Marketing 3721: Internet Marketing Fall 2011 Class Meets: M/W 2:00-3:15, 216 SSB Instructor: Wesley Boyce E-mail: Wesley.Boyce@mail.umsl.edu Phone: 314-516-6298 Office: 1305 Tower Office Hours: By appointment (to schedule an appointment, see me before or after class or send me an e-mail). I share an office, so set hours are difficult to achieve. However, I am happy to make myself available to help with any questions. Course Description, Requirements, and Assignments Prerequisites: BA 3700 and a minimum campus GPA of 2.0. Course Description This course explores the Internet and how it impacts traditional marketing methods and relating business functions that facilitate and support it. It examines current and potential future uses of the Internet for the marketing of goods and services across numerous product categories. It will investigate how businesses can use the Internet as a tool to increase effectiveness and competitiveness. This course will not involve technical endeavors, such as building a website. You will learn all about these strategies and more in this course. The course uses a mix of lecture/discussion, projects, assignments, and exams. Course Materials TBD Course Projects and Evaluation: How to Achieve the Learning Objectives 1. Class participation. This includes several small tasks, in-class exercises, attendance and attentiveness during class. 2. Blog Project. Details can be found below. 3. B2C Mini Project (individually). Details can be found below. 4. E-marketing Group Project (team). Analyze a company engaging in e-marketing and present your findings to the class. Groups will choose their own website. 5. Three exams. There will be three exams covering the text and the PowerPoints.
Evaluation Plan Task Points Percent Participation and Attendance 50 6.25 B2C Mini Project 100 12.50 Blog Project 200 25.00 Group Project 150 18.75 Exams 3 @ 100 each 300 37.50 Total 800 100 For each assignment and final grades, the following grading scale will be used: 90% - 100% = A- to A 60% - 69% = D- to D+ 80% - 89% = B- to B+ Below 60% = F 70% - 79% = C- to C+ Exam Policies If you know that you must miss class on a day on which an exam is scheduled, please let me know AT LEAST ONE WEEK AHEAD OF TIME so that we may arrange a time for you to take the exam at the campus testing center prior to the regularly-scheduled time. In the interest of fairness, students are expected to make arrangements with me in advance if they cannot attend class on a scheduled exam date. If a student fails to follow the above process and must take the exam late, an essay only exam will be administered to that student. If you do miss an exam due to illness or dire emergency and could not contact me in advance, I will ask you to provide documentation regarding your inability to attend. If your absence was justified, you may be allowed to take a make-up exam at the sole discretion of the Instructor. Blog Project You will need to set up and maintain an account at blogger.com. You will use blogger.com to create your blog. This account is free. After you create your blog, please e-mail me a link to access it so I can view your entries. Blog Assignments You are required to accomplish the following throughout the course of the semester: Blogger account Setup Set up your blog at www.blogger.com. First Post Create an introductory Hello World post, which includes a hyperlink back to the UMSL home page. Please use complete sentences and write as if you are trying to appear professional and include at least the information listed below. Feel free to add anything else you feel is relevant: Your full name (and name you prefer to be called) What city do you live in? Phone number (to be used only in emergencies and not to be shared) Reason you're taking this class
Best class ever taken at UMSL The thing you like most about UMSL The thing you like least about UMSL Hobbies Activities you are involved with at UMSL (Sports, Greek, etc) Other classes you are taking and the instructor for each Next Six Posts Write an additional six quality posts. One post is due at each of the dates specified in the course schedule below (minimum 75 words). Each post is your review and/or comments about course content we have covered, from what you have read online or in the popular press from a news story related to Internet Marketing that week, or any outstanding questions you have. There are a total of seven posts required. At least one of these posts must be from an article (either academic or from the popular press) because most classes will begin with a student talking about his or her article and its relevance to our class, and this post should be longer than the average post (roughly 2-3 pages typed and double spaced in a word processing program). A schedule will be handed out for you to sign up for these dates. Note: this must be posted in your blog before your presentation date. Finally, blog posts can be published on your blog no earlier than 2 weeks before their due date. More about what to post on your student blog: Specify whether the post is generated from the