Digital Marketing, Branding and Strategy – Summative Assessment

Overview:

You are to take the role of a brand consultant and develop a corporate brand revitalization strategy and a communication plan to generate better engagement around a corporate brand of your choosing (this could be the organization you work for). Your strategy for revitalizing the brand image will serve as a springboard for converting the engagement into new customers and more revenue, as well as retaining and building loyalty with existing customers

Requirement:

Focusing on the market of one country or region (UK, UAE, North America, Singapore-Malaysia), you are expected to develop a corporate brand revitalization strategy including a communications plan to generate engagement around the brand. As part of this, the following are required:

1. An executive summary of no more than 200 words.
2. An introduction to the report specifying the chosen corporate brand, its business, the chosen country/region and a summary of key proposals made within the report.
3. A situation analysis of the relevant industry/sector in the chosen country region (clearly identify this in the introduction) from macro and micro perspectives. This should result in the identification of key strategic issues with respect to the problems described in the background.
4. Conduct a brand audit and develop a conceptual map for the brand (based on secondary research) – explain the key perceptions and associations of the brand and evaluate these critically (e.g. strength vs. weakness?).
5. Identify and describe the characteristics of the brand’s main current customers. Further, develop two profiles (personas) of potential target audiences (i.e. a group of people who are likely to be future customers), so that they can be targeted through a subsequent communications campaign.
6. Analyze the media landscape of your chosen market in relation to your two profiles from the preceding task – what media are available, what sort of reach and influence do these have on your profiles? Discuss specific media that are of relevance (e.g. Instagram, radio channels, specific trade magazines) instead of grouping them together (e.g. social media).
7. Propose a detailed communications strategy (start by specifying a set of objectives) on how you intend to engage these two targeted audiences with a view to ultimately recruiting them as customers/clients. Using the knowledge of your target audiences, their profiles, and your analysis of the media landscape, create a customer journey map for each profile to summarize and present your communications strategy – this will show what type of message, method, medium you will utilize to engage the audience (potential customers) at each relevant touch-point.
   
8. Provide a summary of what relevant metrics and performance evaluation mechanisms you will incorporate into your communications strategy – you may use an augmented version of the customer journey map from the previous task to achieve this.

Section Titles		Marks
1. Executive Summary		5
2. Introduction		10
3. Situation Analysis		15
4. Brand Audit & Conceptual Map		15
5. Customer Segmentation		15
6. Analysis of Media Landscape		15
7. Your Proposed Communication Strategy		20
8. Summary		5
Appendix
		100

 

Additional Guidance Notes

• Treat this as a business report, and therefore whilst addressing all the requirements above, sections need to be succinct and impactful. Use well-structured paragraphs and include headings and sub-headings. Ensure that the sections are well linked to each other. Keep to the word limit of 4,000 words.
• Consider the impact on the reader, please use creative/visual techniques to make and strengthen your arguments – e.g. infographics, graphs/charts, and mock-ups of social media pages or webpages.
• You can use appendices if you wish, for supplementary information to the main contents of your report; e.g. to show how a new and innovative marketing technique has been effectively used for another campaign – a point which you have made in the main body of the report but would like to supplement with the contents in the appendix. However, please do so judiciously, and bear in mind that the marker has no obligation to award marks for your appendices. In other words, there is no benefit in having several pages of appendices because marks are, strictly speaking, awarded only for the contents of the main report.
• Good use of references is welcome, including academic articles, market research reports, and credible web-sources (referenced according to the university’s referencing guidelines). Use these to add credence to your arguments, to support your points, or illustrate your understanding of techniques, theories etc. However, there is no benefit in simply stacking-up references to support obvious points, or basic theories (e.g. 4Ps, Segmentation criteria etc.).
• As this is a business report, lengthy descriptions of basic theory do not add value. So, please use only brief descriptions, if needed. If you use an advanced theoretical approach (e.g. a framework proposed in a recent journal article) or refer to something very technical (e.g. DMP – Data Management Platform), then it might be worth providing a description or explanation for the benefit of the reader.

Marking Guide:

>80: Excellent evidence of selection and application of appropriate theoretical concepts and frameworks, and their application to context of identified problem exceeding expectations. A comprehensive review of all critical elements related to the case is adopted throughout, integrating secondary research to a commendable extent. A robust submission in terms of support for arguments but additional advanced features showing clear link between how application of theories may be used to develop objectives and strategy to tackle a clearly identified business problem. Evidence of excellent appreciation of interrelationships between different aspects of a brand strategy and therefore application. The proposal is highly developed and meets industrial standards as well as academic.

70-79: Very good evidence of application of appropriate theoretical concepts and frameworks to context of identified problem meeting all expectations. A very good review of all critical elements related to the case is adopted throughout, and a high level of secondary research input is evident. A fairly robust submission in terms of support for arguments some evident links between how application of theories may be used to develop objectives and strategy to tackle a clearly identified business problem. Evidence of very good appreciation of interrelationships between different aspects of a brand strategy and therefore application. The proposal is highly developed and meets academic standards.

60-69: Adequate identification and application of theoretical concepts and frameworks to context of identified problem, but somewhat lacking in integration, consistency and flow. Some evidence of use of secondary data sources and good effort made in terms of applying these to the context or identified problem. However, the depth of analysis is not maintained throughout the application and a descriptive style may have been adopted in places. Proposal of communications strategy is good but in places good be further developed.

50-59: Basic application of theoretical concepts and frameworks to the case with descriptive construction of discussion rather than evaluative. Lacking in consistency, flow or clarity and effort to link various aspects of the strategy together. Research input is lacking or weakly integrated into the discussion and the proposals made are lacking in relevance, suitability, or practicality.

40>49: Very basic application of theoretical concepts and frameworks to the case with largely descriptive construction of discussion, lacking in evaluative elements. Poor in consistency, flow or clarity and effort to link various aspects of the strategy together. Research input is minimal or poorly integrated into the discussion and the proposals made are poor in terms of relevance, suitability, or practicality. Very weak construction of discussions throughout the assignment and poor appreciation for the requirements set-out in the brief in terms of the research problem. Descriptive or generic application of concepts and ides within the proposed strategy. Secondary research input and integration could be much improved.

<40: Little or no application of theoretical concepts and frameworks to the case with descriptive construction of discussion. No evaluative elements and poor in consistency, flow or clarity. Minimal effort to link various aspects of the strategy together. Research input is irrelevant of inadequate; not integrated into the discussion and the proposals made are very poor in terms of relevance, suitability, and practicality. Extremely weak construction of discussions throughout the assignment and little appreciation for the requirements set-out in the brief in terms of the research problem. Highly descriptive or generic discussions of concepts and ideas within the proposed strategy, if at all. Secondary research input and integration inadequate or irrelevant.