| Course | MT359 Integrated Marketing Communications |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 6 |
| Paper type | Seminar reflection |
| Length | About 870 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT359 Unit 6
Where a Brand Offers Something: An MT359 Unit 6 Seminar Reflection on Old Spice and Chick-fil-A
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT359: Integrated Marketing Communications
Unit 6 Seminar Reflection
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The seminar and classmates are composite; the campaigns described are real, and the IMC sources cited are real.
One Question About Tools
Our instructor put a single question on the first slide: which of two brands spoke with one voice across more tools? I wrote my answer before anyone spoke, and I realize now that I answered a different question. I was thinking about which campaign was more memorable. The instructor had asked about tools, meaning advertising, publicity, promotion, direct contact and personal selling, and about how many of them carried the same idea.
My Case for the Replies
I argued for Old Spice. Its 2010 television spot introduced a confident, absurd spokesman, and that July the brand filmed about 180 short video replies over roughly two days, answering real people's online comments in the same voice, on the same set, with the same humor. I said that carrying a television character into real-time conversation with the audience, without losing his tone, was integration in its purest form: one voice, many messages, almost no delay. I still think the replies were remarkable. I brought my best evidence, the speed and the consistency, and I believed the case was strong.
The Cows That Sell the Discount
Andre, who used to manage shifts at a restaurant, answered for Chick-fil-A. Its cows have appeared since 1995, first on billboards urging people to eat more chicken, then on in-store signs, cups, calendars and merchandise. Since 2005 the chain has held Cow Appreciation Day, when customers who come dressed as cows eat free. His sharpest point was that even the discount argues the brand's case. A customer who puts on a cow costume to get a free meal is acting out the campaign's message. The promotion is not a break from the advertising; it is the advertising, performed by customers. The Old Spice replies, he said, stayed advertising. They were brilliant, but they asked nobody to do anything except watch.
In the cow campaign, even the free meal carries the proposition; in the Old Spice replies, nothing asked the audience to act.
The Reply That Failed
I tried to answer by calling the Old Spice replies a kind of promotion, since they rewarded people who commented with a personal video. When the instructor asked what the replies had asked anyone to do, or to buy, I could not name anything. The replies rewarded attention, not behavior. Andre's point held: Chick-fil-A's idea runs through a tool that changes what customers do, while Old Spice's ran through tools that changed only what they watched.
The Principle I Am Taking Away
Batra and Keller (2016) argue that integrated communication is not only a matter of every tool sounding alike but of each tool doing work the others cannot, while all of them advance the same idea. Kliatchko (2008) goes further, defining integration around the audience and arguing that it has to reach every point of contact, not only the advertising. Naik and Raman (2003) showed that two communication activities can produce a larger combined effect when run together than either produces alone, which is the payoff integration promises when each tool does its own job. By that standard, a campaign that is consistent only in its advertising is integrated in one tool. Integration is usually tested where a brand offers something, because an offer is where the audience's behavior meets the brand's idea. A discount that carries the proposition is integrated; a discount that only lowers the price works against it.
What I Have Not Conceded
The seminar did not persuade me that Old Spice failed. Its replies probably did what they were designed to do, which was to make people talk about a body wash. But the question was about tools, and on that question I was wrong, because I counted one tool used brilliantly as many tools used together. Looking back at my notes, every piece of evidence I brought was about advertising: the original spot, the replies, the view counts. I never asked what happened at the store shelf or at the point where a shopper chose one body wash over another. Andre's answer started at the counter, where a customer in a cow costume gets a sandwich, and worked back to the billboards. That direction of reasoning, from the moment of purchase back to the message, is what I plan to practice in the units ahead.
A Test for the Lent Offer
The tamale company I am writing about for this course ran buy one, get one free deals that had nothing to do with its claim that its tamales are spread by hand. Next unit I will design its Lent promotion. My test, taken directly from this seminar, is that the promotion must carry spread by hand the way the cow costume carries the cow campaign. I will reject any offer a shopper could redeem without ever meeting the hand-spreading story, and I will look for one that puts customers' own hands on the masa.