course content, the popular press, or questions you have. If you are posting your review and opinion from an online source you must include the link of the posting you are referencing. If you commenting on the class material we cover, those posts must be about the content in the class lecture from the previous week. Make sure that the titles that you use for your blog post assignments are exactly the same as the title specified in the course schedule below. B2C Mini Project Description: Comparison Shopping This mini project provides you with the opportunity to systematically compare Internet retailing and traditional retailing shopping experiences. You will also present your findings using PowerPoint, etc. It is due before class on October 26. Background 30% Shopping Comparison 30% Recommendations 20% Style (clarity of writing) 10% In-class Presentation 10% 100% Pick a good or service that you (or someone you know) are planning to purchase. This could include products such as: shoes, medicine, toys, clothing, investment advice, groceries, wedding gift, insurance, sporting equipment, etc. Do NOT choose computer hardware or software, plane or event tickets, or books (these are too common). Please email me if you
have any questions about the appropriateness of the product type you intend to compare and purchase. The mini project report must begin with a title page, and a one page executive summary. The body of the project should not exceed 3-5 pages. The first section, Background, includes (a) a description of the range of alternatives available to a potential buyer of this product; and (b) explanation of the key purchase considerations, such as convenience and price. You are expected to explicitly draw on theories and concepts presented in class and in your readings, and to apply them to this type of purchase situation. In the second section, Shopping Comparison, you will need to focus on two places to purchase the product on the Web, and two places to purchase the product in a physical retail establishment. Provide details of each of the four locations. You certainly do NOT have to complete the purchase of the product four times -- just once! You do, however, need to get far enough into the purchase process to be able to systematically compare the four purchase experiences using the key purchase considerations you identified in the first section. A summary table is expected. The final section, Recommendations, is a summary of practical recommendations for improving the purchasing process (not the entire website or store) of each of the four purchase sites. Also note which site(s) was the most desirable. E-Commerce Group Project Description This project provides you with an opportunity to increase and demonstrate your understanding of e-commerce theory and practice in groups of 2-4. The project and PowerPoint presentation are due via e-mail before 10:00PM on Monday, December 5. Market Analysis 20% E-Commerce Rationale 30% E-Commerce Critique & Recommendations 30% Style (clarity of writing, evidence of research) 10% In-Class Presentation 10% 100% Relatively few companies or nonprofit organizations effectively utilize the Internet in their marketing programs. Most small businesses still do not even have a website. Working with a group of up to 4 students, identify a company you believe would benefit from an improved e- commerce program. Please e-mail me with the members of your group, the company of your choice, and why you have selected it. I will let you know if I have any problems with your choices. (Deadline for your initial request is Monday, February 14). The project report must begin with a title page and a one page executive summary. The first section, Market Analysis, is a 2-4 page summary of the company, its marketing environment, its main customer market, its marketing mix, and two or three of its major competitors. Tools such as SWOT analysis, STEP analysis, and Porter's 5 Forces may be
applied. Additional information may be placed in an appendix. Primary and secondary research is expected. References are expected. The second section, E-Commerce Rationale, is a 2-5 page rationale as to why the company or organization should increase and improve its e-commerce activity, given the particular nature of its marketing environment. You are expected to explicitly draw on theories and concepts presented in class and in your readings, and to apply them to the company's particular situation. The final section, E-Commerce Critique and Recommendations, is a 2-5 page critique of the company/organization's website and apparent e-commerce activity, and recommendations for improvement. The summary is to detail what the company's e-commerce priorities should be, and your proposal for how the company/organization should proceed. Additional information may be placed in an appendix. A detailed implementation plan is not expected, but you should provide enough specifics to make the proposal a substantial foundation for practical follow-up with the company. (This is especially important to those of you who aspire to be successful