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MKTG 130: Digital Marketing

AI statement, Viral post assignment, AI-generated content with brand message

Course Description

This course helps students understand and apply emerging marketing techniques that support effective practice in a contemporary digital environment. Students explore online strategic marketing, teamwork, and the local marketplace while developing skills needed for data-informed decision making in the 21st century. The course is an upper-division elective that enrolls up to fifty-five students and is offered in a lecture-based format. It contributes to the major curriculum by strengthening students’ applied marketing competencies and readiness for advanced coursework and professional practice.

Overview of the Redesign Project

The redesign project focused on strengthening students’ ability to apply digital marketing concepts by updating course assignments, integrating structured AI-use guidelines, and revising the viral-post activity. I redesigned the syllabus to clearly present acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI tools, introduced an updated viral-post assignment that incorporates structured reflection and prompt documentation, and aligned these changes with departmental expectations for transparency, digital literacy, and responsible technology use. The primary goal was to improve student engagement, support ethical learning practices, and provide applied experiences that reflect current industry needs while meeting course and college-level priorities for innovation and clarity in instructional materials.

Assessment of the Redesign Project

To assess the impact of the redesign on student learning, I examined student performance, clarity of reflections, and the quality of work submitted under the updated guidelines. The table includes evidence from three areas of evaluation: the revised AI statement within the syllabus, the updated viral-post assignment structure, and student examples that illustrate how the revised activity led to clearer communication of goals and messages through their videos. These materials show how the redesign improved alignment between instructions, expectations, and student output, and provided insight into how students interpreted and applied course concepts with the support of the updated framework.

This table shows three ways I assessed my course redesign.
Updated syllabus for AI statement	Viral post using AI	Student examples
Updated the syllabus with the statement: The use of generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Dall-e, etc.) is permitted in this course only for the following activities.	Created an assignment for a viral post (using AI tools)	Student examples using AI tools to illustrate how their videos communicated the intended message and goal.

Reflection

The redesign project improved clarity, structure, and student engagement by updating the AI-use guidelines, revising the viral-post assignment, and strengthening instructions across the course. Students gained clearer expectations for responsible AI use, stronger digital literacy, and more confidence in applying marketing concepts through creative work. I also gained insight into how transparent guidance and well-designed activities support higher-quality student performance. Some challenges included helping students adjust to the revised assignment format and ensuring consistent interpretation of the AI policy. Moving forward, I plan to continue refining prompts, provide additional examples during class, and expand applied activities that reinforce ethical and effective use of digital tools.

Faculty Biography

This table includes my faculty biography.
	Yaeeun Kim is an Assistant Professor of Marketing in the College of Business at California State University, Sacramento. She teaches courses in digital marketing, public relations and ethics, and marketing management. Her research examines consumer behavior, branding, and AI-driven personalization, with projects focusing on algorithmic recommendations, discount framing, and digital engagement.

**Program Sponsors**
	This work was supported by: Sacramento State Academic Affairs - Center for Teaching and Learning