Audience Research
Syllabus Spring 2007

Class meets MWF 9-9:50, Final time: May 8, 4:30 to 7pm

Course Description:

Survey of the major forms of audience research in television and radio, with particular emphasis placed on the Nielsen and Arbitron ratings reports. Covers principles of sample surveys; interpretation of audience data; and application to programming, promotion, and sales. Introduces you to qualitative data collection techniques used in ethnographic studies.

Course Goals:

• To be able to use media math formulas with available data as demonstrated in classroom assignments and final project
• To read and use examples of Arbitron and Nielsen ratings as demonstrated in classroom assignments and final project
• To use spreadsheets to carry out typical media planning calculations as demonstrated in classroom assignments and final project
• To be support your media decisions with numbers (media math) as demonstrated in final project
• To be support target audience selections using demographic, media and brand usage data as demonstrated in classroom discussions and final paper
• To read and use industry trade journals to be informed on current topics in the field as demonstrated in depth of bibliography in assigned papers and richness of sources in blog posts
• To locate and use data to research products, potential target audiences, and potential media markets as demonstrated in classroom assignments and final project
• To identify advantages and disadvantages of different types of media that media planners need to consider in an age of audience fragmentation and advertising clutter as demonstrated in an assigned paper on media mix choices
• To make effective presentations - including presentations involving large amounts of numeric data and involving multi-media (audio, video, stills, webpages, etc.) - as demonstrated by improvements over several in-class presentations
• To become better writers in a variety of styles and for a variety of audiences as demonstrated by blog posts and the quality of class assignments
• To become part of the professional conversation in the fields of advertising and public relations as demonstrated by conversations intiated in the blogosphere and in quality of observations in final blog post

Textbooks:

• E-brary books
• Online articles

Major Assignments

• Product Research Assignments (#1-4) - 100 points total
• Math Assignments - MRI, SRDS, practice spreadsheets - 10 points each
• Media Planning Blog and Paper - 100 points
• Final Project & Presentation - 150 points (100 for written report, 50 for oral report)

	95-100 A	90-94 A-
87-89 B+	83-86 B	80-82 B-
77-79 C+	73-76 C	70-72 C-
67-69 D+	63-66 D	60-62 D-
	0-59 F

Final Presentations

• Section 1 (9am) - May 8 (Tuesday) - 4:30 to 7pm

Questions/Comments/Criticisms/Suggestions

If at any time something seems unclear or unreasonable to you, please make an appointment to discuss it with me. I'm open to your suggestions and comments. This class is meant to be an open forum for learning and discussion.

The following is a tentative schedule of events subject to change as necessary and desirable. Students will be notified in advance of any changes requiring preparation. Potential variations may include guest speakers, audio/video tapes and other events that may supersede this schedule. Online readings will be put in as links on the online version of the syllabus. There are data sources in the library that we will be using and sessions will be added to the syllabus when we can get into the library; this may change the reading/ discussion schedule. I’ll keep you posted in class.

On days with presentations, we may do half the groups on the first day and the other half on the second day. This will leave some time for questions, for us to finish up previous discussions or start a new topic, and to have a little time for group work.

