Group Consultancy Exercise (75%)

The group consultancy exercise will be based around a live case study where the consultancy teams will act as consultants and be required to assess the appropriateness and extent of a digital engagement by a case company and to propose suitable digital marketing strategy in partnership with key stakeholders at the company.  The exercise will require consultancy teams to develop a management report which will involve the following:

• conduct primary and secondary research,
• understand and interpret the case context both internally within the specific case company and at the level of industry and market analysis,
• utilise Google analytics and/or other appropriate marketing technology (MarTech),
• propose evidence-based recommendations and examples of content and strategy that the case company can take forward with respect to a digital marketing strategy.

In groups participants will conduct a digital audit and create a digital strategy of a live project case with a particular focus on the various digital marketing elements and using an appropriate framework of analysis such as SOSTAC.

As part of the process, create a content strategy and create examples of this content for presentation to the client.  For Groups completing the assessment as part of their MSc the report should be word processed and no longer than 5,000 words.

Coursework 1 – BRIEF

a) The assignment may take the form of a word-processed group report

b) It will be a written word-processed report of not more than 5000 words.  Word count includes the title page, contents page, in-text references and citations and includes tables, although not the reference list and appendices.  The Teaching & Learning policy at Ulster suggests tables that are created by students and are the students work should be included in word count.

c) Detailed assessment guidance will be given on Day 1 and Day 3 to explore the SOSTAC elements for the case company and be made available in your Blackboard Module Assessment Folder.

d) This element of coursework accounts for 75% of the overall assessment with an individual element contained within. Students should refer to the marking criteria attached to provide them with fuller details of marking criteria for each classification band.

e) Completed assignments must be submitted in Word or PDF format via your Blackboard Module Area by the specified date and time outlined in the Summary Assessment Information table above.

f) All submitted assignments should have the file name:

i) Group [insert your number] MKT741 (47606) Strategic and Applied Digital Marketing

g) View additional ‘Standard Assessment Guidance,’ for further guidance applicable to all coursework elements.

Coursework 1 – FEEDBACK

Written feedback on the assessment will be provided via Blackboard on 20 working days post submission date (via Blackboard Ultra).

Coursework 1 – ASSESSMENT RUBRIC/MARKING PROFORMA

To aid student understanding, it is advisable to explain the rubric/marking proforma to your students in an assessment preparation session.

Assessment Criteria – Qualitative Based Work:  Group Report – Level 7   

Coursework 2

Individual Reflection (25%)

Create a 5 minute podcast reflecting on the project experience and highlighting the major new knowledge which has been acquired in the process of carrying out the project. Use academic citations and current research and data to enhance the communication. Submit the podcast via an online portfolio along with a list of references used in the podcast – simply weave these references within the podcast.

Coursework 2 – BRIEF

a) The assignment will take the form of an individual 5 Minute Podcast Reflection Integrating New Digital Marketing Knowledge of Strategic and Applied Digital Marketing;

h) The finished podcast and required documentation (see appendix 2) and show notes (see template in appendix 3) must be submitted via the online submission area in the assessment folder on Blackboard.

i) Detailed assessment guidance will be made available in your Blackboard Module Assessment Folder.

j) Completed assignments must be submitted in Panopto format via your Blackboard Module Area by the specified date and time outlined in the Summary Assessment Information table above.

k) All submitted assignments should have the file name:

i) “SurnameFirstNameBNumber”

ii) e.g. Brown_John_B00001234_AssignmentTwo.

Coursework 2 – FEEDBACK

Written feedback on the assessment will be provided via Blackboard 20 working days post submission date.

