DM

MODULE CODE:	PGBM152
MODULE TITLE:	Digital Marketing
MODULE ASSESSOR:	Kath Gooch
TITLE OF ASSIGNMENT	Consultant’s report
DUE DATE	5th June 2021 by 23.55
SUBMISSION DETAILS:	Submission is online only via the module’s Canvas site Tuesday 15th June 2021 by 23.55

PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS AND INFORMATION CAREFULLY.

This assignment contributes 100% to the final module mark.

It is an individual assignment.

Work submitted for the assignment in this module is expected to be the student’s own work. The University’s guidance and policy on Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct can be found at:

https://my.sunderland.ac.uk/display/AQH/Academic+Integrity+and+Misconduct

If a student is not clear what plagiarism is, then they should discuss the issue with the module leader.

Assignment task

Adopting the role of a digital marketing consultant, you are required to submit to the owners of a case-study organization, recommendations of what elements of digital marketing would be most suitable to meet that organization’s online objectives.

Presented in the form of a consultant report, the recommendations should identify and critically analyse the fundamental issues related to digital marketing and show clear evidence of synthesis and evaluation of the subject in the recommendations given to the organization.

Assignment guidance

The underlying principle of this assignment is that the recommendations made in the report should be specific to the case-study organization, and not a generic description of the elements of digital marketing that are available to any organization.

In the appendix there is a case study which gives you details of a fictitious – though credible – organization. There is sufficient information within the case study for you to complete the task. However, you will have to conduct an extensive situational analysis considering such things as – but not limited to; how this kind of organization operates, the nature of the market in which it exists, the impact of competitors and how they operate and market themselves, customer expectations / behaviour and relevant aspects of the environment that might impact on that organization's marketing and in particular its digital marketing.

Note that although this situational analysis has to be conducted in order to develop the report, the analysis MUST NOT make up part of the submitted report – that is; the report has no 'situational analysis' section/chapter.

The report must not change any of the stated circumstances or advise any changes to the stated business and/or marketing strategy, for example; names of the organization. As a digital marketer you must consider the online marketing for the existing business / product/ service as presented.

The report is addressed to the owner[s] of the organization and you are to write it as if you are a consultant engaged to research and present the information. The report will be written in a management/consultant report format that will be easily understood by the addressees. That is: it is not an academic paper and must use appropriate language and terminology.

Similarly, there is no need to tell the addressees anything about themselves and/or their business – they already know!

The recommendations must be based on the model of key objective[s]. Your proposed objectives must be identified and justified in the introduction of your report.

You do not need to include any costs in the report [the price of a website, for example] however, as any marketing should give a return on investment, the approximate cost of your recommendations must be appropriate to the case-study organization and its resources [financial, physical and human]. Note that the ‘appropriateness’ will be just one thing that will become apparent during an effective situational analysis.

As is the case for management and consultant reports, the philosophy for this report is to include only content that is relevant – but cover all relevant issues.

It will be your knowledge and understanding of the various elements of digital marketing that will put you in a position to follow that ethos by making a series of ‘judgement calls’ on whether each of those elements is right for the case-study organization.

Note that throughout the delivery of the module the reading, exercises, and in-class discussion – with the accompanying formative feedback – will help you develop the knowledge and understanding of the subject as well as the philosophy of the module’s assessment. The module’s delivery will also include a dedicated assignment tutorial.

As the nature of this assignment is designed to be as close as possible to a ‘real-life’ exercise that you might encounter in a work situation, the report itself will not include any academic references. However, you must include a bibliography of all the literature you have used in studying the module and developing recommendations for the case-study organisation.

Feedback

Students will receive individual feedback on their submission within the module’s Canvas site. This will be after the results are available and notified via Canvas.

Assignment presentation specification

The word limit for the report is up to 4000 words. Note that this is a guide only and the University policy on exceeding the word limit will not apply.

The word count – excluding the appendices – should be included on the cover page of the report.

The precise nature of the presentation of a consultant report will be addressed within the delivery of the module.

All assignments must be submitted through the Turnitin system via the module’s Canvas site.

The University has regulations governing the extension of assignment deadlines and the consideration of extenuating circumstances, the policy can be found on:

https://my.sunderland.ac.uk/display/AQH/Extenuating+Circumstances

APPENDICES …

Appendix 1: The case study: Celtic Collections

Jennifer Graylon is the Sole Proprietor of a business called Celtic Collections who sells different types of Celtic / Caledonian / Gaelic themed jewellery products from Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Jennifer does not manufacture the items she sells personally but carefully curates products from craftspeople and manufacturers of suitable items. Jennifer only sells to retail customers and not to other businesses on a wholesale basis.

The company has been trading for 20 years and currently has a shop in the town of Stirling in Scotland. The company does not have any other property or warehousing other than the shop in Stirling although the shop has a large storeroom and staff facilities behind the shopfront and is well placed for delivery / courier services. The company currently has 3 staff members who work part time in the shop however none of these have experience or knowledge of digital marketing.

Jennifer was featured in a well-known Bridal magazine (online version) and since has been receiving telephone calls to the shop from around the world asking if orders can be placed over the phone for delivery. She has been packing orders (Max 5 per week including International orders) and taking them to the post office for the occasional telephone order customer. Jennifer already has an arrangement with a local engraving company for any personalized engraved items to order with an additional 7-day lead time on top of shipping times.

