Assignment Overview

To demonstrate your ability to contribute to professional dialogue through your use of reflective commentary, you will be required to comment on several assigned articles and/or videos that present marketing–related material. Your task is to use your previously gained experiences as well as knowledge acquired from your courses to add to the dialogue from the perspective of your industry, your organization, your position, and/or your personal/professional experiences in order to contribute to the discussion of various marketing yourself aspects of the presented material. You will do this via both an original Comment (6 points) and a Reply to someone else’s comment or reply (4 points).

When writing your comments/replies, remember that you are representing your own personal/professional brand and, in essence, marketing yourself. Portray yourself as a professional in all interactions. Do NOT repeat the question prior to answering. Do NOT reference the course/classor refer to an “instructor” or “professor” because this may cause other readers to discount yourexpertise due to what will then be perceived as your “student” status. Remember that your brand is a professional one. All comments and replies should be of a positive nature and should be thoughtful, intelligent, and, when possible, incorporate concepts learned in the course. Disagreeing with the author/presenter is fine butdo so amiably and always on a professional level.

If you decide to share the article/video via social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to showcase your expert commentary, it would be best to share the article/video immediately after you make your comment so that your particular comment(s) will be more accessible at the time of sharing (rather than buried below other comments). You also might decide to use your comment on the assigned article/video toconnect (professionally) with other individuals by referringto their articles, videos, websites, etc. You can do this by mentioning their name or username (as a hyperlink in that platform) in hopes that they will be notified and thus see your comment, and/or you can simply copy and paste your comment into an email message and let them know directly that you mentioned them and felt compelled to promote their work. Previous students who have used this technique have been able to connect with top corporate executives, authors, popular speakers, and even some mid–level celebrities.

Your comments can be formal or casual butuse proper spelling and grammar as appropriate. Remember, you arerepresenting your own personal/professional brand.

Article/Video Topics

You will have to comment (and reply to a comment) for each of the following five short articles and videos. You do not need to be an expert on any of the topics butuse your common sense and personal/professional experiences to add to the professional dialogue.

•For PCA–1, view “Perception vs. Reality” on YouTube at

•For PCA–2, view “Master the Art of Conversation: How to Disagree Respectfully” on YouTube at

•For PCA–3, read “Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg Says that You Don’t Have a PersonalBrand. Well, Do You?” on LinkedInator view it on YouTubeat

•For PCA–4, view “Using the Stages of Change (Transtheoretical) Model” on YouTubeat•For PCA–5, read “Customer Lifetime Value” on LinkedIn athttp://bit.ly/GuessCLV

As you watch/read each video/article, consider how they could apply to your process of building and managing your professional brand.

Instructions –Part One: The CommentFor each of the videos/articles, use your YouTube account (for videos) or LinkedIn account (for articles) to provide professional commentary by writing two to four complete, compelling, grammatically correct sentences, using one of the questions below as aguide(do notuse the question word–for–word, but only as a guide). Note:for each video/article, you must use a different question as the guide for yourcomment.

1.Which part of the video/article resonated most with you (or you most connected with) and how could you use that information or concept in your professionallife?

2.What concept or idea from the video/article have you experienced in the past and whatwas your experience?

3.Which point of the video/article did you agree with the most, and why?

4.What is a “hidden gem” or something that few would notice in the video/article, that youfind to be noteworthy/critical/game–changing/enlightening/etc., and why?

5.What is an addition that you could offer to extend the concepts discussed in thevideo/article?

6.Howdoes or could the material in this video/article (or some portion of it) apply toyour industryor field or jobposition?

7.How could the material presented in this video/article inspire or influence you or someone else to change your approachto marketing, sales, personal branding, or behavioralchange?

8.What is an aspect of this video/article that gives you a different perspective on some aspectof marketing, sales, personal branding, and/or behavioral change?

9.Which point(s) of this video/article have you not considered before, and how could itchange your thinking about thetopic?

After you have made your comment, be sure to take a legiblescreenshot of the entire comment for later submission in the Assignment Dropbox.

Instructions –Part Two: The ReplyFor each of the videos/articles, you also will be required to reply to another person’s comment (or another person’s reply to a comment) in a manner that furthers the professional contribution of the idea or thread portrayed in the comment/reply. Remember, your replies also should be of a positive nature and should be thoughtful, intelligent, and, when possible, incorporate concepts learned in the course and from your experiences. Your goal should be to addto the professional dialogue. After you have made your reply, be sure to take a legible screenshot of the entire reply for later submission in the Assignment Dropbox.