Coursework 2 – ASSESSMENT RUBRIC/MARKING PROFORMA

To aid student understanding, it is advisable to explain the rubric/marking proforma to your students in an assessment preparation session.  Assessment Criteria – Qualitative Based Work:  Podcast Presentation – Level 7   

 

5. Learning Resources

A list of current learning resources specifically chosen to build your knowledge and understanding for this module

Reading List  Also available online via Key Links: https://ulster.keylinks.org/#/

Books/Journal Article/Publications Required Reading (Must read)

Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, E. (2022) Digital Marketing: Strategy, Implementation and Practice, Pearson, 8th edition.   Chaffey, D. and Smith, P. R. (2023) Digital Marketing Excellence: Planning, Optimizing and Integrating Online Marketing.  6th ed. London: Routledge.   Smith, P.R. (2021) The SOSTAC Guide to Your Perfect Digital Marketing Plan 2021. PR Smith.

Books/Journal Article/Publications Recommended Reading (Should read/Could read)

Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods.  Further Education Unit. Huang, M., & Rust, R. (2020) A strategic framework for artificial intelligence in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49, 30-50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-020-00749-9. Kolb, D.A. (2015) Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. 2nd edn. New Jersey: Pearson Education. Parker, G, Van Alstyne, M, Choudary, S (2016) Platform Revolution: How Networked Markets are Transforming the Economy and How to Make Them Work for You, norton & company, New York.   Porter, M.E. (2008) The Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy In: Harvard Business Review. HBR’s 10 Must Reads On Strategy. Boston, Harvard Business Review Press.  pp 1-37.   Ryan, D., (2016) Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation. Kogan Page Publishers.   Saura, J., Palacios-Marqués, D., and Ribeiro-Soriano, D. (2021) Digital marketing in SMEs via data-driven strategies: Reviewing the current state of research. Journal of Small Business Management, 61, 1278 – 1313. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2021.1955127. Slijepčević, M., Radojevic, I., & Perić, N. (2020) Considering modern trends in digital marketing. Marketing Science, 51, 34-42. https://doi.org/10.5937/markt2001034s. Tuten, T.L. and Solomon, M.R. (2017) Social media marketing. Sage. Ziakis, C., & Vlachopoulou, M. (2023) Artificial Intelligence in Digital Marketing: Insights from a Comprehensive Review. Information. https://doi.org/10.3390/info14120664.

Useful Journals

Beckers, S.F., van Doorn, J. and Verhoef, P.C. (2017) Good, better, engaged? The effect of company-initiated customer engagement behavior on shareholder value. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, pp.1-18.   Carter, E.V. and Parameswaran, R. (2012), The Digital Market-sphere (DMS): Modelling Virtual Transactions and Transvections, Marketing Management Journal, Spring, 2012, 122-158   Confos, N. and Davis, T. (2016) Young consumer-brand relationship building potential using digital marketing. European Journal of Marketing.   Hendrix, P.E. (2015), How Digital technologies are enabling consumers and transforming the practice of marketing, Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 22(2), 149-150  Ibrahim, N.F., Wang, X. and Bourne, H. (2017). Exploring the effect of user engagement in online brand communities: Evidence from Twitter. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, pp.321-338.   Ieva, M., De Canio, F. and Ziliani, C. (2018) Daily deal shoppers: What drives social couponing?. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 40, pp.299-303.   Kannan, P.K. (2017) Digital marketing: A framework, review and research agenda. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 34(1), pp.22-45.   Vernette, E. and Hambi-Kidar, L. (2013), Co-creation with consumers: who has the competence and wants to cooperate, International Journal of Market Research, 55(4), 2-20   Verhoef, P.C., Kannan, P.K. and Inman, J.J. (2015) From multi-channel retailing to omni-channel retailing: introduction to the special issue on multi-channel retailing. Journal of retailing, 91(2), pp.174-181.   Vieira, V.A., de Almeida, M.I.S., Agnihotri, R. and Arunachalam, S. (2019) In pursuit of an effective B2B digital marketing strategy in an emerging market. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 47(6), pp.1085-1108.   Webster, F.E. and Lusch, R.F. (2013), Elevating Marketing: marketing is dead! Long live Marketing!, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41, 389-399

Useful Library Databases and Websites