Dr. Neil Hair

It is much merriment that I can announce the finalization of the Online Advertising course to be offered in the Winter in collaboration with Professor Susan Barnes of the School of Communication. An overview of the course follows:

"Increasingly organizations and individuals are turning towards the internet as means of advertising goods, services and themselves. This course explores the role and impact of this cultural shift. Students will be exposed to the means by which modern enterprise communicates, brands and advertises in online environments. One of the unique features of this class is its blended approach towards discovery. Half of class time will be taught in a traditional in-class setting and the other will be taught in the world renowned SecondLife environment. By the end of class students will be aware of and be able to apply the strategies and tactics of branding clients and themselves online more effectively."

For successful completion of the course, the student must meet the following objectives:

1. Students be conversant with the terminology of the SecondLife and online advertising landscapes
2. Have clear understanding of strategic business and personal opportunities and have necessary skills in evaluating tactics of effective online advertising
3. Have reviewed fundamental advertising management skills and processes
4. Understood the history of online advertising methods with a view towards managing online advertising campaigns in the future
5. Have identified implementation issues surrounding the move from real world advertising to that of the virtual
6. Have an understanding of the regulatory and ethical issues related to online advertising and incorporate this understanding in their strategic recommendations

Demand is likely to be strong for this course so early enrollment is encouraged (maximum class size is 40 students). Students can look for the class under the heading Marketing Seminar in the Winter Quarter 20072 with Hair as the instructor. Prerequisites include either Principles of Marketing (0105 363) OR Principles of Advertising (0535 461). Students are encouraged to have access to their own laptop facilities. This class is also likely to attract publicity and students should be aware that RIT intends to promote the features and learning outcomes of this class heavily. This is likely to result in publicity interviews for some students in the Fall quarter of 2008 (quarter 20073).

Other key features of this class include:

• Active demonstration of best practice within SecondLife
• Interviews and guest lectures from leading industry experts in this field
• Real world consultancy experience in exploring and proposing innovative solutions to live clients

As with all of my classes there is a heavy emphasis on real world application, the tangible outcome of personal competitiveness (who wouldn’t want SecondLife consultancy experience on their resume?) and a chance to say – I was there in the Winter of 07.

Saunders College of Business has joined the age of the digerati. Welcome Cob Saunders - our official facebooker launched by the Saunders Alumni office. You can find us and stay in touch with news and events, research, stories and so forth about the college - by searching for Cob Saunders (or by looking at the groups Im a member of in facebook). As an aside it will be interesting to see the growth of the group what with the power of social networking being what it is. You can also help us by inviting known Alums from the past from your own list of friends. This all comes by the way from the advisement of a few of our stellar players from the class of 2007 (who advised us that social networking is the best means of staying in touch). Stay tuned for linkedin updates coming soon.

So, the start of a new academic year is almost upon us and the projects that I've been closely related to over the summer are on my mind. Vic and I continue to work on perceived value in online social networks, Sue and I are finishing up work on perceptions of advertising in similar spaces, Moira, Susan and I are looking at business to business perceptions of ideal online experiences, Deb and I are looking at B2C experiences, Chris and I are working on personal branding (Chris - YOU OWE ME WORK), and Nick and I have a cocktail party's worth of papers on ideal online experience across cultures (the Middle East and Asia for instance). Then there's the other papers I'm excited about, online advertising tactics with Shirley, a qualitative study of online advertising with Zelka, relationship marketing tactics with Francesca, SecondLife learning with Anthony and Sue, ideal sports site experience with Alison, cross cultural studies with DanielLa and Akira, perceptions of e-service in online groceries with Joyce - the list goes on. Then there are service issues - Vic and I advising a Saunders initiative on online social networks and Alumni (stay tuned), the colleges branding initiative, developing innovative secondlife courses on online advertising, recruiting - I need a holiday - thank heavens for teaching and cooler weather. Roll on September 1.

Its nearly time to get back into the classroom and Ive missed it like a sharp turn at 60 mph. This fall I teach Internet Marketing under-grad and Marketing Concepts (both always good fun, especially the latter as many new MBA's tend to share the room with many finance students who leave the required course to the last minute - both end up equally dismayed at the prospect of taking that sharp turn at 60 mph). I've a whole host of interesting clients to work that they can look forward to. Many come from a partnership Ive worked on with the local Henrietta Chamber of Commerce. There is also a lot of new material on offer, new lectures on online social networking, corporate blogging, using secondlife and other virtual worlds to compete and plenty of new ideas on hearing the voice of the customer. Should be fun!

Students knocking on my old door worry not! Neil Hair has not left the building, in fact he has not even left the floor. I am now settled into a new office space that has the much lauded window. A golden opportunity to grow my much loved and prized orchids! The only down side to this move is leaving behind wonderful 1950's steel desks and adequate space for my bottled water collection. I will learn to live with such emotionally trying circumstances as I catch the occasional glimpse of Bambie in the woodlands or the ferrel cats that live in the same space.