Professor of the Month: Jack LaBaugh

February 4, 2020
Stukent News

Jack LaBaugh
Professor of Marketing

University: Brigham Young University – Idaho

Location: Rexburg, Idaho

Jack LaBaugh is an experienced educator and media practitioner. As a professor of marketing at Brigham Young University–Idaho, he helped launch a social media major that is becoming one of the fastest growing majors on campus.

LaBaugh has also worked as editorial director for a billion-dollar consumer healthcare corporation and as director of marketing and public relations for a healthcare services company. He recently published an article titled, “Are You Talking to Me? The Social-Political Visual Rhetoric of the Syrian Presidency’s Instagram Account” in “The Southwest Mass Communication Journal.”

We asked Professor LaBaugh a few questions. His answers are below:

WHAT STUKENT COURSEWARE HAVE YOU USED?

I currently use the “Essentials of Social Media Marketing” textbook combined with the Mimic Social simulation.

I was an early adopter of Mimic Social, and one of my favorite things about it is that it allows students to learn in a “sandboxed” environment that is very similar to what they will use in the workforce.

Additionally, I like having the option to add a few hiccups throughout the semester. This reminds students not to get too comfortable with the simulation as it becomes a weekly routine.

WHAT TEACHING TIPS WOULD YOU SHARE WITH OTHER PROFESSORS?

I incorporate crisis communication by presenting a new challenge that accompanies the simulation. As students are finishing their editorial calendars and weekly simulation, they receive an email at a very inconvenient time that says a celebrity Buhi Supply Co. influencer found the following note in her Buhi bag, had it translated from Chinese to English and shared it with her 117 million loyal Instagram followers.

“I am an inmate in the Yingshan Prison in Guangxi, China. I work 14 hours every day with no bathroom or rest breaks and continue working overtime until midnight. Our meals have no nutritional value and people are malnourished. I get paid only 2000 yuan per month. We are suffering from the most inhumane treatment. Please help us.”

The students are then required to complete a series of crisis communication assignments, including one round of the Mimic Social simulation. All the assignments are due 24 hours from the time the email is sent. Students find this difficult but rewarding; it gives them a glimpse of what crisis communication is all about. Please email me if you would like a copy of my case study ([email protected]).