What I Did (or will do) On My Summer Vacation

Aside from being the pioneer IMC program in America, the Medill IMC program has one other unique draw. Many students choose the IMC program over other marketing programs for this very reason... the Residency Program.

This is no internship program - we won't be getting coffee and stuffing files. Companies hosting residents must apply to Medill with a specific marketing problem or project that they need to solve. All students apply and interview for residencies, and companies must be approved through the Medill faculty.

This year, a new type of residency has been announced as an option for the IMC 2008 class. Here are our options!

NEW RESIDENCY OPPORTUNITY -- ABROAD!!!
Students in groups of about 10 will first complete at class in Global Marketing at Northwestern. They will then be sent to select companies abroad (such as Yum Brands in Singapore) to work as a team on a designated project. They will spend an estimated 2-3 weeks working and becoming immersed in the foreign work culture. They will then return back to Evanston to complete the project, and will eventually present it to top executives at their designated company.

TRADITIONAL INDIVIDUAL RESIDENCY --
As in prior years, those who choose not to partake in the residency program abroad will have the traditional, yet just as exciting, residency experience at a company in the US. These residencies are done individually for 11 weeks. Students may be sent all over the country to some of the best companies in the nation.

Former IMC students have completed their individual residences at some of the following companies:

Office Max

General Motors

Yum Brands

FedEx

T-Mobile

Western Union

Hyatt

3M

Motorola

Ogilvy

T.G.I Friday's

Coca-Cola

And Many Many More!!

We can't get enough IMC!

Although classes keep us busy, most IMC students just can't get enough of marketing and become involved in activities outside of the classroom. There are many student committees in which students are actively involved:

Social Committee- Helps plan events for IMC students to socialize and escape the stress of grad school! Our most recent event was at North Beach, with indoor sand volleyball courts, basketball, etc.
Student Advisory Council- Represents the interests and concerns of the students to Medill and Northwestern administration
Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications- A student-managed and directed journal that contains articles, case studies and academic research written by industry professionals. Want more info? Visit http://jimc.medill.northwestern.edu/JIMCWebsite/site.htm.
Professional Speakers Series- Invites marketing connumications professions to speak to IMC students. Speakers so far this quarter include: Ogilvy, Google, MARCUSA, Fleishman-Hillard, DunnHumby, Weber Shandwick and Don Schultz.
IMC Connections- Creates networking connections with marketing organizations, which students gain insights into future jobs and trends in the field
Orientation/Graduation Committee- Works with the Office of Student Life in the planning of orientation and graduation events.
Branding Committee- Helps the administration improve the Medill and IMC brand both within the university and in the professional community
MASA (Medill Asian Students Association)- Our most recently formed committee, hosts events and discusses the Asia trip that takes place at the end of the summer

FUN facts about our IMC 2008 class

believe it or not, somebody in our class....

-climbed Mt. Fuji at night
-created and named the ice cream flavor Aggie Blue Mint
-lived in a total of 12 different homes, in 9 cities, within 3 different countries on 2 different continents
-lived in Iceland and speak some Icelandic
-started learning Indian classical dance (Bharathanatyam)
-broke his tibia about 4 years ago and has a metal rod in his leg
-ate a light bulb as a young child
-was a sprinter for 8 years and was 13 when participated in the Korea athletic games
-grew up on a houseboat
-ran the last 2 Chicago marathons

First Quarter classes

Here's a peek into our first quarter classes as full-time IMC students.

1. Consumer Insight by Gerri Henderson and Ashlee Humphreys
2. IMC Marketing Management by Jacquelyn Thomas
3. Communication Skills and Persuasive Messages by George Harmon and Clarke Caywood
4. Marketing Research and Statistics by Edward Malthouse

Consumer Insight covers both background material from the behavioral sciences and techniques of consumer analysis used in marketing practice. The course is directed at students preparing for brand management, advertising, consulting, and marketing research positions. The main assignments are observation assignment, interview assignment, case presentation and final exam.

IMC Marketing Management is structured so that students receive lecture(s) on course material then immediate application through different case analysis. Some course topics we've covered so far are: market analysis, customer and competitor analysis, product and price positioning, marketing channels and channel management, marketing promotions, branding, etc.

