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Syllabus Advanced Topics in Multicultural Marketing Communication MMC 6920 Section 2 Spring 2008

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INTRODUCTION: Welcome to Advanced Topics in Multicultural Marketing Communication, this is a capstone seminar for students pursuing the Hispanic Marketing Communication track in the Integrated Marketing Communication program at Florida State University, and it is also part of a larger effort called “The FSU Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication,” the only of its kind in the US. This seminar can also be used to satisfy the behavioral science requirement for the interdisciplinary Certificate Program in Hispanic Marketing Communication. This graduate seminar is for students who envision being involved in any multicultural marketing efforts in their careers. Every semester, when offered, this seminar will attempt to answer original research questions that can benefit both marketers, and academicians. This seminar can also be of benefit to those who pursue careers in social service delivery in the form of social marketing. Multicultural marketing is one of the newest horizons in US marketing but there is little consensus as to its meaning, implications, and scope. The job of this seminar is to attempt to conceptually and pragmatically clarify the field and assess the boundaries of this nascent discipline. Some of the questions that require attention in Multicultural Marketing Communication include: - Are there common denominators that make marketing to multiple cultures with the same messages possible? - What are the commonalities and differences among cultural subgroups that marketers can use for connecting with a multicultural marketplace? - What are the needs and desires of different cultural groups that can potentially be merged for a common marketing communication strategy? - What are consumer insights that marketers can use for multicultural marketing? And, how can those insights be obtained? - Is there an international/intercultural “third culture” of people with similar values and aspirations? - Is there a demographic segment that can be called “the multicultural youth segment?” - If it exists, what are the characteristics of the “multicultural youth segment?” - What is the meaning of multiculturalism? Multiple cultures coexisting? Or a unique entity with specific characteristics? - Can one go beyond culture in marketing? - Is multicultural marketing just an evolutionary step in US society or is it a radical change in our culture? What are the implications for marketers? - How does one derive cultural insights to establish deep connections with consumers culturally unique groups? The list of topics below constitutes the schedule and list of assignments for the course.  Active links in each topic represent required readings.  Course assignments and their due dates are listed under each topic.

