Digital Paid Media and Advertising
Curriculum guideline
Lecture: 2 hours/week
and
Seminar: 2 hours/week
In this course, students will participate in a variety of activities, including lectures, group and class discussions, case discussions and presentations, guest speakers, web analysis, and simulation.
- Evolution and Types of Digital Advertising and Paid Media
- Measuring Engagement and Effectiveness of Digital Advertising
- Social Media Advertising
- Search Engine Advertising (SEA) and Generative Engine Marketing (GEM)
- Real-Time Advertising
- Branded Content in Advertising
- Native Advertising
- Display and Video Advertising
- Artificial Intelligence in Advertising
- Influencer Advertising
- Product Placement in Online Advertising
- Mobile, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Streaming and Gaming Advertising
- New Technologies and Emerging Trends in Digital Advertising and Paid Media
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Integrate theoretical knowledge and practical skills to propose, justify, develop, and present a comprehensive digital advertising and paid media campaign, supported by data, ethical reasoning, and strategic marketing frameworks.
2. Explain the evolution, structure, and strategic role of digital advertising and paid media within contemporary marketing ecosystems, distinguishing between paid, owned, and earned media models.
3. Design integrated paid media strategies aligned with organizational objectives, target audiences, budget, and measurable marketing outcomes across digital and traditional channels.
4. Apply the core components of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), including keyword research, ad creative, ad groups, budget allocation, bidding strategies, ad rank, and quality score.
5. Analyze a variety of digital marketing performance metrics such as pay-per-click (PPC), impressions, click-through rate (CTR), cost-per-click (CPC), and conversions to guide data-driven optimization decisions.
6. Implement paid social media advertising campaigns using platform-specific tools, incorporating objectives, audience targeting, budgeting, and creative formats across major social platforms.
7. Create compelling paid social ad creatives, including text, image, and video ads, aligned with brand objectives, platform best practices, and user experience considerations.
8. Compare real-time advertising and programmatic buying models, including real-time bidding (RTB), retargeting, ad exchanges, and data-driven targeting.
9. Interpret campaign analytics and attribution models to measure advertising effectiveness or Return on Investment (ROI) and conduct continuous optimization across paid media channels.
10. Examine the impact of emerging technologies, including but not limited to artificial intelligence, mobile, streaming platforms, virtual reality, and gaming environments, on the future of digital advertising.
11. Recognize ethical, legal, and societal implications of digital advertising practices, including data privacy, transparency, online harm, and regulatory compliance.
12. Apply oral and written skills in project presentations.
Assessment will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course. Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.
|
Assessment Component |
Weight |
|
Class Participation |
5-10% |
|
Assignments |
15-35% |
|
Mid-Term |
15-25% |
|
Term Project and Presentation |
20-30% |
|
Final Exam |
15-30% |
|
Total |
100% |
Note: No single assignment to be worth more than 40%.
Students must complete all components of the course and achieve a minimum average grade of at least 50% on their total non-group evaluations to obtain credit for the course.
Students may conduct research as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which may require obtaining Informed Consent from participants and obtaining approval from the Douglas College Research Ethics Board before conducting the research.
This is a letter-graded course.
Textbooks and materials are to be purchased by students. A list of required textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of the semester.
Textbook: Yesiloglu, S., and Costello, J., Advertising in the Digital Age: Theories and Practices (latest edition), Sage Publications; and/or another textbook(s) and/or material(s) approved by the department.
None
None