1 BST356 Digital Marketing Resit Assignment Brief Task: Digital Marketing Strategy Complete a report proposing and justifying a digital marketing strategy for a small or medium- sized e-commerce business of your choice. These are some companies you may wish to use, if you struggle to choose your own for this assessment: Kukd, Facetheory, Ridiculously Rich by Alana, Paperclip, The Little Melt Studio. Deadline: Monday, 27 September – Submission via Learning Central Common areas where the original assignments failed Justification The majority of the points here come from the situational analysis. It must therefore provide an insightful discussion of the digital strengths/weaknesses of your chosen company as well as the digital environment (e.g., competitors) it operates in. (opportunities and threats) Here you must identify gaps in the company’s digital performance, and these will subsequently lead to the formulation of your digital marketing objectives and the corresponding strategy, tactics and actions that address these objectives. Detail Your proposed strategy should provide a good level of detail, discussing: o the target customer segment and the digital channels they use; o The online value proposition; o How the company will be positioned in relation to its competitors Tactics, use theory to frame the answer, however we expect this section to be 50% concerned with communications and the digital channels used, consider: o What needs to be developed before OVP is communicated, e.g., Update website. o Which digital channels are suitable and provide good actionable detail The recommended communications mix must be applied to the company and cover what and how they will be posted (e.g., which influencer, where, and what they will post). Actions. A clear understanding must be shown of consumer behaviour and what needs to be done and when in order to achieve objectives. Creativity & Suitability The strategy should demonstrate independent thought (creativity) rather than merely reproduce module content with little application or creativity to the chosen company. The proposed tactics must be suitable to the objectives. For example, PPC is not suited to improving ROAS since one is a search engine tool, while the other is a metric measuring the success of advertising spending on social media. 2 Report Format Word Limit The report should be 3,000 words long (+/-10%). The cover page, executive summary, contents page, reference list and any appendices are not included in the word count, however, all other content is included (including figure headings, tables and in-text citations). Use appendices only when absolutely necessary. Style The report should be written and presented in a professional style appropriate for presentation to the client. You may create/use tables, diagrams, images and infographics to make your report more engaging, and to communicate your proposed strategy more effectively. In addition to the main body of the report (your proposed strategy), you must also include: Cover Page Must include: Report title Your student number Module code (BST356) and name (Digital Marketing) Word count Contents Page A list of section headings and sub-headings with corresponding page numbers. Referencing Follow the Cardiff University Harvard referencing style (see guidelines on Learning Central). 3 Suggested Report Structure Executive summary (not included in the word count) (no more than 150 words long) A brief summary of the report. Typically, this should include the aim of the report, what the proposed campaign consists of, the rationale behind it and how it addresses the client’s objectives. Introduction (100 – 200 words) Brief and to the point. Introduces the company and its background and outlines the report structure. Justification (Situational analysis) (800 – 1000 words) This part will provide an overview of internal and external analyses of the company and the digital business environment affecting the company. In this part, you will outline any gaps in your chosen business’ digital performance. Strategy (400 – 500 words) Discusses your proposed strategy, which should be based on the situational analysis, and proposes at least two SMART digital marketing objectives based on the gaps identified in your situational analysis. Your strategy must also be linked to at least two of the topics covered in this module. Examples of SMART objectives: Increase social media following by 20k by the end of 2021. Improve organic website presence on Google search results by November 2021. Improve paid for website presence on Google search results by October 2021. Increase follower engagement (e.g., re-sharing brand content, posting UGC) on Instagram by January 2022. Tactics & Actions (900 -1000 words) This part outlines the details of the strategy. Here you will discuss the e-tools you plan to use in the sequence or stages guided by the strategy and their implementation. In this part, you may also wish to discuss the budget and resources forecasted for this strategy. Control (200 – 300 words) This is where you will discuss the control mechanisms and any contingency planning that should be in place to ensure the successful execution of your plan. What are needs to be measured Conclusion (optional) (100 words) Here you will provide key summary points of your digital marketing strategy. 4 Resit Assignment Marking Criteria Your report will be assessed according the following marking criteria. Please refer to the guidance provided when completing the resit assignment. Criterion Weighting Guidance Proposed Digital Marketing Strategy (80% of total grade) Justification 20% Your situational analysis should be an insightful discussion of the company’s digital capabilities & limitations, competitors’ digital performance and any other relevant internal and external environments. Your report must convince the reader that your proposed strategy will produce valuable results for the client. Academic and industry sources should be used to justify your arguments. You must refer to theories covered in class and/or may identify relevant theories in academic books and journals. Well argued, convincing reports will be rewarded. Strategies based on assumptions or opinions with no clear theoretical or factual underpinning will receive a low mark. Detail 30% The client should be able to implement your proposed strategy based upon the information provided by your situational analysis and proposed objectives. Detailed strategies will be rewarded. Tactics should link to objectives and provide clear instructions for the client what communications channels should be used. When the tactic should be used (Action) should be provided. Creativity 15% You will be rewarded for original, interesting and ambitious strategies that show evidence of independent thought. Suitability 15% Your proposed strategy must be suitable for the client e.g., the size, context and/or the mission/vision of the company. Quality of Report (20% of total grade) Structure The report should have a logical structure, using headings and sub-headings to structure content and guide the reader. Presentation Writing should be clear and concise. The tone should be appropriate for a professional report. Figures and tables should have numbers and headings. Creative presentation, including effective use of tables, images and diagrams, will be rewarded. Sources & Referencing You should consult a wide range of sources, including textbooks, journal articles, and industry sources (e.g. databases, industry news, industry reports). You will be rewarded for both the variety of sources and their quality. All information must be appropriately referenced using the Cardiff Business School Harvard Referencing style (a guide is available under the ‘Group Assignment’ section on Learning Central).
