Social Media: New Media Marketing Course to Launch in Spring

Social media has earned a spot at the lectern. This spring, LeBow will offer a new special topic course called New Media Marketing that will draw together 14 guest lecturers to examine social and mobile marketing with a decidedly Drexel lens.

While the hybrid course will be administrated by faculty supervisors Trina Andras, Ph.D., department head of marketing, and Larry Duke, clinical associate professor of marketing, the idea of incorporating the social sphere into LeBow academics was first proposed by Jed Singer, a 2009 graduate of the College who is now an engagement manager for Philadelphia-based social marketing solutions firm the Dachis Group.

“There is a gap, nationwide, in classroom learning of the fundamentals of the new dynamics of marketing,” says Singer. “[These] fundamentals are required to attain the most desirable positions right out of college, and this course was built to satisfy that need.

“Students of the New Media Marketing course will be armed with frameworks, checklists and case studies literally as up-to-date as the market. They will have a leg up on nearly the entire field vying for those positions in the new landscape of digital marketing.”

The pilot course, which has already enrolled a full load of 35 students, will examine a new topic each week, with additional weekly lectures delivered online by Duke that will link theory with substance. Topics will range from digital marketing and search engine optimization to e-mail marketing and community and content management. In addition, the course will look to the future of digital marketing, with the possibility of new topics being introduced as the social media landscape evolves.

“This new pilot course on special topics in new media covers an exciting and relevant area that will serve the purpose of providing current information and case studies of the current, innovative, marketing practices to students taking the course,” says Duke. “It will also help close the gap with current offerings in the marketing curriculum. We are also excited by the high caliber of guest speakers, who will bring real-world perspectives and experience to these topics.”

While the class is full, attendance from non-enrolled students and alumni will be welcomed.