Instructions –Part Three: Submit in Assignment DropboxComplete the following in a document and then save it as a single PDF:

1.StudentName

2.YouTube UserName

3.LinkedIn UserName

4.For each of the five PCAs, include thefollowing:

a.Which guide question did you use while formulating your comment for this articleor video? (Write the number and the text of the question, not just the numberplease.)

b.Screenshot of the entire comment. Import/embed the screenshot of the comment asan image in the document. Be sure that you size the screenshot large enough that the comment can be readeasily.

c.Screenshot of reply (note that reply screenshot also must include the referenced comment and/or reply for context in grading). Import/embed the screenshot of the reply as an image in the document. Be sure that you size the screenshot large enough that the reply can be readeasily.d.Save the final document as PCA–YourName and then upload it to the appropriate Assignment Dropboxlink

.5.Be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channels and connect with or follow the LinkedInauthors so that you can follow any dialogue that is inspired by your comments andreplies.

Remember that this activity serves not only as an assignment, but as an opportunity to market your expertise to your connections.

Juan is moving to Georgia with his family. His family is excited and anxious to learn English and the American way of life. They’re very proud of their heritage and cultural traditions. They have decided to learn and speak English at school and work, but speak Spanish at home. Juan is an outgoing young man who was an average second grade student in his native country of Peru. Juan’s parents enroll him in Ms. Romano’s second grade classroom. Ms. Romano welcomes him to the class. She believes that even though Juan doesn’t know English, he should try to follow the pace of the class and eventually catch up. Juan is frightened when he realizes he doesn’t understand what is being said. Ms. Romano decides to ignore Juan’s fearful facial expressions and allows him to be totally immersed in his new culture. In the afternoon, when the students take out their reading workbooks, Juan gets extremely worried. Not only was English confusing, but the entire reading period left Juan feeling lost. After a few weeks of unsuccessful lessons, Ms. Romano decides to refer Juan to the Special Education director. She will need to speak to Juan’s parents first. She’s been so busy the last few weeks that she hasn’t been able to meet them yet. Ms. Romano believes that Juan doesn’t understand the reading lessons and is scoring poorly on the tests and quizzes. She feels that perhaps Juan has some learning disabilities.

• Do you believe the school and Ms. Romano is acting in Juan’s best interest? What would you change, if anything, about Ms. Romano’s approach?
• What would be your preferred personal approach for helping children learn English?
• Do you believe that Juan should be tested for learning disabilities? How would you respond to Mrs. Romano’s proposal to move Juan to a special education class? What kind of information should Ms. Romano have about Juan before she refers him to the special education director?
• What should she know about his culture and family?
• Why is there an overrepresentation of minority children in special education classes?

The text and the assigned articles are the primary sources for this project. Remember to review the reading in past units for this project as well as the readings in Unit 5. Additionally, you should use 2 other research articles from peer-reviewed journals that you found in the Kaplan Library. This project should be between 900 and 1,200 words, not including the title page and the reference page. The project should be written in essay form. You are required to give credit to the sources you use, and use proper APA formatting. Refer to the APA Quick Reference for help with APA, the Kaplan Writing Center or your instructor. Remember that all work must be your own and plagiarism is not tolerated. Be sure to review the plagiarism policy in your Syllabus.

During this week’s readings, an understanding of the advertising will be emphasized, as well as, a basic understanding of how these messages are developed. Advertising is the primary means by which a company communicates to its customers about its products and brands, and position in the marketplace. Claims made in ads should be accurate and consistent with all a company’s messages and actions. TV commercials and print ads represent much of the typical advertising budget, but companies also advertise their brands in everything they do. Thus, many advertising gurus prefer the more general term “Integrated Marketing Communications” (IMC), which is broad enough to include other media (e.g., public relations, direct marketing), and it reminds the marketer to be sure the message has a holistic nature and is consistent and complementary across all media choices and executions. Advertising has both short- and long-term effects. Several of the short-term effects of advertising can be shown. For example, customers’ memory of ads and brands and attributes are easily measured. Attitudes are also easily surveyed and may be compared to prior attitudes (measured previously) to assess any change in valence. Advertising is a means of communication. Marketers must understand the basic model of dyadic communication. In the classic model, there is a source (e.g., the firm), a message (e.g., the ad), and a receiver (e.g., customer). The source intends to send out certain information, which is encoded (i.e., expressed in a certain way) and then transmitted. The receiver then decodes the message. Hopefully, the receiver interprets the content of the message in a manner like what the sender had intended. But there can be errors along the way. That is why copy testing (marketing research examining the content of the ad) is important, before launching the full ad campaign, to learn whether the intended target segment understands the message as the company intended. Goals must be set before ads can be evaluated. There are several classes of advertising communications messages. Rational or cognitive ads include one- and two-side arguments, comparative and non-comparative ads, product demonstrations, and dramas. Emotional ads include humorous and fear-inducing appeals, images, and endorsements. Advertising is tested via concept testing and copy testing. The content of what is measured depends on the corporate strategic goals of the ad campaign, and those assessments can include: Memory tests (recall and recognition), Attitudinal tests (enhancement of the favorability of the product and brand), and Behavioral measures (likely to purchase the brand or generate positive word-of-mouth).

