MG5625 Strategic Digital Marketing Coursework Brief for 2026 | Brunel University

MG 5625 Strategic Digital Marketing Coursework Brief for 2025/26

Main Objective of the assessment

This Modular Block provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate: knowledge and understanding (K); cognitive (thinking) skills (C); and other skills and attributes (S) in the following areas:

1.To demonstrate an advanced knowledge and understanding of the key components, theories, practices and strategies of contemporary digital marketing (K)
2.To exhibit a sophisticated analytical knowledge and understanding of the role of digital marketing within the marketing management process from both a strategic and operational perspective (K).
3.To be able to proficiently analyse, evaluate and apply digital marketing practices, strategies and theories and resolve issues and challenges to a range of contemporary business scenarios within the field of digital marketing and the broader sphere of marketing and brand management (C).
4.To critically evaluate the different methods and strategies of attracting and retaining online customers (C).
5.To demonstrate high level presentation and written communication skills (S)

Description of the Assessment

You have been approached by one of the following companies – 

1.REFY - Refy Beauty is a UK-based cosmetic brand founded by influencer Jess Hunt. The company focuses on minimalist, high-performance makeup designed to enhance natural beauty, with its innovative brow products and cream-based formulas gaining significant popularity for their clean, modern aesthetic.

2.Grind – Grind is a London-founded coffee brand and café chain that emphasizes sustainability and contemporary design. It offers ethically sourced coffee through its cafes and home products, including compostable pods, aiming to combine quality coffee with environmental responsibility.

3.IM8 – IM8 is a wellness supplement brand co-founded by David Beckham that offers a scientifically formulated, all-in-one nutrition product. Its flagship product, “Daily Ultimate Essentials,” combines 92 nutrient-rich ingredients into a single powder drink, and is third-party tested and NSF Certified for Sport to ensure safety and transparency.

Your task is to select one of the above brands and evaluate their existing strategy in relation to their digital marketing. Your task is to not only describe their current approach but importantly to critically discuss its strengths and weaknesses and, on these bases, suggest and justify improvements that a particular company can undertake in the future. You will need to use analytics and marketing tools (Semrush, Similarweb, academic research etc.,) to examine the brand’s approach, its potential effectiveness and to produce relevant recommendations.

In essence, the coursework will consist of three main parts. In the first part, you need to map out the marketplace in which the company operates and profile its main customer segment. The second part is concerned with evaluating the product-market fit. Lastly, in the third part, you will examine how the company is communicating its value proposition to the market (i.e., what marketing communication strategy it uses and how well it is being executed. Importantly, you will have to link these three parts into a meaningful report and ensure that your analysis and recommendations are communicated effectively and succinctly so it is digestible for the general management (Seminar sessions will show you how to produce such a report).

Please be aware that you are not allowed to collect any primary data for producing this report.

Report format

CBASS coversheet

Link to coversheet available in Submission instructions section below

Table of Contents (not included in word count)

Provide headings/sub-headings along with corresponding page numbers

Executive Summary (not included in word count)

Provide a concise and succinct executive summary (i.e. abstract) of the report main key findings, constructive critical arguments and recommendations. Please focus on sections 2-5 to write this (max: 1 page).

1. Introduction

Briefly introduce your chosen organisation in regards to their use and application of digital marketing strategies and channels. E.g. what digital tools have they used to engage with their existing customers. You should also highlight a brief explanation of what the three sections of your report will be focusing on (i.e. marketplace analysis and consumer behaviour, product-market fit and digital marketing communications strategy.

2. Marketplace Analysis and Consumer Behaviour

Based on your secondary research, present  a thorough and robust analysis of the marketplace in which the brand operates /intends to operate. In this section, macro and micro environmental analysis using relevant theoretical framework such as PESTEL, competitor analysis, perceptual map etc. are required to provide critical perspectives and arguments. Excellent understanding and profiling of the target audience using segmentation criteria should also be presented alongside a comprehensive presentation of customer persona profile (Note: customer persona should be presented using infographics and/or tables etc. to capture the essence of their target customers).

