Experiences Flipping an Undergraduate Advertising Course

Abstract

This article discusses the positive outcomes of changing to a flipped classroom instructional approach and how creating a greater sense of influence and control for students in group projects can positively impact multiple measures of student performance and self-reported attitudes. Two sections completed the same readings and videos covering 13 course content modules. Rather than a traditional lecture-based course, most of the class time was used on experiential learning activities. Students worked with real-world clients to create advertising campaigns. One section completed research and pitched their ideas for a social media campaign to a franchise with over 50 restaurants. This section was seen as “low ownership” because students did not know if their ideas would be implemented. The second section created an integrated marketing campaign for an event on campus that drew over 400 attendees. This section is labelled as “high ownership” because the students felt more involved with their project as they imagined, created, and executed the advertising and organization for an event. Overall, most students in both sections preferred the flipped approach to traditional lecture. While the percent of videos watched and grades did not differ between the two sections, students in the high ownership section reported more interest in their project, were more likely to recommend keeping the flipped approach, were more likely to recommend the course to others, found the flipped classroom more interesting than lecture-only classes, and said they learned more using a flipped approach vs. a lecture-only class. These results demonstrate how flipped classrooms and experiential learning exercises with real-world results can improve marketing education.