During this week’s readings, Integrated marketing communications (IMC) will be discussed, along with how the impact of Social Media is changing the Marketing landscape. IMC refers to the idea that marketing planning should ensure that a company’s various advertising efforts send a coherent story across the different customer touchpoints. Most companies spend on their entire communications package (i.e., advertising in all its various forms, including the purchase of the necessary media) an amount determined by one of three methods:

1. The advertising budget as a percentage of last year’s sales.

2. The company spends approximately what it believes is parity with competitors.

3. The company can use its strategic advertising goal and work backward to calculate necessary expenditures.

The philosophy underlying IMC is logical: keep in mind the company’s overarching strategy and ensure that all marketing activities send a consistent message, beginning with the communications as well as other marketing mix elements. Research suggests a positive relationship between IMC practices and good brand outcomes. Yet, even if the IMC goal sounds great, it is not that easy to execute in practice, in part because traditional advertising agencies are not that good at public relations (PR), direct marketing, or nontraditional advertising tactics. To resemble full-line service providers, some ad agencies acquire smaller specialized agencies, and others outsource part of their overall IMC plan. Ultimately, IMC is the responsibility of the marketer and brand manager.

Mobile marketing is growing because our cell phones are convenient: they contain our identities and those of the people we talk to frequently. They are our portals to email and Facebook, our primary means of sharing information and entertainment. While electronic and information technologies are becoming more accessible and pervasive, traditional media are experiencing their own changes:

• Newspaper circulations are declining, and magazine sales and circulations are down.
• The number of radio stations has grown, but listeners are tuned in for less time each day.
• Television channels continue to grow, but the audience for any given show is typically smaller, making it easier to target segments of viewers.

The other part of the social media story is its social or human element. Belonging to different communities and interacting with different people in our social roles is part of our self-identity. The most fundamental means of interaction is a dialogue. In social media, customers have become participants in a dialogue with marketers or brands. The phrase “social media” is usually applied to people interacting and connecting with others via online software or alternative electronic access technologies (e.g., smartphones). Social media have the following properties:

• Some social media offer very rich, vivid sensory experiences (e.g., video games) with dynamic sights and sounds that compel the user to interact and engage. By comparison, other social media seem relatively simple (e.g., blogs).
• Some social media are primarily social in nature, such as social network sites, which serve as places to asynchronously hang out with friends. Other media have more industrious goals (e.g., seeking jobs via professional sites like LinkedIn).
• Social media vary regarding whether the interactions are pointedly commercial or not.

Learning Objectives:

Chapter 11 – Advertising Messages and Marketing Communications

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand what advertising is, its importance, and its goals.
2. Distinguish between the various types of advertising formats.
3. Understand the various ways to determine advertising effectiveness.

Chapter 12 – Integrated Marketing Communications and Media Choices

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the key issues associated with the three media decisions.
2. Acquire an appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of each advertising medium.
3. Know the various non-advertising components of integrated marketing communication.
4. Understand the evaluation of the advertising media’s effectiveness.

Chapter 13 – Social Media

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand social media.
2. Understand social networks.
3. Question .Understand the return on investment, key performance indicators, and Web analytics associated with social media.Read and reflect on the assigned readings for the week. Then post what you thought was the most important concept(s), method(s), term(s), and/or any other thing that you felt was worthy of your understanding in each assigned textbook chapter.
4. Your initial post should be based upon the assigned reading for the week, so the textbook should be a source listed in your reference section and cited within the body of the text. Other sources are not required but feel free to use them if they aid in your discussion

you are tasked with reading Anton Chekhov’s short story “The Kiss.” As in our unit on painting, what we’re doing with the artwork is working with its specific details to determine what the work’s larger purpose/interpretation might be. Only here, rather than dealing with a static image, we’re working with narrative structure and words as our major units of meaning.

