Creative Strategy and Copywriting

JRNL 302: Copywriting for Advertising / Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC)

Spring 2010 Syllabus

Instructor: Dr Kavita Karan

Office: Room 1226.
Communications Building
Phone: 453-3299
e-mail address: kavitak@siu.edu
Class Hours: Tues and Thurs: 9.00-10.50 pm
Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 10-11pm
or by appointment.
_______________________________________________________

Catalog Course Description: Study of the principles and practice in the writing of copy and
visual design of persuasive messages such as advertising, sales promotion, direct response,
marketing public relations and others. Includes writing for print and broadcast media, across
products and services and oral presentation of materials.

Prerequisites: ACTE English subscore of 22 or higher or grade of "C" or higher in English 290
or Linguistics 290 and Journalism 301 and typing speed of a least 30 words per minute.
Students should have passed the grammar test before enrolling for this course.

Students should learn PHOTSHOP in their spare time to work in this class for designing
advertisements.

All work should be typed and printed. Handwritten assignments will not be not accepted.

Course Objectives:
1. To introduce students to the creative aspects of advertising and to understand the role of
creativity in advertising and other promotional strategies.
2. To acquire the skills and proficiency in the use of copywriting techniques in planning and
designing advertisements for print, broadcast, outdoor and other new media.
3. To learn and apply the principles of design and acquire visualization skills in presenting
visually attractive advertisements
4. To study the related aspects of advertising like the advertising agency, market research,
market segmentation, consumer behavior, types of media and campaigns.
5. To learn from doing interesting projects, working with others, enjoy and appreciate the
criticism from peers..
6. Course Structure
7. The course is structured under lectures, videos, practical assignments and class
discussions with two hours of lecture and two hours of practical assignments. The
classes are scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This class is a lot of fun as we
gradually move from not being so creative.to being really creative as we give that life
to the advertisements. Remember all copywriters were like you till they made it big in the
creative world of advertising ..

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Textbook: Assigned Texts

Text: Jewler J and Drewniany, B.L (2008), Eight or Ninth Edition. Creative Strategy in
Advertising. Thompson\ Wadsworth. Long on to the online book stores and sites to get the book
at a reasonable cost. I will send the links on the Blackboard.

Felton, George (2006) Advertising Concept and Copy, NY: Norton Pub

Luke Sullivan (1998), Hey Whipple Squeeze This: A Guide to Creating Great Ads, John Wiley
and Sons

Advertising Age www.adage.com

One Show Annuals and D & Ad Annuals

Students are expected not only to read the assigned chapters, lecture notes and handouts, but
are encouraged to keep up-to-date with current advertising news, websites, as well as bring
some interesting ads and campaigns to the class for discussions. Whenever necessary, I will
give handouts of information during the class or a week before.

ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION

Attendance is mandatory. If you are going on a trip with another class or sports team, you must
plan to use your allowed absence, (two absences). It is strongly recommended that your
excused absences be saved for emergency or illness. Regardless of the reason for your
absence, it is your responsibility to get notes (from a classmate) and meet project deadlines.
Under certain circumstances, exceptions to the absence policy may be made at the discretion of
the instructor. Unexcused and continued absences may result in a lower grade.

CLASS ASSIGNEMNTS AND PROJECTS

After lectures we will do short exercises in class to apply our principles into practice. After all we
need to hone our skills. We will work on developing creative themes, writing headlines and body
copy, slogans and taglines as well as designing logos. If any of you are talented presenters, we
will also have fun in recording radio ads, enacting TV scripts.
Individual and group presentations will thus be ongoing throughout the semester. All
assignments have to be submitted on the following Friday evening after the class on Thursday.
If there is a problem please let me know. All assignments have to be submitted in printed forms
and not sent to me as email attachments.

1. CLASS ASSIGNMENTS 10 points

Class Assignment 1

Collect 4 Print advertisements for one category of products. It could be anything from a soap to
a car. Analyze the characteristics of the product, their USP and Emotional Selling Proposition
(ESP) and the audience for the product. Critically state what you liked or did not like about the
advertisements.

Plan a short creative brief for the product to advertise the product to another group of target
audience. Example if the product is for young people, how would you add a few benefits and
target it to older consumers.

