It has been another busy Fall with many fun projects underway in the areas of research and teaching. Here are a few things I have been working on this semester:

• Bright, Laura F. (2014 – forthcoming). Taming the Information Beast: Content Customization and Its Impact on Media Enjoyment. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Vol. IV, Issue 3 (July 2014).
• Landreth-Grau, Stacy, Laura F. Bright, Kelty Logan, Chris Wilson, and Arnel Santiago (2014). So Long Don Draper?: Account Planning, Big Data and the Implications Inside and Outside the Advertising Classroom. American Academy of Advertising Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, March 27th – 30th, 2014.
• Logan, Kelty, and Laura F. Bright (2014 – forthcoming). Deal Me In!: Assessing Consumer Response to Daily-Deal Websites. International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising (Details coming soon).
• Ranked as one of “Top Marketing Professors on Twitter” by Social Media Magazine
• Continued launch of new co-teaching format of Research and Evaluation course
• Launched Digital Academy Internship Program with Online Performance Marketing
• Launched second cohort for Certified Public Communicator Program at TCU

Happy holidays!

Enjoying the evening at the DFWIMA annual awards banquet with Jacque Lambiase (left) and Erica Turner (right). Two TCU students, Erica Turner and Alison Busse, received academic scholarships for their senior year at TCU. Go frogs! (Photo credit: Mallouf Photography)

After a year of hard work, lots of meetings and planning, I am proud to announce the launch of the Certified Public Communicator Program at TCU!

My colleague,Dr. Jacque Lambiase, is the master mind behind this innovative new program that offers public information officers a place to learn and hone their skills in strategic communication. The program is the first of its kind to be offered to communication professionals who work in city, county and public sector agencies. The CPC program is a partnership of TCU’s Schieffer School of Journalism, Extended Education, and the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers.

The Certified Public Communicator Program at TCU is a post-baccalaureate, graduate-level residential program for two summers (one week each in 2013 and 2014), plus a two-day winter session with strategic communication professors from TCU’s Schieffer School of Journalism.

Professional communicators working for city, county, and public-sector agencies create three-year comprehensive communication plans for their organizations during the program.

I am excited to be a member of the core team launching this program in July 2013. If you are interested in the program or want to learn more, visit our website at www.certifiedpubliccommunicator.com.

Classes are finally wrapped up, grades are in, and it is time to take a few weeks to relax and recuperate before things kick off again in mid-January. It was a very busy fall semester but lots of things were accomplished – here are the highlights:

• Bright, Laura F. (2013). Taming the Information Beast: Content Customization and Its Impact on Media Enjoyment for Online Consumers. American Academy of Advertising Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 4 – 7.
• Bright, Laura F., and Glenn Griffin (2013). Finding Synergy: How Creative and Media Can (and Should) Work Together. American Academy of Advertising Annual Conference, Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 4 – 7.
• Cunningham, Nicole, and Laura F. Bright (2012 – in press). The Tweet is in Your Court: Measuring the Effectiveness of Athlete Endorsements in Social Media. International Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications.
• Lambiase, Jacqueline, and Laura F. Bright (2012). Beyond the Basics: How Social Media Can Change Your City for the Better. 100th Texas Municipal League Annual Conference, Grapevine, Texas, November 14th.
• Logan, Kelty, Laura F. Bright, and Harsha Gangadharbatla (2012). Facebook Versus Television: Advertising Value Perceptions Among Females. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Vol. 6(3), pp. 164 – 179.
• Ranked in “Top Marketing Professors on Twitter” by Social Media Marketing Magazine
• Ranked in “Top 100 Web Savvy Professors” by Best Online Universities
• Successful launch of the Certified Public Communicator Program with Dr. Jacqueline Lambiase at TCU Extended Education

More to come in the spring … until then, have a wonderful holiday and Happy New Year!