Communication Skills and Persuasive Messages is designed to improve students’ skills in developing and delivering traditional and new technological communications. The course emphasizes skills in writing for business, skills in oral presentation, interpersonal skills in business environments, and persuasive messages. For the most part we have a writing assignment every week in lab. Lecture meets only once a week.

Marketing Research and Statistics is to develop the data-analysis skills that you need to be a successful marketer. Marketing managers have unprecedented amounts of data available to assist them in making decisions. Individuals who understand how to use data to make better decisions and support their arguments with evidence have a great advantage. You will also learn how to use statistical software (SPSS) to analyze data.

All fall and winter quarter classes are mandatory for the program. Starting spring quarter, students will have the option of choosing classes.

Watch IMC students LIVE!

Peek into the lives of IMC student LIVE! These are the exciting things we do at IMC!


Watch live video from ziggy22 on Justin.tv

Go and watch their video at http://www.justin.tv/ziggy22

Don Schultz speaks!

IMC and Don Schultz are synonymous to each other. Listen to this exclusive podcast where our classmates had a chance to interact with him.

Click here to listen to the podcast. http://medill-imc.podomatic.com/

Don Schultz is Professor Emeritus at Northwestern University's Integrated Marketing Communications program. As innovator and "father of Integrated Marketing Communications," he discusses the history of IMC, current views of marketing, and global perspectives of IMC.

IMC Insider

The first graduate program in Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) was pioneered at Northwestern University’s Medill School. IMC is being implemented at top corporations and agencies across the country and around the world. Defined as the integrated management of all communications to build positive and lasting relationships with customers and other stakeholders, IMC is a customer-centric, data-driven approach to marketing and branding that stresses communicating to consumers through multiple forms of media and technology.

If you don’t get it, I’m going to share an effective example of integrated marketing communications in real world case to help you better understand what IMC is.

China Central Television, China's　largest　broadcaster, had an excellent integrated marketing program for its advertisement auction. Its marketing strategy included a clear and coordinated set of core messages that carry a cohesive and integrated theme through all forms of communications.

For example, on the public relations side, it held symposiums which featured its customers who had stories of success to tell concerning their advertisement on CCTV. The symposiums were very persuasive to those who were still wondering. Besides the symposiums, CCTV also held road shows, where Olympic stars and celebrities of CCTV interacted with attendants. Under the celebrity effect, the road shows successfully enhanced the positive image of CCTV being the most efficient and influential electronic medium and strongly conveyed some clear messages to the participants with certain expectations. CCTV, advertising agencies and press companies convened joint forums which featured marketing professionals. Because the addressers were third parties, they projected an unparalleled degree of credibility to attendants. Besides, CCTV is completely owned by the Chinese government, it thus has great impact on media personnel and has an extensive network of almost 300 journalists nationwide. Therefore, it has many newsworthy reports every week on newspapers, and attracts more than 100 reporters from all over the world at the auction site. The extensive journalist’s network made sure that CCTV could communicate news and information of interest about the auction in the most positive light.

On the other hand, CCTV’s IMC program also encompassed events such as advertising, packaging, new media and other marketing communications vehicles: brochures, print and banner ads, press releases, direct mail, to name a few.

Through all these integrated strategies, the result was very impressive. The total bidding on CCTV has increased 16 % to 21 million this year. Therefore, I consider CCTV to have a successful, integrated marketing program.

In contrast, Euro Disneyland had an ineffective integrated marketing communications program when it opened in the early 1990’s. Although it had a comprehensive marcom program: new web site, prints, collaterals, advertising and public relations programs, it just ignored the fact that the core idea of IMC is to satisfy clients’ needs. On top of that, Euro Disneyland had made a series of cross-cultural gaffes that reduced much of the consumer goodwill. For example, it developed wrong marketing efforts, which emphasized the grand size and scope of the project, an issue which played well to an American or Japanese visitor but left the Europeans largely indifferent. Furthermore, the alcohol-free policy, the admission costs--running some 30 percent higher than a Disney World ticket back in the States, and the American-style fast food restaurants all helped discourage European visitors.
As the result, Euro Disneyland faced bankruptcy with losses of FFr 5 billion and debts of over FFr 21 billion. Consequently, without a thorough analysis of consumers’ true demands in every aspect, any marketing program is not an effective integrated marketing communications program.

Learn more about IMC, visit http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/imc/ now!