Students

MMCC3090 – PACE: Public Relations and Social Media: Constructing Campaigns

2023 – Session 2, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, Lecturer, Tutor
Lauren Gorfinkel
Tuesdays 12-1pm via Zoom
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp at 1000 level or above including MMCC2100
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The objective of this unit is to develop practical public relations and social media skills, including: strategy writing, budgeting and professional presentations. The focus will be on employee, volunteer, and member strategies for engaging with key publics outside of the organisation. Students will work in small teams to establish their own PR agency, which will pitch for the business of commercial and not-for-profit organisations.

Visit Employability Connect for important information on this unit.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: analyse and research the disciplinary knowledge on public relations and social media.
  • ULO2: apply communication and social media theory to practical case studies in the field.
  • ULO3: communicate (in written, and oral-visual forms) the theoretical and practical strategies in public relations and social media campaign design.
  • ULO4: participate actively, professionally and ethically in team activities during and outside of class to achieve strategy outcomes.
  • ULO5: demonstrate high level English language, writing, oral and visual skills that provide evidence of a capacity to tailor materials to target audiences.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty  

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of ‘0’ (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to written reports and recordings only. Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs) will be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Internal Communications Project 40% No Week 7, 08/09/2023, 11:55pm
Pitch to Client 30% No Weeks 8-10, slides due 11.55pm on day of presentation
Strategy Report 30% No Week 13, Thurs 02/11/2023, 11.55pm

Internal Communications Project

Assessment Type 1: Work-integrated task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 24 hours
Due: Week 7, 08/09/2023, 11:55pm
Weighting: 40%

 

For this assignment you will submit two posts designed to be shared on your client's intranet, internal social media feed or internal newsletter as part of an ongoing internal communications strategy designed to keep employees, volunteers or members up-to-date with what is happening around your broader client project. You are encouraged to utilize a range of forms such as written text, images, infographics, and short videos. You will also submit a brief rationale explaining the internal communications strategy. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • analyse and research the disciplinary knowledge on public relations and social media.
  • apply communication and social media theory to practical case studies in the field.
  • communicate (in written, and oral-visual forms) the theoretical and practical strategies in public relations and social media campaign design.
  • participate actively, professionally and ethically in team activities during and outside of class to achieve strategy outcomes.

Pitch to Client

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 22 hours
Due: Weeks 8-10, slides due 11.55pm on day of presentation
Weighting: 30%

 

Your consultancy will present your PR strategy to your client. You will be marked on your part in the online delivery, including your spoken delivery, slides and script. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • analyse and research the disciplinary knowledge on public relations and social media.
  • communicate (in written, and oral-visual forms) the theoretical and practical strategies in public relations and social media campaign design.
  • participate actively, professionally and ethically in team activities during and outside of class to achieve strategy outcomes.
  • demonstrate high level English language, writing, oral and visual skills that provide evidence of a capacity to tailor materials to target audiences.

Strategy Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 22 hours
Due: Week 13, Thurs 02/11/2023, 11.55pm
Weighting: 30%

 

Your consultancy will develop a comprehensive PR strategy report (communications plan) for your client. You will be marked on your sections of the report. Refer to iLearn for further information.

 

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • analyse and research the disciplinary knowledge on public relations and social media.
  • apply communication and social media theory to practical case studies in the field.
  • communicate (in written, and oral-visual forms) the theoretical and practical strategies in public relations and social media campaign design.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Lectures

Live lectures will run via Zoom from weeks 1-12.

  • Lectures will include interviews with industry experts. The questions are carefully selected to guide you on important considerations that can be applied to your assessment tasks as well as provide key insights into the industry and help you develop your industry networks. They will also include short exercises to help you think about your projects ahead of your tutorials. They should not be missed.
  • Recordings will be made available after the lecture. You are strongly encouraged to attend live, especially whern there are industry guests.

Tutorials

Tutorials begin in week 2. 

  • You are expected to attend a 1-hour tutorial each week either online or on campus.
  • Content and exercises from the previous week's lecture will be discussed in the tutorials. There will also be a heavy focus on client-based group work in tutorials.
  • You will need to sign up for your client group by Week 2. You will work in small groups across the semester to serve your client.
  • There will be a briefing meeting with the client in Week 3.
  • Students are expected to meet and correspond with their client on a regular basis throughout the semester from weeks 3-12. Client meetings may be held during your tutorial time in some weeks or you may arrange these outside of class time as suits the group and client. In other weeks, you will receive mentoring on your project work from your tutor as well as engage with important weekly topics which are all related to your project development.
  • Students should expect to drive their projects with is a high degree of automony and should proactively reach out to tutors for extra support as needed.
  • It is important to be present on a weekly basis to ensure you are able to fully contribute to the group project and to come to class having engaged with the lecture and readings and conducted research in a way that helps drive your project work forward.
  • Presentation pitches to clients will be held in class or via Zoom during normal tutorial times in Weeks 8 and 9. The presentation weeks (weeks 8 and 9) will be run online for online classes and in-person for on-campus classes, except where the client is unable to attend campus. Where the client is unable to attend on-campus presentations, they may be run on Zoom. Your tutor will keep you posted.

