MART333 Creative Marketing Communication Assessment 1 Sem 1 2026 | University of Otago

MART333 Creative Marketing Communication Assessment 1

Overview 

This assessment highlights the importance of storytelling in creative marketing. It is designed to develop your ability to craft compelling narratives across both written and visual media. You will gain hands-on experience in shaping a story using images, analysing audience feedback, and refining your work through iteration - core capabilities in the creative industries.

Objective 

Create a short narrative and bring it to life through photography. Use your visual storytelling skills to communicate a clear, emotionally engaging story without relying on text. Evaluate and refine.

Assessment Components 

Part 1: Write a Short Story (200 words) - 30% 

• Craft a concise, emotionally resonant story.
• Ensure the narrative can be effectively visualised using original photographs.
• Focus on a clear story arc: setup → conflict/challenge → resolution.
• Your story must fall within 180–220 words. Submissions outside this range will receive a 5-point deduction.

Part 2: Visualise the Story with 3 Original Photographs - 40% 

Take 3 original photographs that visually communicate the key narrative stages. 
Photos must be taken in landscape format; NOTE: vertical format photos will incur an automatic 10-point mark deduction.
At a minimum, your photos must clearly represent:

• Photo 1 – Setup 
• Photo 2 – Conflict/Challenge 
• Photo 3 – Resolution/Transformation 

Your images must clearly convey a story progression without the need for captions or accompanying text.

Apply appropriate visual techniques:

• Shot framing (wide, medium, close-up)
• Camera angles and composition
• Lighting, gesture, and facial expression

Your main character should be relatable and evoke emotional engagement using appropriate photography techniques covered in the course.

Part 3: Evaluate & Refine Your Written and Visual Story - 30% 

Conduct a peer evaluation using a method of your choice (e.g. short survey, interviews, or a focus group). 
You must gather feedback from at least 6 participants. Focus on collecting feedback related to: 

• Narrative clarity
• Emotional impact
• Overall coherence of both your written and photographic story
• Suggestions for improvement

Important: Begin your evaluation by showing participants your photo story only - without any explanation or context. Ask: 

• What do you think is happening in the story?
• What works well?
• What’s unclear or confusing?
• How could the story be improved visually? 

Only after this initial discussion, provide your written story and repeat the process:

• What works, what does not, what changes would strengthen it?

Use these insights to revise and refine both your written and visual story.
Submit both the original and revised photo story versions, clearly labelled as “before” and “after”.
Note: You do not need to submit before-and-after versions of your written story.
Include a summary outlining key themes identified and any changes made based on feedback.
Keep your evaluation to a maximum of one page, using 12-point font, single-spaced. You’re welcome to present your evaluation as bullet points rather than in full essay format.  

Submission Format 

Submit to Blackboard as one combined PDF or Word document with the following sections clearly labelled:

• Part 0: Individual Assessment Cover Sheet 
• Part 1: Final Written Story (200 words)
• Part 2: Final Photo Story (3 photos) (Label each photo: Photo 1: Setup, Photo 2: Conflict/challenge, Photo 3: Resolution)
• Part 3: Written evaluation (max 1 page) plus the Before/After Photo Versions clearly labelled