BOSTON UNIVERSITY Course Syllabus: DESIGN THINKING FOR MULTIPLATFORM MARKETING

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1 BOSTON UNIVERSITY Course Syllabus: DESIGN THINKING FOR MULTIPLATFORM MARKETING INSTRUCTORS: PROF. BENNETT & PROF. VAN DIJK CLASS TIME: Tuesday Evenings, 7:30pm-10pm Office Hours: By Appointment ; TELEPHONE: (NB); (JvD) COURSE INTRODUCTION: Design Thinking is a new way for entrepreneurs, executives, content creators, marketers and others to identify and solve problems in their product development, marketing and operational processes that can impede success. This philosophy aggregates the best principles from creative development processes and gives students and experts alike a framework from which to build successful organizations and products. Applying this framework to the challenges of marketing in a multiplatform digital consumer environment will be the core focus of this course. Students will gain an understanding of design thinking as well as the complexities and opportunities in creating a multiplatform content strategy. In order to understand content marketing strategy, we will look at each major sector of multiplatform marketing from TV and social media to mobile and tablets, consoles and other areas. Combining personal experience and a new understanding of marketing across such platforms, students will apply these new skills in each class whether presenting ideas and solving problems in groups or pursuing new creative ideas in the context of a class wide project with a major company in this space. PART 1: (pre midterm) What is Design Thinking and how does it relate to Multiplatform Marketing? Design thinking is generally considered the ability to combine empathy for the context of a problem, creativity in the generation of insights and solutions, and rationality to analyze and fit solutions to the context. We will explore this process with the students through their own experiences and a study of best practices and key case studies in the current market. To bring this to life and get the class into a design thinking place, requires that we take the students on a fast track through the key elements of the practice and an exploration of what multiplatform marketing is and by what audience touch points: TV, web, mobile, tablet, console, private networks, radio, 'live' and out of home. When students know enough about each of these touch points from the marketing perspective, the design thinking really comes into play in how all of these touch points work together and how the best marketers use these platforms to tell a more comprehensive story to consumers

2 that drives engagement, sales and long term business growth. In addition to the key platforms and practice areas, there will be significant discussion around what makes a good pitch, effective public speaking techniques, leading effective brainstorms and the qualities of good story telling across platforms among other skills. Course includes Guest speakers with expertise in each of the verticals of multiplatform marketing that will come to speak to the class and share their current projects and challenges; hear pitches, field questions. Part 1 recap: Cover major digital platforms, basics of design thinking with prep, pitch & presentation practice. Midterm Exam: Team Projects that integrate the first half learnings around new ideas. Each team will have to prepare a presentation and deliver it in front of the class. PART 2: (post mid term to end of semester) The 2nd phase of the course emphasizes ideas and how those ideas are presented, picking up from where the mid term left off. Now that students have learned more about marketing across touch points, it s time to develop strategies that connect to all touch points. Through a series of guest lecturers and team projects, the students collaborate to explore, create and measure multiplatform strategies. To be really good at this, the students will be given polish in public speaking, pitching and presenting (throughout all 14 weeks, but mostly in the 2 nd half). These skills are also fundamental to their future success in the industry. Preparing them to be useful interns and employees that know how to succeed once they leave school. Alongside shaping ideas for multiplatform marketing strategies, students will also focus on building the business case behind digital ideas and concepts. Having a solid understanding of writing a business plan will help them to learn more about the financial assumptions involved in these types of untraditional business plans. How do the new metrics factor into business plans? Can you project user engagement and sentiment? How do you plan a business around social adoption? Of course, solid financials are only part of creating a successful program or business in the multiplatform market today. The class will also discuss and learn to examine the idea and identify inherent challenges and opportunities in each approach. Can it be repeated? Is it scalable? How much funding and from what sources does it rely on? Can it be grown into new markets? Is performance / growth predictable and defensible (e.g. secure from competition)? The second half of the course will have a major project component. In similar style as previous years, we will have partners from major businesses in the space to create opportunities for students to work in a real world environment on a new idea or concept of their collective creation. These projects will be group based and students will be graded on their ability to work together to develop collective results, as we experience in