Come up with three headlines and visuals for the product based on your brief. Do a short
presentation in the class.

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Class Assignment 2

Writing and producing radio advertisements: Select a product or service of your choice. You and
your team members should come up with three radio advertisements- Announcements,
dialogues, jingles etc. Write out the scripts, rehearse and present to the class.

2. INDIVIDUAL PORTFOLIO 20 points

Each student is required to complete and submit an individual portfolio that demonstrates
his/her creative abilities by the tenth week of the semester. Students will work on a product or
service of their choice and develop the campaign as part of their portfolio throughout the
semester.

Presentations may be done on power point. Each assignment must also be printed out in
hardcopy. Skills that you have developed throughout the semester will help you develop your
individual portfolio. The portfolio should include:

1. Advertising Creative briefs for a product or service of your choice.

2. Consumer Profile of the target audience to be reached through the campaign.

3. Two sets of Print campaigns -A good Layout and body copy for three print ads

4. Two radio scripts. These should be in different formats such as one that is mainly
dialogue and another a jingle or an announcement.

5. A television script for a 30 second commercial

6. A ad for a billboard

3. FINAL GROUP PROJECT. 30 points 8th week of Class

Stage 1
The class will be divided pairs based on the number of students. Each group will select two
campaigns of particular product. Research the product or service (cars, soaps, hotels, banks,
clubs,,,etc).

They will collect the advertising and promotional materials of each of these products (press
ads, radio commercials, TV commercials, posters, hoardings, Point of purchase displays,
internet etc) and evaluate the creative strategies used in these campaigns.

Stage 2
The group will develop a new product in the similar product category (a new car, a new soap or
a new bank) with some added benefits- (USPs and ESPs).

Come up with a Consumer Profile of the target audience

Plan the Creative Brief for the product.
Give a Brand Name for the new product.
Present the work done to the class as scheduled

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Stage 3

For the new product you will plan a short campaign with an effective creative advertising and
promotional strategy.

You will develop three press advertisements, two radio scripts and a TV script.
You will also come up with the copy for any two outdoor and new media
Suggest media and promotional strategies that you will use for launching the product.

You can consult me other friends or your classmates for comments and suggestions.

Stage 4

You will present the strategy and your advertisements

After the feedback on the presentation you can improve the ads if you want to.
Submit a hard and soft copy of the report and the power point slides by the following Friday.
The report should be about 6-8 pages (double-spaced, 12 Pt font) with a print out of the slides
(4 on each page). The report should include a short introduction, the creative brief, the
consumer profile, the press advertisements, radio scripts, TV scripts and conclusion of your
learning experience.

The PowerPoint slides and the reports should also be submitted in soft copy on CD.

You will make a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation to the class in the last week of the
semester

This group project and the individual project can be used as part of your future portfolio

GRADING CRITERIA

GRADING The grading system used is based upon the system described in the SIUC
undergraduate catalog:

A = work of excellent (or superior) quality (90-100%)

B = work of good (or above average) quality (80- 89%)
C = work of satisfactory (or average) quality (70- 79%)
D = work of poor quality (60- 69%)
F = failure (work of unsatisfactory quality) ( 0- 59%)

GRADING SYSTEM
The final grade in this class will be based on your performance as follows:

Class Assignments 2. .. 20%

Participation and Attendance... 10%
Class Review test 10%
Individual Project Creative brief Print Ads, Radio Copy Assignments 30%
Final Campaign Portfolio.. 30%
Total Percentage of your grade 100

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ETIQUETTE:

Students should read and be prepared to discuss the relevant topics each week as indicated in
the course outline. They are also required to come regularly participate in class discussions
and projects. Do respect everyones ideas and opinions. Internalize the concepts/theories
covered, and use them creatively in an applied context. This course emphasizes how you apply
creativity to the real business world.

All electronic devices must be turned off before entering class-- no cell phones, no texting.
Refrain from talking to each other during the lecture. Disruptive and disrespectful behavior is a
violation of the Student Conduct Code: siu.edu/~docedit/policies/conduct.html. Disruptive
students will be asked to leave the class. A second violation could result in permanent removal
from the class and charges filed with the Office of Student Judicial Affairs.

