MKT9209 Destination Marketing And Branding Assessment Briefing Template 2023-2024

Description of Assessment Task and Purpose: 

During term time (in small groups). you are required to select a destination of your choice (it is recommended you focus on a city, rather than a region). As a group, you are tasked with identifying and analyzing different ways technology is used by your destination to enhance the visitors’ experience. In week 14 (week commencing on the 29th of April 2024), as a group, you will deliver a presentation.

Based on the group's chosen destination, each student in the group will have to demonstrate one-way technology is used to improve the visitor’s experience relating this with a best practice. This analysis will form the basis for the summative assessment. 

The task

For your selected destination (can be the destination chosen with the rest of the group or a different destination), you are required to create an individual e-portfolio/web page.

Taking into account the DMO’s activities, the destination’s marketing objectives, the segment(s) that the DMO is targeting and the brand of the destination, you have to critically evaluate how technology has been embedded in the marketing activity and is used to enhance the visitors’ experience about best practices and provide suggestions for improvements. 

The evaluation of your destination must critically demonstrate how destinations use technology/technologies (technologies such as AR, VR, interactive apps, social media, etc.) to enhance visitors' experiences and relate these examples to your chosen destination. 

Learning Outcomes Assessed:

• LO1 To apply and evaluate strategic and operational destination marketing techniques and tools;
• LO2 To collect and critically analyze various sources of data to develop a destination marketing plan;
• LO3 To critically evaluate the different components of destination brands from a supply and demand side;
• LO4 To critically analyze real destination marketing cases by understanding the impacts new technologies have on the marketing of tourism destinations.

Knowledge & Skills Assessed: 

• Ability to critically evaluate current destination practices in light of academic and industry literature;
• Ability to critically evaluate current practices of a destination of student’s choice in light of academic and industry literature;
• Ability to critically evaluate current practices of a destination of student’s choice in light of the destination’s marketing objectives,     target markets, and branding;
• Ability to suggest improvements to the analyzed destination.

Additional Information for Completion of Assessment: 

• You are expected to analyze a wide range of technologies such as social media, apps, VR, AR, etc.
• You have to present best practices and explain why you believe they represent examples of effective usage of those technologies. Please note that you need to include more than one best practice: i.e. you are not only required to consider the best practice that you presented in class.
• You have to link your chosen destination to the best practices. This means that you have to assess the use of technologies in your chosen destination based on the presented best practices.
• To assess your chosen destination, you need to take into account the DMO activities, destination marketing objectives, the segment(s) that the DMO is targeting and the brand of the destination (analysis of the destination’s brand identity and positioning may be necessary).
• You have to highlight the suggestions for improvement for your chosen destination. When making suggestions make sure that you consider the marketing objectives set by the DMO and segment(s) that the DMO is targeting.
• You must support your analysis through the use of relevant industry and academic literature.
• You can include images and videos in your e-portfolio/webpage.