3 real world strategy development. COURSE STRUCTURE BY THE WEEK: Week 1: What is Design Thinking and how does it inform Multiplatform Marketing? Includes discussion on what is multiplatform marketing. Focus on content strategies brands employ today and the key platforms leveraged for each. We will have a discussion on the best practices and marketing complexities of digital and TV platforms today. What s the user experience across devices and how does this change by the content of what we are watching / playing? Case studies. Week 2: Follow the money. A short lecture followed by group discussion on the business models supporting major marketing platforms today. Focused on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), mobile app markets, consoles, and corporate brand marketers. Week 3: Social Media Driving the Shift to Engagement marketing. Deep dive on the use and effectiveness of social media platforms for marketers. The standard measurement of impression based marketing the CPM is not as useful in the digital marketing landscape. New metrics are better indicators of the effectiveness of marketing spends. Short lecture and class discussion on these platforms and metrics. Case discussion and speaker TBD. Week 4: The mobile ecosystem: Multiplatform marketing on platforms and apps. Review of key market players and revenue drivers. Case study discussion and small group project (in class). Mobile devices are driving marketing strategy today How are marketers thinking about mobile? Our definition of mobile is changing constantly, what does this mean for marketers in the future? Speaker TBD. Collaborative/class ideation: Apps as marketing platforms quick pitches on partnerships with today s top app marketers. Week 5: The role of TV and live events in multiplatform content marketing. How are these platforms evolving with or competing with major new digital distribution platforms? Live, physical interaction is changing with new technologies like VR. Lecture / guest speaker and class discussion on the power and role of TV and live events in marketing strategy. Collaborative/class ideation: Target wants to create a seasonal thematic uniting their various celebrity designers and products across all areas of their store. What types of content would you create and how would you program it for maximum impact with customers in the stores, online and through the app? Prep, pitch and discuss. Week 6: Virtual Reality: Emerging platform for new experiences and marketing engagement. First hand experience for the class with VR technology and expert filmmakers. Guest speaker and technology experience. Class discussion on opportunity for marketers and content producers in VR.

4 Week 7: Mid Term Project Prep. Class will focus on the mid term brief and early group collaboration / role definition. Class will also include discussion on strategy development and what makes an effective strategy today. Mid-term and spring break Week 8: Multiplatform marketing across all types of engagements how do platforms measure and how marketers measure success. Discussion on how technology and metrics changes impact marketing programs. Mid Term projects due / presentation. Week 9: Introduction of Sponsored Project: including team break down; ideation, strategy development. Students will define roles and responsibilities. Class will include a lesson on public speaking and pitching with small group and individual exercises. Week 10: The differences between content advertising, sponsorship and branded engagements. Partnerships between brands and sports properties, television programs, digital platforms and live events are all different. These partnerships aren t just good press releases, but instead are very complex business deals. This class will look at the elements involved in partnerships between brands and entertainment platforms. Students will discuss the consumer value of these programs in the context of specific case examples. Lecture, discussion, guest speaker TBD. Week 11: Video Game marketing Major platforms for engagement across millions of people, video gaming has evolved over the last 10 years. Class will review the major players and segments of the video game industry and hear from a guest speaker responsible for one of the largest games on the planet today. Week 12: Team Project working session. Class opportunity to surface key elements for discussion. Group opportunity and class discussion on current digital marketing events/news. Week 13: Multiplatform to the core. We are shifting from a world where brands are evolving from becoming multiplatform to being created as multiplatform businesses. Case studies and class discussion on these types of businesses and the future marketing challenges and opportunities for these types of companies. Week 14: Team Project Wrap Up and Final Presentation to Client. Course Materials, assignments, reading materials, requirements etc. Case studies to be provided via / download links.

5 --Assignments, due dates, points possible on each portion of the work: **Mid-term exam: 35 points (due at the 7 th week meeting of the class) **Major project presentation: 45 points (due at the 14 th week meeting of the class) Class participation/in class assignments: 20 points NOTE: Grading will follow the guidelines dictated by the College of Communication; The standard grade scale for the College of Communication is as follows: A: A-: B+: B: B-: C+: C: C-: D: F: COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATION STATEMENT ON PLAGIARISM Plagiarism is the act of representing someone else's creative and/or academic work as your own, in full or in part. It can be an act of commission, in which one intentionally appropriates the words, pictures or ideas of another, or it can be an act of omission, in which one fails to acknowledge/document/give credit to the source, creator and/or the copyright owner of those words, pictures or ideas. Any fabrication of materials, quotes, or sources, other than that created in a work of fiction, is also plagiarism. Plagiarism is the most serious academic offense that you can commit and can result in probation, suspension or expulsion.