Plagiarism: Whether intentional or accidental, plagiarism will not be excused. Students who
present the work of others as their own will face severe consequences. If the writing or ideas of
others are used, proper citation is required. Since this is a creative class, the majority of work
done must be original. It is not acceptable to copy material from websites or other published
sources and submit it as your original work.

Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Students committing acts
of academic dishonesty will be sanctioned in keeping with the Student Conduct Code.
Sanctions include, but are not limited to: automatic failure of a quiz/test/assignment; failure of
the course; probation; and suspension.

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES: SIUC is committed to providing a safe and healthy

environment for work and study. Because some health and safety concerns are beyond our
control, we ask that you become familiar with the SIUC Emergency Response Plan and Building
Emergency Response Team (BERT) program. Emergency Response information is available
on posters in buildings on campus, on the BERT's website at bert.siu.edu, the Department of
Public Safety's website www.dps. siu.edu (disaster drop down) and the Emergency Response
Guidelines pamphlet. Know how to respond to each type of disaster.

Your instructor will provide guidance and directions to students in the classroom in the event of
an emergency affecting your location. It is important that you follow these instructions and stay
with your instructor during an evacuation or sheltering emergency. The Building Emergency
Response Team will provide assistance to your instructor in evacuating the building or
sheltering within the facility.

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Week Dates Tues Readings Thursday
Week 1 Introduction to the Creatively Design and
Jan 19-21 course place your name tent
Advertising Creativity Drewniany and card that represents
Jewler Chapter 1 you on the table. You
can add a logo or a
characteristic/character
you want to identify
with
Division of students
into groups for
projects. Review of
ads.
Week 2 History of Advertising Read handout Videos of some clever
Jan 26-28 Changes over the campaigns.
decades

The Process of Guinn Allen and Role playing

Week 3 Advertising Semenik: Advertising Class Assignment
Feb 2-4 Advertising Agency- and Integrated Brand Write a Brief.
Client-agency Promotion- Chapter 1 Writing Headlines
relationship Class Handout
What is a brief?
Brainstorming in an
advertising Agency
Week 4 Building Brands An Drewniany and Work on Assignment
Feb-9-11 Integrated approach Jewler Chapter 1.Bring advertisements
to marketing Chapter 2 to Class. 10% of grade
products. Case studies
Week 5 Market segmentation Drewniany and Planning for a working
Feb -16-18 and Consumer Jewler Chapter on a product or service
Behavior. Chapter 3 for Individual Portfolio.
Building Consumer
Profiles for Products or
services
Drewniany and Working on Creative
Week 6 Advertising Research Jewler Chapter 4 Strategies. Coming up
Feb 23-25 for planning with ideas

Week 7 The Print Media. Drewniany and Writing for the Print
March 2-4 Jewler - Chapter 5 Media. Headlines,
Creative themes-
and 6 body copy Designing
Coming up with the
ads Photoshop
Big Idea
workshop
Spring Break March 7-15
Week 8
Visualization-Layouts Drewniany and Designing ads
March 16-18 Jewler Chapter 8
Principles of Design Photoshop workshop
Use of pictures

Week 9 The Print Media Drewniany and Presentation of a short

March 23-25 Jewler Chapter 7 proposal on final group6
Designing ads project- Stage 1
Photoshop workshop
Week 10 Writing for Radio Drewniany and Class assignment.
March 30 April 1 commercials Jewler Chapter 9 Bring four types of
radio commercials for
review and writing for
radio. Work on radio
assignment in class
Week 11 Writing TV Scripts and Drewniany and Writing for TV- The
April 6-8 Storyboards Jewler Chapter 10 story board.
for television Developing themes
Watch award winning
TV ads
Week 12 Writing for new media - Drewniany and Case studies
April 13-15 Direct, Guerrilla and Jewler Chapter 11
Ambient
Marketing
Week 13 Advertising and New Drewniany and Work on Final
April 20-22 Media technologies Jewler Chapter 12 Projects
Internet, Mobile, and
others
Week 14 Work on Final Projects Work on Final
April -27-29 Projects
Week 15 Final Group Final Group
May 4-6 Presentations. Presentations.
Groups 1-5 Groups 6-9

FINAL PPROJECTS DUE ON FRIDAY ---8th May