With Chekhov, what I’m primarily interested in is the way that literary narration of setting corresponds to character moods and to larger themes and ideas. So what I’d like you to do is to quote some piece of text and analyze the writing in it in an attempt to relate minute details to the larger ideas and themes of the story.

Example: in his initial description of Lieutenant Lobytko, Chekhov writes, “Lobytko, a tall, strong built officer, who was riding ahead of the others, who had no mustache (although he was over twenty-five there wasn’t a trace of hair on his face), and who was renowned in the brigade for his keen senses and ability to sniff a woman out from miles away, turned round and said, ‘Yes, there must be women here, my instinct tells me'” (112). The description here has a contradiction. Chekhov says that the officer is “tall, strong built” and is known to be able to “sniff a woman out from miles away,” aspects that make him seem a manly-man of sorts. However, Chekhov also notes that he “had no mustache” or “a trace of hair on his face,” indicating a childish, immature or underdeveloped quality about Lobytko, maybe indicating that an obsession with women (and presumably sex) has a childish quality to it, one that might tie to Ryabovich’s childish puppy love over the mysterious kiss. Maybe that means that part of what the story about is growing up and maturation.

“Where Is the
Money” Please respond to the following:

• Review “Dangerous Stratagems” in Chapter 11. Discuss one strategy that is
  the most dangerous and one strategy that is the least dangerous. Justify your
  response with one or two reasons.

