Marketing in the Digital Age

Individual Coursework

Learning Outcomes Assessed by this assignment:

At the end of this module, students will be able to:

Knowledge

1. Develop a critical understanding of major concepts, frameworks, and methods in marketing and assess their application to the business environment
2. Develop an advanced appreciation of the place of digital marketing in contemporary marketing and business practice.
3. Develop an advanced appreciation of the value of the brand and its strategic implications.

Thinking skills

1. Interpret market research results and understand their implications for marketing strategy.
2. Critically evaluate marketing strategies, programmes, and methods – including digital marketing solutions – in different business contexts.

Subject-based practical skills

1. Commission and interpret the results of marketing research.
2. Develop marketing plans based on market research.
3. Commission marketing communication campaigns, including digital marketing solutions.

Skills for life and work (general skills)

1. Analysis and synthesis of data.
2. Creativity.
3. Written presentation skills.

Assessment Instructions

Individual Written report – (100%)

Emerging new technologies are changing the way consumers interact with brands which in turn provide avenues for marketers to reach their target consumer across a myriad of digital channels. In the connected world we live in, successful marketing will require connected, personalized and real-time customer experience. Companies are experimenting on different marketing communication strategies, and embracing customers using various touchpoints to position their brands and connect with their target market.

Your Task

You have been assigned to study one of the following corporate brands, as a marketing consultant. Your assignment is to evaluate the brand’s current position in the market and develop a digital communication campaign that achieves the next year’s positioning objective(s)

The brand:

• Ryanair
• House of Fraser
• Debenhams
• Apple

Task instructions:

• Identify the current challenge(s) the brand position is facing, and the target market.
• Define the brand positioning objective(s) needed to face and overcome the challenge for the next 12 months.
• Explain how the brand will connect with the target market/segment in the UK to achieve these objectives, that is the integrated marketing communication strategy.
• Develop a potential digital marketing campaign that can lead, or be part of, the brand’s integrated marketing campaign.
• Explain the campaign and justify your choices.  

You are expected to demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the relevant marketing concepts and their applications in relation to the brand you are advising.

Critically evaluate the brand position and challenges. Conduct a comprehensive research around the brand and the relevant marketing topics and strategies. You may use titles, bullet points, figures, or tables where appropriate in your answers and in a meaningful way.

Recommended structure of the report:

1. Executive summary, (written after completing the report to summarise the challenge(s) and your recommendations. 50-100 words).
2. The aim of the report, (as a consultant what are you set to achieve in this report, which is defined in the task above. 50 words).
3. Brand and company background, worldwide and in the UK (100 words).
4. Brand SWOT analysis, in relation to the UK market (100 words).
5. Segmentation and targeting, (define and describe the target market in the UK (consumer persona), and explain the segmentation criteria. 300 words).
6. Brand position analysis, (define the current brand position in the UK market and the challenges it is facing with evidence from your research. 300 words).
7. Brand positioning objective(s), (recommend how the brand position should change in the next 12 months to overcome the challenges you identified. 300 words).
8. Brand Communication objectives in the next 12 months, (write SMART communication objectives to achieve the positioning aim you are recommending. 300 words)
9. The digital campaign, (explain the digital campaign in details: channels, platforms, message, audiences, and potential impact on brand position, for the next 12 months; and explain how this campaign fits within the integrated marketing communication needed to achieve your objectives for the brand position. 1000 words).
10. Conclusion, (summarise the report findings, objectives, and how they’ll be achieved briefly. 300 words).
11. Reference list

Students who are not successful in passing this assessment from the first attempt will have to re-submit a re-written version of the assessment addressing the tutor feedback to meet the required standards, during the resit period in 2019.