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Felipe Korzenny OFFICE: 3127 University Center, Building C PHONE: (850) 644-8766 or Mobile (650) 274 3700 OFFICE HOURS: Call before coming to the office to make sure I am there and by appointment
CLASS MEETINGS: Mondays: 3:15 pm – 5:45 pm, Room 3116 University Center Building C
FORMAT:  The course is designed for active participation.  Most weeks there will be assignments due where individuals or groups will make presentations to the class.  Thus, a combination of lectures, discussions, interaction, and presentation of assignments to the class will be common during most class sessions. The "Library" on Blackboard will be used to make many class materials available. Students interested in hosting "discussion boards" on Blackboard are encouraged to do so. Blackboard will be a frequently used resource for this class. ASSUMED PREREQUISITES: Since this is a capstone seminar, it will assume that students will be able to conduct statistical analysis using SPSS and have enough knowledge to select statistical tests to test hypotheses, based on required courses in the IMC sequence. EXTRA CREDIT: There is one way in which students can earn up to 4 points of extra credit for this course. For each article or paper that a student publishes, by approval of the instructor, in a “relevant” website, magazine, journal, or newspaper, s/he can earn up to 2 extra points at the discretion of the instructor. The publication must take place before exams week at the end of the semester. Articles can be based on class assignments, points of view on different issues affecting the Hispanic, Asian, African American, and other cultural markets in the US, or brief research reports. ASSIGNMENTS: It is very important that all assignments go beyond the readings and include up-to-date statistics. Assignments are designed for students to explore a topic in further depth than the reading materials. Students must add their thinking and further research to each assignment and not simply summarize the readings. Assignments that simply summarize assigned readings will receive little or no credit. Student presentation and papers are to be submitted via e-mail only and at least 2 hours before class time the day they are due. See details below.
TEXTS and readings Required books for this course: Marketing and Consumer Identity in Multicultural America by Marye C. Tharp, published by Sage Publications in 2001. This is an eloquent compendium on issues and considerations in marketing to the different cultural groups in our society. The students should note, however, that the statistics and data cited in this book are very outdated and should not be used for class purposes, papers, or presentations. The arguments made in the book, however, are relevant and important to the topics of this seminar. There are no other books in print that do the conceptual job that Marye Tharp does in this important piece. The New Mainstream: How the Multicultural Consumer is Transforming American Business by Guy Garcia, published by Rayo in 2004. This is an excellent thought piece on where the United States is at a time when those who were minorities are becoming the majority, and the business implications of these changes. Shopping for Identity: The Marketing of Ethnicity by Marilyn Halter, published by Schoken in 2000, is an excellent treaty on how consumer identity is at the core of why cultural marketing can be effective. Blackboard library Additional resources for this course will be placed in the Blackboard library (http://campus.fsu.edu). Active links When active links are placed under the topics or assignments for this seminar, the students must explore them as they will be considered part of the assigned reading requirements. www.census.gov One very important source of statistical/demographic information for this course is the data found at www.census.gov . Students should familiarize themselves with this site and its resources.
OBJECTIVES: At the end of the semester the student will be able to: Conceptualize multicultural marketing communication as a field of research and application Answer multicultural marketing communication questions that marketers encounter in their current work Identify and describe the components of what is known as Multicultural America Conceptualize a multicultural marketing communication (MMC) research project Formulate MMC research questions and hypotheses Operationalize a MMC research project Assemble a quantitative MMC research questionnaire Collect online data to answer specific MMC research questions Analyze the data to answer research questions and/or test hypotheses Produce an original quantitative MMC research report
COURSE SCHEDULE, TOPICS, AND ASSIGNMENTS
Week 1, January 7 Introduction to the course The puzzle of multicultural marketing Course organization Syllabus description Prior products of this course	Assignment 1: Five groups of students will be formed in class to prepare an informative “point of view” presentation on one of the following segments of the US “multicultural” landscape: Mature Americans (due January 28) Hispanic/Latino Americans (due February 4) African Americans (due February 11) Gay Americans (due February 18) Asian Americans (due February 25) Note that Tharp's book has a chapter on each of these segments but the data is outdated. It is important to notice that these are opportunities to add value to class readings but not to summarize them. Students are expected to provide an informed perspective on each market segment, particularly as it relates to marketing to “multicultural America.” Each presentation must address, as a minimum: - Currently available statistics and information about the selected group/culture - What are segments within this group/culture? What are the implications of these segments for marketing? - What are taste and preferences, insights that drive and characterize many members of this group/culture? - What has been recently/typically done to market to this group/culture? - What are interesting marketing communication questions that have not been addressed in targeting this group/culture? Each presentation, including questions and answers should not last more than 60 - 80 minutes. Finish reading Tharp’s book by February 25
Week 2, January 14 - Discussion of issues in Multicultural Marketing Communication - Discuss interest in various approaches to research themes/issues of interest - Creation of scenarios for potential research projects	Assignment 2:  individual students will generate research questions and/or hypotheses about Multicultural Marketing Communication. These are the questions/hypotheses the student would like to have answered or tested by the end of the semester with empirical data. This assignment requires that students look at available literature to attempt to justify choices, but should not be constrained by available literature. One page for questions/hypotheses, and one page for literature consulted. Read the Multicultural Marketing Equation reports at http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu Due January 14
(No class on January 21 due to Martin Luther King’s Day)
Week 3, January 28 - Marketing to Mature Americans - Defining the research topic for the class project - Generation of a list of research questions/hypotheses for the course research project
Week 4, February 4 - Marketing to Hispanic/Latino Americans - Generation of a theoretical framework and approach for the research project - Discussion of first list of questions/items	Assignment 3:  Four or five groups of students will generate operationalizations (questions/questionnaire items) to test the theory/hypotheses generated, and/or research questions. These will be delivered in the form of a short PP presentation to the instructor and to the class for discussion and debate. These are the actual questions or items that will be used to measure what we will be measuring. Due January 28
Week 5, February 11 - Marketing to African Americans - Debate of data collection approaches and agreement on procedures - Discussion of the first version of the questionnaire	Assignment 4:  Four or five groups of students will generate a list of ideas on how to reach the target audiences online or offline so they can complete a web-based questionnaire. These will be short PP presentations that will provide specific ideas on how to obtain cooperation for the completion of the survey questionnaire online. Due February 11
Week 6, February 18 - Marketing to Gay Americans - Continued debated on data collection approaches - Discussion and finalizing survey instrument	Assignment 5:  Each student will read and write a critical perspective on Marilyn Halter’s book “Shopping for Identity.” Each paper should be 3 pages in length. The book will be discussed in class based on students’ papers. Due March 17
Week 7, February 25 - Marketing to Asian Americans - How to program Survey-Pro/or other survey generating tool	Assignment 6:  Each student will  program the instrument in Survey-Pro or other indicated tool. The best program version ( or combination) will be the one posted for data collection. Due March 3
Week 8, March 3 - Review of the Survey-Pro (or other tool) version of the survey instrument – Pilot test by class members	Assignment 7: Four or five groups of students will plan the online strategy to entice respondents to answer the survey instrument. Each group will report to the class by showing how they plan to implement their approach on different websites or other venues. Due March 17
(no class on March 10 due to Spring Break) Week 9, March 17 - Discussion of “Shopping for Identity” - Work on data collection issues	Assignment 8: Each student will read and write a critical perspective on Guy Garcia’s book “The New Mainstream.” Each paper should be 3 pages in length. The book will be discussed in class based on students’ papers. Due April 7
Weeks 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14, March 17, 24, 31 and April 7 and 14 - Class seminar on final paper. Each student will present the data and issues s/he working on and the rest of the class will provide feedback and orientation. Week 13, April 7 - - Discussion of “The New Mainstream”	Assignment 9: Final Assignment – Each student will prepare a paper based on survey/research data collected to test his/her hypotheses or answer his/her questions. The paper will be a research article consisting of: - Introduction (1 – 2 pages) - Literature review (2 – 4 pages) - Methods (2 – 4 pages) - Results (2 -6 pages) - Discussion and recommendations (1 – 3 pages) The paper should follow a consistent style, be it APA, MLA, or other accepted academic standard. The main chore of the student is come up with an original research report with “fresh” data to show whether a particular set of hypotheses or expectations can be supported by the data or not. Students are expected to use SPSS for data analysis. Since students taking this course will have taken a data analysis course they are expected to be conversant with SPSS and data analysis. Due on Friday April 18