• AP Photo/Pioneer Press, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Brandi Jade Thomas, www.TwinCities.com In three-fourths of the states, the treasurer or chief financial officer (CFO) is elected by citizens in statewide elections. In some states, such as New York and Texas, the comptroller is elected and performs many of the functions of the CFO. About two-thirds of local governments have an official with the title “financial officer,” “financial director,” or a similar title implying broad duties. Financial wizardry is not a CFO’s primary calling; but when governors or mayors find their budgets unbalanced, they turn to the CFO for possible stratagems. For the past few years, politicians in far too many cities and states—not to speak of Washington, DC—have tended to rely on nine dangerous stratagems: 1. Delay maintenance and replacement of assets—and rely on hope. On August 1, 2007, the I-35W bridge across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis collapsed suddenly, killing 13 people. Seven months later, a federal commission said that just to maintain and upgrade surface transportation in the United States world cost $225 billion a year for the next 50 years. Ensuring safe and dependable roads, bridges and transportation systems, as well as water systems, sewage treatment plants, dams and even schools also requirers long-term planning. Unfortunately, most politicians prefer quick fixes. 2. Sell assets. In economic hard times, it is popular to sell land, buildings, or surplus assets. California’s real estate is one of its greatest assets and selling off state property, according to the governor’s office, would raise over $1 billion. Specifically, Governor Schwarzenegger proposed the sale of seven state-owned properties to help get his budget in balance including: San Quentin State Prison, the Cow Palace, Del March Fairgrounds, Orange County Fairgrounds, Ventura County Fairgrounds, and the Los Angeles Coliseum. Schwarzenegger’s proposal was rather straightforward compared to that of Governor Eliot Spitzer in New York, who wanted to securitize, or sell off, part of future state lottery proceeds. 3. Lease rather than buy equipment. Say the U.S. Air Force needs 100 Boeing 767 aircrafts to use as aerial refueling tankers. Buying them outright would cost about $20 billion and add appreciably to this year’s deficit. Therefore, for political reasons, Congress and the president might prefer to lease them over a 12-year period. The budget would take far less of a hit each year, even though total cost would be higher than if the Air Force had bought the planes. 4. Rob Peter to pay Paul. Most budgets are made up of multiple accounts. The account that gets the most attention is called the general fund. When that general fund gets in trouble, politicians start considering off budget funds as resources to be tapped. New York helped balance its budget in 1992 by transferring the cost of running the Erie Canal from the general fund (“on budget”) to the Thruway Authority (“off budget”). Similarly, in 2003, Massachusetts transferred management of a convention center and a parking garage (both “on budget”) to the state pension fund (“off budget”) to show a savings of $175 million. 5. Nickel and dime employees. The response to budget problems is often symbolic. David Osborne and Peter Hutchinson write: “Leaders order coffee pots unplugged, travel budgets slashed, and consultants banned. To save energy, they force workers to endure hotter offices in summer and colder offices in winter. Some even outlaw potted plants. In Missouri last year, the governor ordered that every other light bulb in government buildings be unscrewed.” 6. Make across-the-board cuts rather than targeted cuts. In 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger proposed cutting California’s budget across the board by 10 percent, meaning that every state agency from police to health to the arts would receive a 10 percent reduction in its annual budget. Less drastically, that same year, Iowa Governor Chet Culver announced a 1.5 percent across-the-board cut and said education and Medicare “won’t escape unscathed.” The popularity of broad-brush, across-the-board cost-cutting is easy to understand: It is a way to avoid making difficult, uncomfortable political choices. 7. Fudge the numbers. A budget is really just a forecast, a necessary statement of expected revenues and expenses. But every budget is based on assumptions, and CFOs can make it look better or worse simply by changing those assumptions. If they expect 1000 new students to enroll in their schools but assume (for budget purposes) only 900, they have reduced the basis for their estimate of new expenses by 10 percent. Ronald Reagan’s approach in 1982 was a classic example of making the budget “work” by fudging the numbers. To justify large tax cuts, his budget director, David Stockman, forecast 5 percent growth for 1982. Theoretically, this would help create a $28 billion surplus by 1986. As it turned out, the gross national product fell by 2 percent that year—and the largest deficits since World War II soon followed. The Obama White House presented its own rosy scenario with the fiscal year 2010 budget. It expected economic growth in 2009 to decline by only 1.2 percent, whereas the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office assumed a 3 percent decline. Quite a difference. 8. Borrow. Even when the general fund is legally prohibited from being in debt, governments find ways to borrow. The chief way states and local governments borrow is by issuing bonds. California has proven that the politics of borrowing works for both Republicans and Democrats. In 2003, the legislature finally passed a $99 billion budget with $10.7 billion of borrowing—which was probably unconstitutional. After voter removed (recall) Democratic Governor Gray Davis from office, the new Republican governor, Schwarzenegger, immediately endorsed borrowing $15 billion more as part of his “budget balancing” plan. Meanwhile, on the East Coast, New Jersey faced a $3.5 billion shortfall and had accumulated a $32 billion debt. Governor John Corzine therefore proposed increasing fees on toll roads and issuing up to $38 billion in bonds against future toll revenues. Although issuing bonds is the chief way for a state to borrow, Schwarzenegger would later try another way, namely, invoking a law that lets the state demand loans of 8 percent of property tax revenue from cities, counties, and special districts. Under this law, the state must repay the municipalities with interest within three years. So, he requested $2 billion, displeasing local officials up and down the state and in effect, kicking the can down the road three years. 9. Use accounting gimmicks. Accounting offers many temptations to politicians who might have made a read-my-lips pledge of “no new taxes.” Since we cannot consider all the gimmicks, we note here just four: manipulating the timing of expenditures and receipts, requesting funds after budget approval, making false assumptions, and making dubious promises. Our first example involves pretending or even requiring that money you expect to receive next year will actually come in this year or pretending that expenses planned for this year will be made, technically, next year. For example, states tell school districts that are expecting a school-aid payment in May (this fiscal year) that they will get it in July (next fiscal year), thus making this year’s expenses look smaller. At the same time, they tell retailers who normally submit their June sales tax receipts in July (next fiscal year) to do so in June, thus making this year’s revenue look larger. In Massachusetts, Governor Deval Patrick proposed counting about $900 million in proceeds from license fees of new casinos that the legislature had not even authorized. Prudent presidents and governors recognize that natural disasters happen and allow for them in their budgets. Others simply assume none will occur, lower their spending request to the legislature accordingly, and then blithely ask the legislature for supplemental funding two months later, when the flooding or whatever occurs. This works well for wars, too. Another accounting gimmick used to make deficit projection look smaller involves the alternative minimum tax (AMT) enacted in 1969 to prevent the wealthy from using tax shelters to avoid paying any income tax. Although it was intended to hit the wealthy taxpayer, it was not indexed for inflation. That fact has meant that it could affect millions of middle-class taxpayers. If they pay it, the government would get billions of dollars more in tax revenues, which is what past budgets have falsely assumed. But it would also probably mean a taxpayer revolt. So each year the White House and Congress agree to patch the alternative tax for inflation and the extra revenues never materialize. Finally, we come to a relatively new gimmick: PAYGO (pay-as-you-go). Here’s how it works: The president promises that “Congress can only spend a dollar if it saves a dollar elsewhere.” Thus, PAYGO, provides politicians with convenient talking points and taxpayers with a false sense of security on budget reform. From 1991 through 2002, PAYGO existed as a statute and was brought back in 2007. But it never worked because Congress severely limited the amount of the budget to which it applied and, in those cases when it did apply, conveniently voted waivers.