Teamwork

  • Teamwork is an essential component of this unit. Expect to work with fellow students while developing the strategy campaign both during tutorials and outside of class time and bring a positive attitude towards collaboration with peers. Every student is expected to contribute fully to the project and take responsibility for their parts.
  • While you will ultimately be marked on your own parts of the presentation and report, you will need to work effectively in a team to ensure the various parts are cohesive and fit together well.
  • If you are having trouble with your team, please contact the convenor or tutor for extra support.

Readings

Set readings will be available on ilearn under the Unit Readings/Leganto tab.

The recommended textbook for this unit is:

Sutherland, K. (2021) Strategic Social Media Management: Theory and Practice. Palgrave MacMillan. 

  • An electronic version of the textbook will be available via Leganto with a limited user licence. It is highly recommended that you purchase your own copy.

Out-of-class commitment

MMCC3090 is a 10-credit point unit. This means that 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 (1 hr)
  • participating in the tutorial (your group time) (1 hr)
  • engaging with the set readings (2 hrs)
  • application of key lessons from lectures, tutorials, and readings to project work/assessments (4 hrs)
  • writing drafts, preparing mock-ups e.g. sample social media posts, proofreading, editing (1 hr)
  • sharing updates of your individual contributions with your team members and the client where relevant e.g. via email, extra Zoom meetings etc. (1 hr)

Professional Presentation/Design Tools

  • While the teaching of graphic design skills is not the focus of this unit, students may have access to industry-standard Adobe Creative Cloud tools (e.g. InDesign, Illustrator, Rush) which you can use to develop a professional report, pitch deck, social media posts and other collateral.
  • Canva is also a useful tool for this unit.
  • As students come to this unit with different skill sets we would most appreciate you being open to sharing your relevant skills and resources with your classmates.

Feedback in this Unit

Feedback in this unit to individuals, groups, and the class/cohort may be made available in multiple forms, including:

  • Announcements on iLearn - make sure you are receiving the announcements.
  • Feedback from clients - it is important to regularly share your work-in-progress ideas with your client to check that you are on the right track. 
  • Q&A sessions in lectures and tutorials - please don't hesitate to raise your hand, speak up, or ask questions in the chat function for online and on-campus classes.
  • Via email - please don't hesitate to ask any questions via email as they arise. For general assessment questions, please email the convenor and CC in your tutor, noting which class (day and time) you are in.
  • Individual or group Zoom or face-to-face consultations - to arrange a private consultation please email your tutor or email to make an appointment to meet with the convenor.
  • Peer-to-peer feedback during tutorials and group sessions
  • Within Turnitin - see textbox, comments on the actual submission, mark-up on assignments, and via the marked-up rubric  

Samples of past assessments, as well as detailed assessment guidelines and marking rubrics for all assessment tasks, will be made available on iLearn.

Please don't hesitate to request feedback as you need it.

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 tutor. 

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

Please also regularly check for unit announcements.

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

Unit Schedule

Week 1 Welcome to #MQAgency / Creating a PR/Social Media Agency

Week 2 Internal Communications/Employee Engagement

Week 3 Project Management / Setting Goals and Objectives [Client briefings]

Week 4 Research for PR and Social Media Campaigns

Week 5 Pitching: Essential Skills for Pitching to Your Clients

Week 6 Strategy Report Writing / Introduction to Strategies and Tactics  

Week 7 More on Strategies and Tactics: Social Media and Influencer Campaigns [Internal Communications Project Due]

----Mid-Semester Break----

Week 8 More on Strategies and Tactics: Media Engagement

Week 9 More on Strategies and Tactics: Community Engagement [Presentations]

Week 10 The Creative Process in PR [Presentations]

Week 11 Career Insights Industry Panel - Health, Financial and Tech PR

Week 12 Final Report Polishing Workshop / Reflecting on Your PACE Experience / Developing Your Profile on LinkedIn [Report Due]

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Changes since First Published

Date Description
23/07/2023 The due dates for the presentation and report have been extended. There has been a slight change in the proposed weekly schedule. This is to cater to client and industry guest availability.

Unit information based on version 2023.02 of the Handbook