COURSE POLICIES
Class Attendance:	Class attendance is mandatory. Since this course only meets once a week and it is of a participative nature, only two absences will be tolerated.  After two unjustified absences 5 points will be deducted for each additional absence.
Assignments:	Due dates are clearly indicated in the syllabus. Assignments are due, electronically via e-mail, two hours before class on the day indicated. Assignments received later than that time will not be accepted unless prior arrangements are made with the instructor. The instructor reserves the right to deduct points, or disqualify, assignments received late. Collective assignments require the active participation of each group member. If active group members detect lack of interest or participation by anyone in the group, they should exclude that person from the group before the assignment is due and notify the instructor. Lack of participation in a group activity will result in 0 credit for the specific assignment unless the individual completes an entire assignment by him/herself, or gets hired by another work-group. In the case of a student carrying out a group assignment as an individual project the assignment will be worth 2 points less, and the individual student will not make a presentation to the class. Individual papers will generally be in Microsoft Word, and group presentations in Microsoft PowerPoint, unless otherwise arranged with the instructor. Assignments must reflect an understanding of the readings and materials in the books and links for the course. The student must reflect on the topic after having read the material and then provide his/her perspective. Very Important Notice - Each individual assignment should be named as follows: Every file, paper or presentation, must start with MMCS08 [assignment number] [first initial and last name of person, or group name]. For example, the file of Karen Smith's 18th assignment will be named MMCS08A18KSmith. Also for example, if a group assignment, assuming the name of the group is the MultiCultis, the file of the PowerPoint presentation for assignment 21 must be MMCS08A21MultiCultis. In addition, the subject line of the email with each assignment must start with MMCS08 and a space after it, exactly. After the space, you can state anything you need to identify the assignment or issue. Please read this carefully and follow these instructions. I will have an automatic rule in my mailbox to redirect your assignments to a folder. If they are not labeled as indicated I will not get them and I will not be able to give you credit. Please ask questions before is too late. All assignments must contain in the first page the name or names of the students and their e-mail addresses. If the name or e-mail address are not in the first page, I will not read the assignment. I will appreciate your cooperation.
Exams:	There are no formally scheduled exams for this course as the constant participation and demonstration of knowledge in class presentations is the main criterion for the evaluation of student performance.  Nevertheless, the instructor reserves the right to quiz the students at any time during the course.  This type of quizzes, if given, will count 10% of the final grade each, thus proportionally reducing the value of other assignments.
Additional Opportunities	Interested students may qualify to participate in projects of the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication.

EVALUATION  

Students' Final Grade will be based on the following:

Assignment 1	16%
Assignments2 - 8, at 7 points each for a total of	49%
Final paper assignment (# 9)	35%

The Department of Communication is committed to reducing grade inflation in its courses. To that end, a department-wide grading standard has been adopted to insure that an "A" is reserved for outstanding performance. "A" and "A -" grades represent work whose superior quality indicates a full mastery of the subject. An "A" represents work of extraordinary distinction.

The percentage of points required to receive various letter grades is as follows:

A	97%	B-	82%	D+	72%
A-	94%	C+	80%	D	68%
B+	88%	C	78%	D-	65%
B	85%	C-	75%	F