 2020 courses include:

1. I want to get “signed in” to a closed section of a course. What should I do? Answer: Contact the instructor either via email or stop by their office hours. If you email, you could copy the discipline leader on the email.

2. How do I declare my major/concentration or change my major/concentration?

3. I need an experiential course. Which Spring 2020 classes will fulfill that requirement?

4. How do I know which classes I need?

5. How do I change advisors?

6. What are the internship options?

7. I want to study abroad. How can I get courses at another university approved to count for my Gonzaga courses?

8. I plan to take classes at another university this summer. How can I make sure those classes will transfer back to Gonzaga?

9. I am a senior and plan to take business ethics. I thought I had to take BUSN 480 and BUSN 485, but I only see BUSN 480. Answer: BUSN 480 (2 credits) and BUSN 485 (1 credit) have been combined into BUSN 480 (3 credits).

10. Can I take any section of BUSN 480 that I want? Answer: The 10 a.m. section is restricted to Finance concentrations. All other sections are open to registration for all seniors.

11. When is my registration window? Answer: You can find this information under the Registration tab on Zagweb.

In the Spring 2020, one section of BUSN 480 will be designated for finance students. Students are encouraged to sign up for the sections with their designations. Other students should sign up for any of the open sections.

Do you need to take an experiential course to complete your degree requirement? Experiential courses are those that give you hands-on experience with the curriculum. Here is a list of Spring 2020 courses that will count toward your experiential requirement (if you have one):

1. Internships. For details on how to get an internship and get credit for it, click here.

2. BUSN 470 Multidisciplinary Action Projects: There are two sections of this course offered in the spring:

Section 1: This section is team-taught by Dean Ken Anderson and two others. Students work in small teams to tackle projects for actual clients. The class has several projects each semester.

Section 2: This section is taught by Dr. Stevens. It will work on a project for the Inland Northwest Farmers Market Association. Student teams will work with members of the organization, farmers, customers, and other key partners to pilot projects that are important to the growth and diversity of our famers markets throughout the region.

3. ACCT 471 Forensic Accounting Lab: This course is also called the “Justice for Fraud Victims Project.” It is a joint program with members of the community (law enforcement, prosecutors, and local certified fraud examiners) to investigate real cases of suspected fraud that are referred by local law enforcement. Enrollment is by application only. For information, contact Dr. Weber at weber@gonzaga.edu.

4. BFIN 429 A, B, C: This class on portfolio management runs across three semesters (one credit per semester) and typically begins in the spring of a students’ junior year. year. Registration by instructor permission. Contact Dr. Barnes at barnes@gonzaga.edu.

5. BUSN.494 Small Business Consulting: This class requires an application process. Contact Dr. Todd Finkle at finklet2000@yahoo.com for details.

6. MKTG 490 Promotion Project. More information on this class and how to apply is available here.

How do you know if you need an experiential class?

If you have one concentration, you need to take 1. an experiential or international class and 2. a broadening class
If you have two or more concentrations, you need to take 1. an experiential or international class but you do not need 2. a broadening class (because your second concentration provides that).

If you have an accounting major and no concentration, you do not need to take a broadening, experiential, or international course beyond what is required in the accounting curriculum.

If you have an accounting major and one or more concentrations, you need to take 1. an experiential or international class but you do not need 2. a broadening class (because your accounting major provides that).

If you have a concentration in Entrepreneurship and Innovation (and no other concentrations), you need to take 1. an international class and 2. a broadening class.

If you have an International Business concentration, you need to take either a Broadening, Experiential or 200-level of higher language course.