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Course Outline

CMN231 Communication Campaign Planning

Course Coordinator:Sarah Casey (scasey3@usc.edu.au) School:School of Business and Creative Industries

2026Trimester 2

UniSC Sunshine Coast

 Blended learning Most of your course is on campus but you may be able to do some components of this course online.

Online

 Online You can do this course without coming onto campus, unless your program has specified a mandatory onsite requirement.

Please go to unisc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.

What is this course about?

Description

Communication campaigns are a feature of our everyday lives. This course introduces you to political, environmental, commercial and social action campaigns. As you develop your understanding of relevant theories around communication, power, and global issues, you will be introduced to the nuts and bolts of planning a campaign across a range of fields, such as government, not-for-profit, and business. You will learn the process of preparing researched campaign strategies to help communities and organisations solve a problem or raise awareness.

How will this course be delivered?

Activity Hours Beginning Week Frequency
Blended learning
Learning materials – Interactive online learning activities. 1hr Week 1 12 times
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Scheduled face to face workshops. 2hrs Week 1 12 times
Online
Tutorial/Workshop 1 – Scheduled online workshops (Recorded). 2hrs Week 1 12 times
Learning materials – Interactive online learning activities. 1hr Week 1 12 times

Course Topics

Campaigning

Digital media and campaigning

Campaign briefs, pitch, and delivery

 

What level is this course?

200 Level (Developing)

Building on and expanding the scope of introductory knowledge and skills, developing breadth or depth and applying knowledge and skills in a new context. May require pre-requisites where discipline specific introductory knowledge or skills is necessary. Normally, undertaken in the second or third full-time year of an undergraduate programs.

What is the unit value of this course?

12 units

How does this course contribute to my learning?

Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming...
1 Transform public problems into prioritised concerns and opportunities for a range of clients . Creative and critical thinker
Empowered
2 Deploy theoretically-informed strategies to design ethical, evidence-based communication campaigns. Ethical
3 Pitch campaign ideas and propositions effectively to a range of clients. Creative and critical thinker
Empowered

Am I eligible to enrol in this course?

Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.

Pre-requisites

Not applicable

Co-requisites

Not applicable

Anti-requisites

Not applicable

Specific assumed prior knowledge and skills (where applicable)

Not applicable

Microcredential Information

Not applicable

How am I going to be assessed?

Grading Scale

Standard Grading (GRD)

High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL).

Details of early feedback on progress

During the week 3 workshop session, your communication problem identification, campaign idea and client selection will be discussed for peer and tutor feedback and approval.