The company sells Gold, Silver and Leather jewellery items in the most popular Celtic styles, such as Claddagh, Celtic Cross, Trinity Knot and Tree of Life, among others. They sell Necklaces, Bracelets, Earrings, Rings (including for Weddings) and Celtic Bridal Circlets. They also sell metal tankards, goblets, quaich and drinking flasks / hip flasks.

People who visit the shop, including tourists to Scotland from all over the world, love the products for sale in the shop. The company currently does not have an official online presence although details of her products have been shared on online forums with pictures and details of the shop in Sterling (particularly bridal forums and expats of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales from around the world).

Jennifer would like to consider the possibility of selling her products online including potentially internationally but does not know where to start, or with which countries / territories. She has standard business knowledge of computers but no formal business or marketing qualifications and has tasked you as a consultant to help with the best way to use the internet in the growth of her business.

Appendix 2: Generic Assessment criteria

Generic Assessment Criteria – Postgraduate

These should be interpreted according to the level at which you are working and related to the assessment criteria for the module

	Categories
	Grade	Relevance	Knowledge	Analysis	Argument and Structure	Critical Evaluation	Presentation	Reference to Literature
Pass	86 – 100%	The work examined is exemplary and provides clear evidence of a complete grasp of the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to the Level of the qualification. There is also ample excellent evidence showing that all the learning outcomes and responsibilities appropriate to that Level are fully satisfied. At this level it is expected that the work will be exemplary in all the categories cited above. It will demonstrate a particularly compelling evaluation, originality, and elegance of argument, interpretation or discourse.
	76-85%	The work examined is outstanding and demonstrates comprehensive knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to the Level of the qualification. There is also excellent evidence showing that all the learning outcomes and responsibilities appropriate to that level are fully satisfied. At this level it is expected that the work will be outstanding in the majority of the categories cited above or by demonstrating particularly compelling evaluation and elegance of argument, interpretation or discourse.
	70 – 75%	The work examined is excellent and is evidence of comprehensive knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to the Level of the qualification. There is also excellent evidence showing that all the learning outcomes and responsibilities appropriate to that level are satisfied At this level it is expected that the work will be excellent in the majority of the categories cited above or by demonstrating particularly compelling evaluation and elegance of argument, interpretation or discourse.
	60 – 69%	Directly relevant to the requirements of the assessment	A substantial knowledge of relevant material, showing a clear grasp of themes, questions and issues therein	Comprehensive analysis - clear and orderly presentation	Well supported, focussed argument which is clear and logically structured.	Contains distinctive or independent thinking; and begins to formulate an independent position in relation to theory and/or practice.	Well written, with standard spelling and grammar, in a readable style with acceptable format	Critical appraisal of up-to-date and/or appropriate literature. Recognition of different perspectives. Very good use of a wide range of sophisticated source material.
	50 – 59%	Some attempt to address the requirements of the assessment: may drift away from this in less focused passages	Adequate knowledge of a fair range of relevant material, with intermittent evidence of an appreciation of its significance	Significant analytical treatment which has a clear purpose	Generally coherent and logically structured, using an appropriate mode of argument and/or theoretical mode(s)	May contain some distinctive or independent thinking; may begin to formulate an independent position in relation to theory and/or practice.	Competently written, with only minor lapses from standard grammar, with acceptable format	Uses a good variety of literature which includes recent texts and/or appropriate literature, including a substantive amount beyond library texts. Competent use of source material.
	40 – 49%	Some correlation with the requirements of the assessment but there is a significant degree of irrelevance	Basic understanding of the subject but addressing a limited range of material	Some analytical treatment, but may be prone to description, or to narrative, which lacks clear analytical purpose	Some attempt to construct a coherent argument, but may suffer loss of focus and consistency, with issues at stake stated only vaguely, or theoretical mode(s) couched in simplistic terms	Sound work which expresses a coherent position only in broad terms and in uncritical conformity to one or more standard views of the topic	A simple basic style but with significant deficiencies in expression or format that may pose obstacles for the reader	Evidence of use of appropriate literature which goes beyond that referred to by the tutor. Frequently only uses a single source to support a point. Weak use of quotation
Fail	35 – 39%	Relevance to the requirements of the assessment may be very intermittent, and may be reduced to its vaguest and least challenging terms	A limited understanding of a narrow range of material	Largely descriptive or narrative, with little evidence of analysis	A basic argument is evident, but mainly supported by assertion and there may be a lack of clarity and coherence	Some evidence of a view starting to be formed but mainly derivative.	Numerous deficiencies in expression and presentation; the writer may achieve clarity (if at all) only by using a simplistic or repetitious style	Barely adequate use of literature. Over reliance on material provided by the tutor.
		The evidence provided shows that the majority of the learning outcomes and responsibilities appropriate to that Level are satisfied.
	30 – 34%	The work examined provides insufficient evidence of the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to the Level of the qualification. The evidence provided shows that some of the learning outcomes and responsibilities appropriate to that Level are satisfied. The work will be weak in some of the indicators.
	15-29%	The work examined is unacceptable and provides little evidence of the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to the Level of the qualification. The evidence shows that few of the learning outcomes and responsibilities appropriate to that Level are satisfied. The work will be weak in several of the indicators.
	0-14%	The work examined is unacceptable and provides almost no evidence of the knowledge, understanding and skills appropriate to the Level of the qualification. The evidence fails to show that any of the learning outcomes and responsibilities appropriate to that Level are satisfied. The work will be weak in the majority or all of the indicators.