A1Guidance - Tagged (1).pdf

1. A1 GUIDANCE

2. A1 LEARNING OUTCOMES
1. Demonstrate the following knowledge and understanding:
Demonstrate a thorough understanding and broad knowledge of the function of
marketing communications tools in integrated brand communication programmes by
appreciating market segmentation and branding issues and by judging the effectiveness
and outcome of their applications in both analogue and digital media.
2. Demonstrate the following skills and abilities:
Analyse and critically evaluate strategies for managing reputation and demonstrate
how the success of PR activities might be assessed individually and in the context of an
overall marketing strategy.

3. ASSESSMENT 1
Individual written assignment (40%) – 2,500 words This will require you to
research and analyse four contemporary campaigns.
You will then be expected to construct a set of guidelines.
Testing;
Evidence based approach
Evaluate various comms techniques
Critical understanding of evaluation

4. ASSESSMENT 1 (& 2): TO GET A GOOD
GRADE
• You can use them to evaluate your own work and consider your grade before you submit.
• Your assignment is likely to pass with D or a C (42%-58%) if it is up 50% critical analysis with 50% or
more of the report devoted to description of the crises. You also need to do more than describe the
theories and models. You should use the theories and models as the basis of your critical analysis.
• Your assignment is likely to secure a higher mark (62%+) if it is principally focused on critical
analysis, especially if it uses more than one of the theories and models from the published literature
and/or discussed in class. There will only be limited description of the case studies, as necessary to
support the analysis. Your opinion should be made clear, but should also be grounded in the
theories and evidence.
• Your assignment is likely to secure a top level (Distinction, 72%+) mark if you not only apply several
theories and models to your critical analysis but also develop a synthetic evaluation drawing on the
strongest features of several models to arrive at a stronger, and closely-argued, conclusion.

5. THE TASK PART 1 (ANALYSIS)
• Outline how each of the four campaigns below work for the various brands;
• what they are communicating and how this reinforces the brand.
• Also consider for each of the four,:
• what the opportunities and challenges might be for extending this to a more
integrated approach across other media.
• You should include reference to appropriate academic theory or frameworks and
consider the impact on the brands from a reputational point of view (1,500 words /60%
of marks).

6. THE TASK PART 1 (ANALYSIS)
• The 4 marketing campaigns you should analyse:
• SodaStream Earth Day campaign
• A campaign by SodaStream using the sister of Facebook founder to reinforce the message; “Don't just share
show you care” by using less plastic
• Dove’s reverse selfie
Thoughtful build on the ‘real beauty’ campaign, looking at the pressure young girls experience through social
media https://youtu.be/z2T-Rh838GA
• Guinness
Welcoming back and helping out pubs with a £30m fund. We discussed this in class in session 1!
https://youtu.be/_8tmo-2cbKU
• Avatar of Prince; “the man he was destined to become”
Prince brought back to life virtually and imagines who he would have been at the age 30. The football prodigy is
turned into a player in the Fifa 21 game, signed to his former club, Queens Park Rangers, with sponsorships
from major brands including Adidas and JD Sports
https://youtu.be/S2ZXLHhFcts

7. THE TASK PART 1 (GUIDELINES)
• 2. Use your insights and learnings from the 4 campaigns above, to construct a set of
guidelines to inform similar brands in the future (1,000 words / 40% of marks) and this
should include:
• How to embed a purpose based approach to their product ethos, vision and service
• How to communicate this to audiences and stakeholders
• How to measure the desired consumer behaviour change with qualitative and
quantitative insights
• Outline your measures of success for these approaches

8. THRESHOLD EXPECTATIONS
• Demonstrate a coherent understanding of the main personal and
external influences on consumer buyer behaviour and how it impacts
marketing communications strategy.
• Evidence appropriate knowledge of positioning and branding
strategies.
• Be able to evaluate the alternative communication tools and to
identify the most appropriate in a given context.
• Indicate a critical understanding of the evaluation techniques
available and their suitability to measuring specific marketing
communications campaign objectives

9. FOR A ‘CRITICAL APPROACH’
• Use frameworks and theory
• POE, 4-stage model of integration
• DRIP (Differentiate, Reinforce, Inform and Persuade)
• CAN model
• Comms Theory
• SOSTAC
• Marketing plan and Campaign plan stages
• Consumer buying decisions / Cognitive Theory
• Others that you have researched
• Include definitions e.g. Integration, creativity
• Use Marketing terminology
• Check your glossary and other sources

10. REFERENCING
• Include citations (in text references)
• Include a full bibliography at the end in
Harvard format
• Harvard
• https://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/guides/a-guide-to-r
eferencing/journals
• Types of sources:
• Textbooks
• Practitioner articles
• Academic journal articles
• Videos etc.
• Guided learning materials
•

11. BEING CRITICAL
• Further research
• Focus on making your assignment critical
• Include academic journal articles
• Use the UoB online library
• http://library.beds.ac.uk/
• WARC database
• Limited use of Google
• https://lrweb.beds.ac.uk/business-studies/subjects2/
marketing-pr-and-advertising
/

12. USE THE HIGHER ORDER SKILLS

13. BEING CRITICAL
• Use the higher order skills of Bloom’s Taxonomy
• Communications skills classes
• Critical thinking resource in
• BREO/Assessment and Feedback
• FAQs on Discussion Board

14. SUBMISSION AND FEEDBACK
• Electronically to BREO
• Link in Assessment and Feedback
• