In a competitive, cluttered, multifaceted communication environment, strategic planning can be the difference between success and failure in achieving organizational goals and objectives. The course will utilize a case method approach to examine strategic communication practices across a variety of contexts. Students will review best practice approaches to integrated communication of advertising, promotional and marketing messages, and public relations across multiple channels. The culmination of the course is the development of a strategic communication plan that can be deployed to advance strategic communication goals across any type of organization (nonprofit, corporate, advertising, government, etc.). Plans will include the identification of goals, setting objectives, segmenting target publics, developing messages, and selecting sources and channels of communication, as well as focus on the logistics of message delivery including timing and budget.

Social media has become pervasive in public relations, advertising, and work in electronic media more generally. This course initially provides a review of best social media practices and then moves on to current trends in research and "real world" practice relevant to utilizing social media in strategic communication.

Students will put web usage into the context of human-computer interaction and discuss design principles, aesthetics, usability, and interactivity. This course takes a top down approach to content creation and requires students to evaluate, create, manage, and modify multi-platform content, design, and publication. These requirements must follow established brand guidelines, digital strategies, audience needs, and usability guidelines. Students will become familiar with the processes, complexities, and best practices essential in producing effective digital content.

Course focuses on a multimedia approach to storytelling for strategic communication practice. Students will learn the techniques of high-quality storytelling with photos, audio and video with a heavy emphasis on mobile technology, social media, and select apps currently in use in strategic communication.

A rotating topics course examining best practices in areas related to strategic communication.