The objective of MMCC8016 – Media – Communications Strategies and Campaigns is to develop practical strategic media and communication skills, including: strategy development, social media, writing, budgeting and professional presentation. Students work in groups as small communication agencies pitching for the business of non-profit organisations. The unit offers real-life case studies as well as a possibility of the best proposed ideas to be taken up by client organisations. It is expected that students will develop and use the knowledge acquired about social media to develop efficient and effective communication solutions and that all the assessments in this unit answer to professional industry standards. The unit develops critical, analytical and creative thinking skills and further develops students' effective communication capabilities.

Late Submissions / Special Consideration Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests.

Lectures/workshops/presentations

Live sessions run from weeks 2-11. At time of publishing, they will be delivered face to face on campus, with the option to join live via Zoom.  

Client meetings

The briefing meetings with clients will be arranged during class time in week 3.

Follow-up online meetings with your client via Zoom may need to be arranged in some instances. If you are having trouble contacting your client please let your lecturer know as early as possible. 

All groups will present to their clients during class time in week 11. This is where you present your team's polished written strategy report and pitch for their business. You and your team will produce a video of your presentation ahead of time, which will be played during class, with the client attending (probably via Zoom) and asking follow-up questions on the spot.

Required Readings

There is are two recommended textbooks for this class:

Freberg, Karen (2019) Social Media for Strategic Communication: Creative Strategies and Research-Based Applications. Sage.

Johnston, Jane & Rowney, Katie (2018) Media Strategies: Managing Content, Platforms and Relationships. Allen & Unwin.

You are welcome to order a print version or e-book via any online store of your choice.

Readings will also be available electronically on iLearn under the Leganto tab.

Out-of-class commitment

You should allocate approximately 10 hours of study per week for this unit (including in non-teaching weeks).

Roughly speaking each week this time should be spent on:

• engaging with the lectures/workshops (approx. 2 hrs)
• reading the set chapters from the textbook (approx. 1-2 hours)
• engaging in other readings provided on ilearn (approx. 1-2 hours)
• engaging with extra readings you locate on your own (e.g. academic texts, trade media, online articles) (approx. 1-2 hours)
• social media research e.g. monitoring posts/social listening, researching live online and social media campaigns and strategies (approx.1 hour)
• completing assessment tasks, writing your report and preparing for your presentation, individually and collaboratively outside of tutorial time (approx.1 hour)

While you will have some time in class to meet, discuss, and work on your strategy with yourteam members, you will likely need more time to work directly with your team members outside of tutorials. This may be done face-to-face or via collaborative online tools.  

Feedback in this Unit

Feedback in this unit will be made available in multiple forms: General comment, rubric and in-text comments attached to assignments marked in Turnitin; in-class feedback to specific groups or whole class, informal feedback through the ‘announcement’ function in iLearn if there are points of relevance to the whole class; interactions with peers in any forum activities; in personal consultations made by appointment; in email communication with individual students by the convenor in response to questions related to unit activities.

Detailed marking rubrics for all assessment tasks will be available on iLearn.

Examples of relevant and related assessment tasks will be made available on iLearn and discussed in tutorials. 

Emails

Generally student emails will be replied to within 48 business hours. Students should not expect emails to be returned on weekends and after hours. If you are having trouble contacting your client, please inform your lecturer. 

Students should ensure that they can receive emails sent to their MQ email addresses.

Technology Required

This unit will make extensive use of iLearn https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/. Required readings, comprehensive information on assessment tasks and important announcements will be posted to iLearn. Make sure you check iLearn and your Macquarie University email account regularly during this unit.

For technical support go to: http://mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/informatics/help

For student quick guides on the use of iLearn go to: http://mq.edu.au/iLearn/student_info/guides.htm

Week 1 – No classes

Week 2 – Introduction to strategic communication and your clients

Week 3 – Live client briefs/Q&A

Week 4 – Planning and research for communications campaigns

Week 5 – Measurement and meaning – goals, objectives and budgets

Week 6 – Using social media for PR and communications

Week 7 – PR and social media for the common good – not-for-profits and corporate social responsibility

Week 8 – Strategic writing – honing your message

Week 9 – PR and social media in government

Week 10 – PR and social media in other specialty areas

Week 11 – Presentations to clients

This unit is offered for the first time in 2020.