Assessment tasks

Delivery mode Task No. Assessment Product Individual or Group Weighting % What is the duration / length? When should I submit? Where should I submit it?
All 1 Written Piece Individual 35% 
1400 words
 Week 5 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All 2 Oral and Written Piece Individual or Group 25% 
20 minutes
 Week 10 In Class
All 3 Report Individual or Group 40% 
1000 words
 Week 12 Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check
All - Assessment Task 1:Campaign Brief
Goal: 
This task has been designed to enable you to work to identify a public problem/issue/opportunity and develop a communication campaign brief for a prospective client.
Product: Written Piece
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
This task is to be completed in a professional public relations format. You will identify an unmet public relations problem/opportunity for a prospective client through computer lab weekly research activities. You will invent a unique campaign proposition that you will spell out in a written brief to be developed further as a proposal and pitched to your prospective client in week 10. This task will assist you with tasks 2 and 3.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Outline client 'problem' and target public(s)/audience
 1 2
2 
Demonstration of secondary research of client, problem and preliminary campaign
 1 2
3 
Explanation of client profile and impact of the campaign
 1
4 
Clarity of structure and writing quality
 1
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation
All - Assessment Task 2:Campaign Pitch
Goal: 
This task enables you to pitch a strategic public relations campaign idea to an external client.
Product: Oral and Written Piece
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
You will pitch your idea professionally to a prospective client, hoping to win business. Your pitch will be developed based on a comprehensive strategic communication campaign proposal to help your chosen client overcome an identified problem and capitalise on it as an opportunity to enhance its reputation. Your campaign plan will be based on the RPACE formula. Weekly lab activities will workshop different aspects of this process and assist you with completing this task.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Introduction and explanation of roles and responsibilities
 1 2 3
2 
Explanation of situation analysis
 1 2
3 
Outlining of actions and evaluation strategies
 1
4 
Explanation of logistics (timeline and budget)
 1 3
5 
Overall presentation and attention to detail
 3
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Organisation
All - Assessment Task 3:Campaign Proposal
Goal: 
This task enables you to continue to develop a written, evidence-based public relations campaign proposal for a prospective client.
Product: Report
Authorship Statement:
Format: 
Having professionally pitched and gained business, you will develop a comprehensive strategic communication campaign proposal to help your chosen client overcome an identified problem and capitalise on it as an opportunity to enhance its reputation. Your written campaign plan will be based on the RPACE formula. You will first modify the report you started to develop in Task 1, and then extend it by 1000 words to complete the proposal.
Criteria:
No. Learning Outcome assessed
1 
Situational analysis with identification of the 'problem' and the 'solution' that the campaign delivers.
Inclusion of the
underlying
principles of
RPACE across
the
plan/proposal.
 1 2
2 
Clearly set out proposal/plan for developing a campaign, including attention to the goals of the campaign and the actions to be carried out.
 2
3 
Articulation of the client and your agency/role responsibilities, and a comprehensive schedule of 'actions' that form the campaign
 1 2
4 
Well planned budget, timeline schedule and clear description of evaluation processes and handover
 1 2
5 
Well organised plan with clarity of structure and written well.
 1
Generic Skills: 
Communication, Problem solving, Applying technologies

Directed study hours

A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.

What resources do I need to undertake this course?

Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.

Prescribed text(s) or course reader

There are no required/recommended resources for this course.

Specific requirements

Nil

How are risks managed in this course?

Health and safety risks for this course have been assessed as low. It is your responsibility to review course material, search online, discuss with lecturers and peers and understand the health and safety risks associated with your specific course of study and to familiarise yourself with the University’s general health and safety principles by reviewing the online induction training for students, and following the instructions of the University staff.

What administrative information is relevant to this course?

Assessment: Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.

Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.

In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.

Assessment: Additional Requirements

Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment

Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying:
(a) The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4%; and
(b) The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale

Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct

Assessment: Submission penalties

Late submissions may be penalised up to and including the following maximum percentage of the assessment task’s identified value, with weekdays and weekends included in the calculation of days late:
(a) One day: deduct 5%;
(b) Two days: deduct 10%;
(c) Three days: deduct 20%;
(d) Four days: deduct 40%;
(e) Five days: deduct 60%;
(f) Six days: deduct 80%;
(g) Seven days: A result of zero is awarded for the assessment task.

The following penalties will apply for a late submission for an online examination:
Less than 15 minutes: No penalty
From 15 minutes to 30 minutes: 20% penalty
More than 30 minutes: 100% penalty

Links to relevant University policy and procedures

For more information on Academic Learning & Teaching categories including:

  • Assessment: Courses and Coursework Programs
  • Review of Assessment and Final Grades
  • Supplementary Assessment
  • Central Examinations
  • Deferred Examinations
  • Student Conduct
  • Students with a Disability

For more information, visit https://www.usc.edu.au/explore/policies-and-procedures#academic-learning-and-teaching

Student Charter

UniSC is committed to excellence in teaching, research and engagement in an environment that is inclusive, inspiring, safe and respectful. The Student Charter sets out what students can expect from the University, and what in turn is expected of students, to achieve these outcomes.

General Enquiries

For course-specific questions, contact your teaching staff or Course Coordinator.  

For other enquiries or to access support, please contact Student Central: 

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