References
Batra, R., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Integrating marketing communications: New findings, new lessons, and new ideas. Journal of Marketing, 80(6), 122-145. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.15.0419
Kliatchko, J. (2008). Revisiting the IMC construct: A revised definition and four pillars. International Journal of Advertising, 27(1), 133-160. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2008.11073043
Naik, P. A., & Raman, K. (2003). Understanding the impact of synergy in multimedia communications. Journal of Marketing Research, 40(4), 375-388. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkr.40.4.375.19385
The Purdue Global MT359 Unit 6 instructions
Unit 6 is written in the first person about a live seminar, or about the written alternative for students who could not attend. The reflection should state the question discussed, the position the student brought, the exchange that tested it and how the student's thinking changed or held. A course concept should be applied closely, not listed. Instructors look for the starting position at full strength, since a concession means little against a weakened original. Classmates are credited by first name or role. Facts about famous campaigns should be accurate and modest, with no unsourced sales claims. Many sections also want the reflection tied to the brand each student follows through the term. A specific commitment for the next unit is stronger than a general lesson.
How this MT359 Unit 6 example is built
The sample opens with the instructor's question and admits the writer answered a different one. The Old Spice case follows at full strength, with its dates and its speed. Andre's answer about Chick-fil-A comes next, under a highlighted line contrasting a free meal that carries the proposition with replies that asked for nothing. The writer's failed attempt to call the replies a promotion is recorded. Batra and Keller, Kliatchko and Naik and Raman support the principle drawn from the exchange, along with the habit of reasoning back from the counter. A short section keeps the writer's view that the replies achieved their own aim. The close sets a test for the tamale promotion.
MT359 Unit 6 rubric: what earns full points
Reflections in this course are commonly graded on honesty about the starting view, clarity about what changed it, depth in applying a concept and a concrete link to the student's own work. Recording the original argument with its best evidence earns credit for candor. Graders look for the moment the view shifted to be tied to something a named classmate said. A concept such as integration across tools should be applied to the two campaigns rather than defined. Keeping a reasoned disagreement shows independent thought. Accurate dates and modest claims about famous campaigns protect credibility. A commitment that names what the student will accept or reject in the next assignment scores well, and APA 7 citations support the course sources.
Common MT359 Unit 6 mistakes, and how to avoid them
These reflections often summarize two famous campaigns and declare a winner, leaving out the writer's own movement. Others weaken the losing argument so the concession looks easy. Some cite sales figures for famous campaigns that cannot be traced. Many close on a lesson so broad it changes nothing. Classmates sometimes disappear entirely, though the seminar's value came from what they said. Before writing, find the exact question the instructor asked and compare it with the one you answered at the start, word for word if you saved your notes. If they differ, that gap is often the most honest material you have, and it gives the reflection a shape.
Get an MT359 Unit 6 example written to your instructions
Name the brands or the question your Unit 6 session debated, live or through the written alternative, and sketch the stance you arrived with and whichever argument moved you off it. Add the reflection rubric. Within 24-48h a free first custom reflection follows in your own voice, built on that shift. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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MT359 Unit 6 questions, answered
Can the reflection use famous campaigns I did not research deeply?
Yes, if the facts you use are accurate and modest. Dates, the tools involved and what each piece asked the audience to do are usually enough. Avoid claims about sales results unless you have a source, since famous campaigns attract exaggerated figures. The reflection is about how your thinking changed, so a well-chosen detail matters more than a history of the campaign.
What if the seminar compared brands I have never seen advertised?
Describe what was shown in the session, briefly, and reflect on the argument rather than on your familiarity with the brand. Unfamiliarity can even help, since it shows you judged the campaign on the evidence presented. If you completed the written alternative, name the brands it assigned and work from the materials it supplied or cited.
Should the reflection connect to my own course project?
Usually, yes, since MT359 projects often run across units and a seminar idea can shape the next assignment. Keep the connection specific: name the piece of your project the idea changes and say how. One committed change reads better than a list of possible applications, and it gives the reflection a clear ending that graders can find.
Where can I find a free MT359 Unit 6 sample paper?
The full MT359 Unit 6 seminar reflection appears here, recording how a classmate's point about Chick-fil-A's cows changed the writer's view of Old Spice.
What test does the MT359 Unit 6 sample set for the Lent promotion?
The promotion must carry spread by hand the way the cow costume carries the cow campaign, so any offer redeemable without meeting that story is rejected.