A Course Project Designed to Aid Students’ Understanding of the Structure of Advertisements: An Application of the Who Says What to Whom over What Channel with What Effect Model

Abstract

The author describes a project using a classic communication and attitude-change model and explains how instructors teaching a course in promotional strategy, advertising, or integrated marketing communications can use it to help students better understand the critical elements of an effective advertisement. The author provides an overview of the research on the classic model and describes how the model is still useful today. One benefit for the instructor who adopts this project in their respective course is that students are required to synthesize knowledge of the model with information provided in the current advertising literature and then use this knowledge to analyze components of an advertisement. Another benefit is the project provides instructors with an assignment to help students learn about how communication and attitude-change models can be both relevant and applicable regarding decisions on the usage of promotional strategy and tactics