BM6603 Marketing Communications, Individual Assignment, Kingstone University

Assignment Task

You will develop a 7- slides maximum strategic marketing communications plan, for a brand within a given market category of a specific Live Brief (client presentation TBC)

Background/Context

You will develop a 7-slides max strategic marketing communications plan for a brand within a given market category of a specific Live Brief (client presentation TBC)

Students will form a ‘category working’ group for assignment formative in-class tasks/ activities purposes, of 5 students maximum: categories ill be identified and allocated in class based on the Live Brief from the client.

To get you started, in your ‘working group’, you will conduct a preliminary analysis of your market category and present this in class during Session 3 (see Briefing for the Market Intelligence Gathering Exercise below).

The task

You will develop a 7- slides (maximum) strategic marketing communications plan that takes into account the prevailing conditions in the market sector in which your ‘live brief brand’ operates, its competitors, consumer and customer trends, the current challenges it faces, the potential to identify new target audiences and if there is a need for re-positioning.

Specifically, your plan should address:

• Context analysis: Source and synthesise appropriate secondary research to provide a context analysis that demonstrates understanding of the market sector in which the chosen brand operates and the current situation and problem it faces.
• Objectives: In the light of context analysis, set appropriate SMART communications objectives.
• Strategy: Drawing on appropriate marketing communications theory, develop a strategic communications direction for your brand, i.e. identify target audience(s), brand positioning, creative strategy, media strategy.
• Tactics: Determine an appropriate marketing communications mix, including tools and media, to achieve your specified objectives and reach your target audience(s). You should include some consideration of an outline budget and evaluation metrics.
• Professional document: Structure the plan professionally and coherently.
• Appropriate academic and industry references, in accurate Harvard style provided with references on additional slides.
  The Placemat
• The assessment is in a particular form, called Placemat slides. These are composed using PowerPoint software but are not designed to be presented to an audience, but rather talked through with colleagues e.g. imagine that you are sitting opposite a client or a line manager in a business and explaining your way through the slides.
• The aim of Placemat slides is to allow you to explain complex concepts and situations very quickly and
  clearly, using all the graphics and formatting capabilities available easily in PowerPoint, including routing the reader through the material. The Placemat approach is used very commonly in organisations, though it may not be called a Placemat. Templates and examples of Placemat slides which achieved distinction grades will be posted on Canvas