3. Product- Market Fit 

Following from section2, you are now required to analyse your chosen brands business growth strategy and identify the product-market fit using relevant theoretical frameworks. For example, Ansoff matrix to identify the brands product offering in the marketplace. In addition, you can also use VRIO analysis to examine their various internal resources and capabilities in order to see if those resources can provide a sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, you are also required to identify the various facets of your chosen brands’ business model and its digital value proposition. Business model canvas should be used to capture the key digital value proposition of their product offering in the marketplace. 

4. Digital Marketing Communications Strategy and Recommendations

In this section, you have to present a robust and comprehensive analysis of the brand’s digital marketing strategy. For instance, their use of various digital marketing channels and its implications on achieving their desired marketing result. You will need to use analytics and marketing tools (Semrush, Similarweb etc.,) to examine the brand’s approach and its potential effectiveness. For example, various digital channels and tools such as search engine optimisation, pay-per-click, website, google analytics, social media marketing etc. can be used to facilitate and support your findings. Moreover, based on your critical analysis (section 2-4), provide a commercially feasible recommendations for your chosen brand’s digital marketing strategies, justified using relevant statistics/references and through the identification and excellent understanding of digital analytics and marketing tools.

5. Conclusion

Provide brief conclusive remarks (you may combine this with section 4, if you wish)

6. References List (not included in word count) 

(Bibliography -  list all sources used in the report, following the Harvard Referencing style)

Appendix 

(Optional – only include supplementary, succinct material – strictly NOT to be used as an alternative location for work that should appear in main text)

Please read the marking scheme (in this document) carefully to understand how your report will be marked. 

Notes:

1.These major components should all be included. You can customise /adapt the subheadings within sections (especially sections 2 to 4) to suit your individual needs, but the structure should follow. 
2.You should draw upon your personal research done at the library, through the Internet and the recommended readings and materials covered throughout the module. Please reference carefully all your research sources. Failure to do so may result in plagiarism. Whenever quoting other people’s work, you need to use the accepted form of referencing both in-text and in the reference list (Harvard style). 
3.You are asked to use only secondary research for this assignment. When presenting your arguments, you may use images, infographics, data tables, digital advertisement examples, screenshots of pictures, videos etc. as you see fit (Note: screenshots of customer persona, business model canvas, theory model adaptation, data tables will be allowed; description or textual information cannot be screenshot to reduce the word count)
4.Please adopt a critical but constructive view supported by factual information.
5.The coursework should be presented in report format, not as an essay. You are allowed to include reasonable amount of supporting material in an appendix.
6.The reference material used to refer to the company and the market should be recent (ideally in the last 3 years). For this coursework, “academic literature” should be from sources similar to those in the reading list and the end-of-chapter references lists in the textbook, mostly books and journals. The publication year of the academic literature references is not restricted but must be reasonable and appropriate. 

Coursework length

You need to adhere to the word count limit of 3,000 words ( ± 10%)

Prior to submitting, when declaring your word count on the Wiseflow coversheet, please ensure you have considered the following carefully:

• Sections included in the maximum word count: Sections 1 to 5 above (i.e., from Introduction to Conclusion). 
• Sections excluded from the maximum word count: Coursework e-coversheet, table of contents, executive summary, reference list, and appendix (if applicable). 

Submission Instructions

Coursework must be submitted electronically via the University’s WISEflow system. The required file format for this report is Adobe PDF. Your student ID number must be used as the file name (e.g. 0123456.pdf).  You must ensure that you upload your file in the correct format and complete the Wiseflow coversheet before submitting your assignment. 

Please note that submissions of ‘.pages / .docx etc’ documents will not be accepted and must be converted to the approved format.

Marking Criteria are as follows: