Course Title: Client Relationships

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Client Relationships

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
COMM2137	City Campus	Undergraduate	335H Applied Communication	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 2 2008, Sem 2 2009
COMM2137	City Campus	Undergraduate	345H Media and Communication	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2010, Sem 2 2011, Sem 2 2012, Sem 2 2013, Sem 2 2014

Course Coordinator: Philippa Brear

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925 3849

Course Coordinator Email: philippa.brear@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: Building 9, level 5, City Campus

Course Coordinator Availability: Thursday 1000-1200; by appointment

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

No pre-requisites, but it is preferable to have completed an introductory course in one field of creative or applied communication practice.

This course is NOT available to students taking COMM2333 Client Management

Course Description

The course examines the ideas behind services marketing, and focuses on its implications for creative communication professionals in how they market and deliver their services: how commercial relationships work and how to manage them effectively and successfully. It addresses issues as they relate to practitioners in public relations and related fields such as advertising. In looking at relationship marketing for creative communication practitioners, you will explore key concepts in marketing and communication, relationship management, organisational behaviour and commercial or business practice.

You might find yourself in the role of service provider or client during your career, and this course is intended to assist you to understand important concepts and issues related to managing commercial/professional relationships and how to maximise the benefits that flow from such relationships to both the client and service provider.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course contributes to the following graduate capability outcomes:

• professional writing and presentation techniques
• ability to relate ethical standards to PR practice
• ability to analyse and discuss global contexts of PR practice
• problem solving and analytical skills
• project management and teamwork skills
• leadership skills

At the end of this course you should be able to:

• discuss the integration of fields of communication practice and how practitioners work in an interdisciplinary environment
• identify key marketing and communication ideas and theories and explore their application to client relationship management
• interpret a brief, and devise and present a response that addresses the overt and underlying needs and objectives of the client/organisation
• articulate the meanings of "service provision" and "relationship management" within a professional context

Overview of Learning Activities

This course is presented as seminars and lectorials, with a focus on interactive and participative learning. AV and online resources will be used. Classes will be structured to enhance your understanding of key concepts and theory, and then explore and apply this knowledge through class exercises and assessment. To ensure your experience closely reflects the realities of professional practice, in this course you will explore the roles of the indvidual AND the team in client relationship management. Guest lectures will explore topics from practitioner and client perspectives, focusing on contemporary industry issues relating to communication and creative practice.

Overview of Learning Resources

There is no prescribed text but a range of texts on relationship marketing and communication is available in RMIT libraries and on NetLibrary. Texts set for other courses (also available in RMIT libraries) might also be useful. Turnitin, an online academic integrity tool, is used in this course.

Overview of Assessment

Your assessment for this course will include individual and group assessments. Assessment tasks will include a range of activities, including presentations, responses to briefs, and other written assessments. Assessments will be completed in class and in learner-directed time.