07/10/08
Students Travel to Morgantown for Fourth Annual IMC Weekend
From Washington D.C. to the state of Washington, students and graduates from throughout the country traveled to share face-to-face time at the fourth annual West Virginia University School of Journalism’s Integrated Marketing Communications Information Weekend held May 30-31 in Morgantown. As a completely online graduate program, students, graduates and faculty enjoy this once a year opportunity to come together and socialize in person.“Attending the IMC Weekend event in Morgantown allows students the opportunity to explore the many faces of friends and faculty they meet online,” said Dan Abston, a student in the program who traveled from Rupert, W.Va. to attend the event.
“For me, it is interesting to meet the students we work with on a day to day basis,” said Chad Mezera, program director. “As you advise and assist students with issues that arise, you feel like you get to know them on such a personal level. Then when you actually meet them in person, it just comes full circle.”
The weekend kicked off with a reception and dinner at Touchdown Terrace located at WVU’s Milan Puskar football stadium. Despite their geographic location, many IMC students have become loyal Mountaineer sports fans and enjoyed seeing the team’s home field.
Bruce Nelson, vice chairman of Omnicom Group served as the evening’s keynote speaker. Nelson is known for his strategic ways of not only growing clients but also serving them better. Along with his role at Omnicom, he also serves as a lecturer on both branding and global branding at Columbia Business School and Yale School of Management.
“In the field of Integrated Marketing Communications, Bruce Nelson is a giant,” said Maryanne Reed, dean of the WVU School of Journalism. “He has an international reputation for bringing together multiple marketing companies and disciplines on behalf of his clients and has done it on a larger scale than anyone else.”
Nelson, who confessed to majoring in the obvious for his entire career, told the group that he became a strategist out of self-defense. “As a creative director, I found it hard to follow someone else’s strategy so I would come up with my own. I then realized I had a niche for it.”
When many in the marketing communications industry insisted that a campaign just be about the advertising or just be about the public relations, Nelson was quick to disagree. He recognized that consumers don’t see it that way and that every aspect of advertising and public relations serves as a touch point for the consumer. That is why he believes strongly in integration.
“It is how you connect among all the various disciplines that will make you valuable,” said Nelson. “That is key.”
He reminded IMC students that they are in the business of condensed story telling. Nelson referenced his famous “Alka Seltzer to the rescue” campaign and how proud he was to sum up the product in just four words. “Condensed story telling is at the core of of what brings all of the disciplines together,” he said.
Nelson went on to warn students that telling the story itself isn’t enough, but that they must also motivate the consumer to take action. “Most practitioners don’t realize it is all about motivation,” he said. “Commercials can be fun and likeable, but don’t go anywhere…there is no motivation. Likeability doesn’t equal motivation,” he added.
Nelson concluded his remarks by sharing samples of work from various Omnicom companies and taking questions from the audience.
Those attending really appreciated the opportunity to hear from someone so immersed in the IMC industry. "I was impressed and pleased that we were able to secure such an industry heavyweight as a speaker for IMC weekend,” said Todd Hudak, a current student from South Carolina. “Bruce Nelson’s speech was dynamic, entertaining, and informative. I hope to see more speakers of his caliber at future IMC weekends," he added.
Saturday’s IMC Weekend events included an information session for prospective students. For the first time, the information session was presented to a live audience while also simultaneously presented via a live online classroom. Eight additional prospective students participated in the session from throughout the United States.
“For the last couple of months we have conducted two information sessions per month using Wimba Classroom and it has been very well-received,” said Rick Bebout, technology coordinator for the IMC program. “We decided to conduct an online and in-person session simultaneously.”
Presenters alternated taking questions from live audience members, and those participating via the online classroom. “It provided a great example of the technology we use and helped them overcome any concerns they might have about courses being delivered online,” added Bebout.
Current students shared some of their experiences with potential program applicants during the student panel discussion. This question and answer format focused on course delivery, time management and quality of instruction found in the program.
Eight current instructors also provided insight into the structure and rigor of the program during the faculty panel session.
Information sessions for potential students ended at lunchtime, but current students and graduates remained for a number of afternoon activities.
For the first time this year, the Information Weekend featured breakout information sessions focused on topics of interest expressed by students. Attendees had the opportunity to delve further into various topics of interest from experts teaching and researching in these areas. Breakout sessions included: Green Marketing with Professor Kathleen DiMarco; New and Emerging Media with Professor Hugo Perez; Entrepreneurship with Professor Mindy Walls; and Non-Profit Public Relations with Dr. Diana Martinelli.
Following the breakout sessions, students participated in a roundtable discussion moderated by IMC Program Director Chad Mezera. This gave students and faculty the opportunity to share ideas and continue to enhance the program.
“It was a busy and fun weekend for everyone attending,” commented Mezera.
“Each year we work to make it something beneficial for potential students, current students, graduates and our faculty.”
The 2009 IMC Weekend is scheduled for May 29 and 30 in Morgantown.
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