e- commerce consultants)! In making the recommendations, you are expected to explicitly draw on theories, concepts, and readings. The In-Class Presentation is an important opportunity for you and your group to demonstrate your e-commerce understanding. The presentation should take about 10 minutes, leaving time for any questions or discussion. Presenters should be prepared to address questions from the audience. They are also expected to demonstrate good organizational and verbal communication skills, using appropriate audio and visual aids and technology. A PowerPoint presentation will be necessary for the presentation. When the project is turned in, each group member is encouraged to let me know if anyone did not contribute sufficiently to the project. Typically, each individual in the group will be allocated 100% of the final points. Alternatively, one or more persons may be judged as having made a greater contribution, with one or more other persons having made less of a contribution. I will consider any notifications from fellow group members when calculating your final grade. Lastly, please submit a single, uniform document on the due date. Sending me numerous individual sections will lead to a grade deduction. Extra Credit If extra credit opportunities arise, all students will have an equal opportunity to gain these points. Policy on Academic Honesty Academic honesty means doing one's own work and giving proper credit to others who s work and thought one may draw upon. Two important types of academic misconduct are cheating and plagiarism. Cheating includes copying from others or allowing others to copy from you during exams and collaborating with others on projects unless authorized by the professor to do so. In this class, you may ask others to review your work and make suggestions for improving, but they cannot write for you nor assist substantially in your work. Team projects are different because of their collaborative nature - however, to be a good team member you should also do individual work. Plagiarism involves presenting words or images of others without proper acknowledgment, including those on Web sites. If you use more than five words of text from
another's work, it must appear in quotations as above. If you condense or paraphrase another's work it must be attributed in the text and the full citation must appear in endnotes. You are encouraged to use published work in your projects just give credit. Anyone found not in compliance with the above will receive a zero on the work and possibly worse. Please do your own work. Assistance If you need accommodation due to a disability, please notify me as soon as possible so that I can refer you to the appropriate university office to address your specific needs. If you do not have a disability but are struggling in this course, it is in your best interests to discuss it with me as soon as possible. I want each student to get the most that he/she can from the course and will do my best to help you find a solution to any problems you are having. This may mean referring you to other resources on campus, such as an academic counselor or advisor.
Week Agenda, Readings and Assignments 1 Monday, August 22 Syllabus and introductions Wednesday, August 24 Blog Post #1 due before 6:00PM Chapter 1 2 Monday, August 29 Chapter 2 Wednesday, August 31 Blog Post #2 due before 6:00PM Chapter 8 3 Monday, September 5 No class - Labor Day Holiday Wednesday, September 7 Chapter 9 Blog Post #3 due before 6:00PM Course Schedule* 4 Monday, September 12 Catch up, questions, or study for exam. Wednesday, September 14 Exam 1 Chapters 1-2, 8-9 5 Monday, September 19 Exams returned Blog post #4 due before 6:00PM Wednesday, September 21 Chapter 3 6 Monday, September 26 Chapter 4 Wednesday, September 28 Blog post #5 due before 6:00PM Chapter 5 7 Monday, October 3 Group project work day
Wednesday, October 5 Chapter 6 8 Monday, October 10 Catch up, questions, or study for exam. Blog post #6 due before 6:00PM Wednesday, October 12 Exam 2 Chapters 3-6 9 Monday, October 17 Exams returned Wednesday, October 19 Video: Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com 10 Monday, October 24 B2C Project Presentations ALL B2C projects due Wednesday, October 26 B2C Project Presentations 11 Monday, October 31 Chapter 7 Wednesday, November 2 Blog Post #6 due before 6:00PM Chapter 10 12 Monday, November 7 Chapter 11 Wednesday, November 9 Chapter 12 13 Monday, November 14 Blog post #7 due before 6:00PM Chapter 13 & Supplemental Chapter 14 Wednesday, November 16 Exam 3 Chapters 7, 10-13, Supplemental 14 14 Monday, November 21 No class Fall Break
Wednesday, November 23 No class Fall Break 15 Monday, November 28 Exam 3 Chapters 7, 10-13, Supplemental 14 Wednesday, November 30 Group project work day Location TBD Exams returned 16 Monday, December 5 No class meeting E-Commerce Group Project Reports due via e-mail by 6:00PM via e-mail Wednesday, December 7 Project Presentations All PowerPoint presentations due before class via e-mail 17 Finals Week Project Presentations *Schedule subject to change