From Prof. Svetlana Kalnova, instructor for COMM 4995:
Students should understand that this is not a standard marketing course, but an overview of controversial topics in food and beverage marketing, with a focus on food and beverage advertising to children. It'll be useful for people who plan to work in the public health, health communication, public policy, and journalism.
Here is a very rough breakdown of assessments and potential assignments:
- Daily reading and participation in the discussion, including online opinion posting (HuskyCT) and/or response to iclickers in class: 10%
- Becoming an expert in the area of your choice (update on the evidence-based research, coming up with insightful questions for the class) (can be done with a partner) 10%
- Midterm: 20%
- Final exam: 25%
- Final project (can be done in groups) 20%
- Final presentation: 15%
Total: 100%
Final project can be:
- A research proposal on the topic of your interest (lit review and the study rational)
2. Undercover agent task (Conduct an observation of marketing environment/food advertising in the local supermarket and relate your experience to the broader theoretical knowledge)
3. Social media marketing (Follow a company to track advertising/promotional activity and write the analyses of themes and strategies in online food marketing.
Please obtain permission from the instructor on your topic selection.
For more information, contact: Dr. Svetlana Kalnova at svetlana.kalnova@uconn.edu