Date	Topic
Week 1	Introductions, syllabus and assignments W: read Is Advertising Dead? from Media 6/05and TV is Holding its own F: before class read Hitting the Wall from Media 10/05 and read Virtual Anthropology trend report from TrendWatching then in class work on qualitative audience research projects
Week 2	M: before class - read ch 1 & 2 from Blogging for Business online book from ebrary (that's a database on the IC library page) and read 2 or 3 of recent posts from 3 blogs on our class resource page in class, sign up with blogger, pick topic W: read this article about Nielsen doing ratings with college students and work on the what's in my dorm fridge project - here's the flickr.com FAQ about group photo pools - you have to upload the pics to your account, then while you're looking at the picture there is a button above it with little people that says add to group. Click on that, you'll see a drop down menu of the groups you're a member of, pick ours and it will get added F: before class - watch this video of Seth Godin talking at Google, post your reactions to the video on your blog, and then make a list of what other networks are doing as alternatives to the Superbowl on Sunday (jot on paper is ok) to discuss in class and in class work on qualitative research projects
Week 3	M: before class listen to at least one episode from listen to an episode of each of these podcasts (they are about marketing and PR): Podcasts from Edelman and AdAges podcast then post your reactions to this method of getting industry information on your blog, your blog officially starts this week - you need posts on at least 2 days from Sunday to Saturday W: in your group divide up these articles and discuss with each other: Kids & Teens from Media 2/05, Rooms with a View from OMMA 03/06, Calling all pets from OMMA 04/05, Targeting Harried Commuters from OMMA 07/05 and in class be ready to discuss and start read, frequency, grp, share, and ratings discussion F: before class - in your group divide up these articles and discuss with each other: Targeting Young Males from Media 1/05, Cracking the Fickle Tween Code from OMMA 3/06, Targeting Boomer Women from OMMA 03/05, Hispanic Women from OMMA 05/05 and on your blogs (as individuals) discuss how the industry learns about the audience (use specifics and examples from the articles) and in class we'll analyze this file in groups - it's an interview transcript like you'll be generating. What do you know about their media use? What questions seem to work particularly well? Not good at all? then in class - more on reach, frequency, share, grp, ratings
Week 4	MRI all week - Worksheets here
Week 5	TV Audience Measures all week M: before class - read ch 9 from Blogging for Business ebook from ebrary (it's about promoting your blog) and be ready to discuss 2 things you're going to do this week to promote your blog
Week 6	Radio Audience Measures all week M: before class - go thru the Arbitron 101 and Programming 101 on the Arbitron Self-Paced Learning site from Arbitron (you have to register, it's free) - the classes don't take as long as they estimate (unless you're a really slow reader) - they're worth the time tho
Week 7	SecondLife and other kinds of New Media Marketing all week M: read "Avatar-Based Marketing" in Harvard Business Review Jun2006, Vol. 84, Issue 6 in the library database Business Source Premier watch this 3 minute machinima video from Text100 check out the Text100 blog W: before class listen to the podcast episode on this page from Managing the Gray and check out the Crayonville website and listen to an episode of their podcast
Spring Break	Spring Break -you can post to your blog this week to catch up if you need to
Week 8	Internet Advertising Measures M: before class read Interactive Fact Pack 2006 from Advertising Age W: before class check out the US Army sergeant avatar F: before class watch this video and this video from beet.tv
Week 9	Print Audience Measures all week M: be ready to discuss 2 more things you're going to do this week to promote your blog before class read Understanding Magazine Subscription from the Magazine Publishers of America W: takea look at these newspaper stats
Week 10	Outdoor Audience Measures
Week 11	Viral & Guerilla Measures M: before class read Tryvertising trend report
Week 12	Product Placement and any other kinds of measures we can think of
Week 13	M: final summary post for blog due this week W: F:math final in class
Week 14	time to work on projects

Attendance and Class Participation

Here is the college attendance policy. I expect you to follow it. I will take attendance each class either by calling names or passing around a sign up sheet. If you are not there when your name is called, you will be marked absent.

Ithaca College Policy
Students at Ithaca College are expected to attend all classes, and they are responsible for work missed during any absence from class. At the beginning of each semester, instructors must provide students in their courses with written guidelines regarding possible grading penalties for failure to attend class. Students should notify their instructors as soon as possible of any anticipated absences. Written documentation that indicates the reason for being absent may be required. These guidelines may vary from course to course, but are subject to the following restrictions:

1. In accordance with New York State law, students who miss class due to their religious beliefs shall be excused from class or examinations on that day. Such students must notify their course instructors at least one week before any anticipated absence so that proper arrangements may be made to make up any missed work or examination without penalty. Faculty will not schedule examinations or quizzes on designated religious holidays on the calendar day following the designated holidays. Designed holidays are Rosh Hashanah (2 days), Yom Kippur, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.

2. Any student who misses class due to a verifiable emergency - such as an illness requiring attention by the health center, or hospitalization, death, or serious illness of a family member, or required appearance in a court of law - shall be excused. Students may notify the Office of Student Affairs about any emergency, and that office will notify the appropriate faculty member

A student may be excused for participation in college-authorized co-curricular and extracurricular activities such as athletic events, musical and theatrical performance, and professional conferences if, in the instructor's judgment, this does not impair the specific student's or the other students' ability to succeed in the course.

The course instructor has the right to determine if the number of absences has been excessive in view of the nature of the class that was missed and the stated attendance policy. Depending on the individual situation, this can result in the student being removed from or failing the course.

Regarding Academic Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, falsifying academic records, and any act designed to avoid participating honestly in the learning process. Scholastic dishonesty also includes, but is not limited to, providing false or misleading information to receive a postponement or an extension on a test, quiz, or other assignment, and submission of essentially the same written assignment for two courses without the prior permission of the instructor. Plagiarism can involve not only written work but computer programs, photographs, artwork, films, videos, and audio recordings. Scholastic dishonesty damages both the student's learning experience and readiness for the future demands of a career. Students who violate college's rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the college. If you are at all unsure about what constitutes plagiarism or academic dishonesty, or how to give credit see me and consult the Student Handbook (see "plagiarism" in the index)

In a collaborative project, all students in a group may be held responsible for academic misconduct if they engage in plagiarism or are aware of plagiarism by others in their group and fail to report it. Students who participate in a collaborative project in which plagiarism has occurred will not be held accountable if they were not knowledgeable of the plagiarism.

Students with Special Needs In compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, reasonable accommodation will be provided to students with documented disabilities on a case by case basis. Students must register with the Office of Academic Support Services and provide appropriate documentation to the college before any academic adjustment will be provided.

This page last updated 26 August 2006 by Kim Gregson

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