General issues.
This assignment should be about YOUR recommendations and not just a description of current organisational marketing communications
Presentation
This is a plan and therefore should be formally presented. Use Fills guidelines and/ or the sections below as guidelines.
Remember the word count i.e. a maximum of 2,500. There is a penalty of 2% for every 10 words over; this is clearly stated in the module guide.
Only two pages of appendices.
Think about the weighting of each section, what does 10% equate to in word count?
You must use Harvard style of referencing
Marketing Communications Strategy and Objectives (10%)
This forms the basis of your communications plan.
This is not a duplication of the first assessment. Take on board any feedback or changes that have happened in the environment since your first proposal and amend where necessary
I would expect a brief overview of the organisation, who are they, what products etc. Perhaps a PEST or SWOT in a table format with some key elements highlighted and discussed.
State your proposed strategy e.g. pull, push or profile or a mix.
You need to have clear objectives. State these in one sentence/ paragraph. Think about who you are trying to reach e.g. males aged 21-30; how - through advertising; when - December 2007; what you are doing e.g. raise profile; increase awareness etc.
An example: Increase awareness of Niquitin CQ within 5 months before the national smoking ban on July 1st 2007 among socio economic groups C2, D and E who are smokers and / or who are trying to give up.
Remember that for some organisations you may be focusing on an event e.g. an open day or a launch date. For others it may be an ongoing awareness exercise.
3. Promotional Mix. (40%).
Marks will be allocated as follows;
20% - A discussion and description of the overall communication mix you have used. This is not an exercise in creativity; however a picture paints a thousand words. Use similar examples from other sources if necessary to demonstrate what you mean. Incorporate any illustrations into the document NOT as an appendix.
You need to make very clear what mix you are using. Think about the whole range both above and below the line. (Above-the-line promotion is paid for directly. It includes spending on TV, radio, poster and press advertising and on other paid-for media such as the Internet. Below-the-line promotion includes public relations, packaging and point-of-sale.)
You need to be realistic, a small restaurant may only have hundreds of pounds available; a large retailer £millions.
10% - You need to consider resources and budgets. The communication mix that you have chosen needs to be appropriate to the organisation and the objectives of your choice. This section may not have lots of words and could be demonstrated by a table with some discussion.
Resources: The budget may include factors such as: Is there an element of refurbishing? Are you going to use sponsorship? Sponsor costs for e.g. Channel 4 / ITV can be found on their websites. If you use an advert in the Sun, how much will this cost per publication? Bus stops; Billboard costs are all available.
Think about people as a resource - if you are advocating handing out leaflets how many people will you need at what cost?
There are many sources you can use to find out costs try the internet and the BB site.
10% - Academic underpinning. As this is an academic module there is an expectation for you to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of marketing communication theory. You need to support your discussion with evidence from a variety of sources. Academic sources should refer to books and journals. You may wish also to include references from broadsheets e.g. Guardian/ Times; Industry sources e.g. Mintel; Marketing sources e.g. Campaign; Marketing Week. This list is not definitive.
A minimum of 6 is expected, these should NOT be all from one text.
These should be integrated into the discussion and NOT as a standalone section
Scheduling and Implementation (10%).
Timescales: Use a Gantt chart or excel to show the months/ weeks / days and activities that need to take place prior to; at launch; and afterwards. Don’t just include a chart ,you need to discuss the scheduling and timing of the media used in 3 against your communication objectives
Evaluation and control (15%)
Refer to lecture 18 PowerPoint’s. You need to clearly state what methods you are using to establish that your overall communication objectives have been met. You may need to demonstrate how you evaluate success, or not, of the different elements of the mix. Remember the costs involved, can your organisation afford to do some/all/ any? Below are only a few examples e.g. :
Advertising
In progress
i. Concept testing – rough outline/story board
ii. Focus groups – discuss particular topic
iii. Consumer Juries – judge mock-ups
Finished
iv. Dummy Vehicles – dummy product consumed at home/work
Readability tests – of print copy
Theatre tests – preview and analyse attitudes to campaign
Post
Reach % of target audience exposed to message
Frequency # of times target audience exposed to message
Impact
Feedback (5%)
Planning is cyclical. Once you have launched your campaign feedback needs to take place. This section needs to imagine that the event has happened or the campaign has taken place. Try and reflect on this. What would you change? Do differently i.e. use different media; Launch at a different time. What future action is required?
While writing the assignment you need to refer to the lecture contents (see below); a basic text such as Fill and the BlackBoard site.
Lecture 3 Strategy and Planning is useful for Part 1 Strategy and objectives
Lectures 4, 6 &7 Give some basic academic underpinning to buying decisions.
Lectures 8 -17, 20 Give an overview of the key Communication mix elements available
Lecture 18 Gives additional material on the assignment; plus 3,4 and 5 above ie budgets; scheduling and feedback.
Text book:
(2005) Marketing Communications . Engagement, strategies and practice. Fourth Edition. Pearson Education limited, London.
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