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Marketing Communications
Reed College of Media
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Public Affairs

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IMC 638

Explore ways to leverage public policy relationships and strategic partners to enhance an organization’s brand and marketing strategy. Incorporates theory and real-world experience through examination of case studies.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of IMC 638, students will be able to:

  • Understand federal, state and local government communications and its impact on constituencies.
  • Define public communications and explain how it is used by government to achieve mutual understanding among its agency and its publics.
  • Cite the principles of engaging constituencies and importance of meaningful feedback.
  • Explain the importance of ethics, responsibility and transparency in launching a government public relations campaign.
  • Identify how key messages are developed, and how to train communicators to deliver effective messages in "one voice".
  • Understand the importance of developing trusted relationships with the media while utilizing public relations communication tools.
  • Apply the use of social media and other online tools to promote advocacy objectives.
  • Define what constitutes a crisis and demonstrate ways public agencies manage reputation.
  • Determine the effectiveness of a campaign and cite ways to make it sustainable, or when a campaign should be curtailed.

Course Topics

  • Understanding Government its Impact
  • Public Relations: How it’s Used by Government and Constituencies
  • Engaging Constituencies
  • Ethics, Responsibility and Transparency
  • Message Development, Training and Discipline
  • Media Relations, Social Media and Online Advocacy
  • Crisis Reputation Management/Campaign Effectiveness Sustainability

What students say about IMC 638:

“This was one of the best conceived and immediately applicable courses in my IMC program experience. Government is ubiquitous. The simple fact is all of us are one government proposal away from having to mount a successful integrated campaign or face additional regulation, higher taxes, increased costs, or even the closing of our business. For most employers maintaining good, effective government-stakeholder relations is essential, and aligns directly with the IMC philosophy. Most lessons are supplemented by extensive video interviews with ‘validators,’ highly-regarded experts in the field who provide insight from their unique perspective. This was enormously valuable and gave the course a very current, personal feel. Knowing how to mount a campaign to preserve your tax status, or your funding source, or ease regulatory restrictions is every bit as important as marketing your brand. More so: if a government move restricts sales or diminishes profit, the best brand in the world will suffer.” - John McPherson

IMC 638 Faculty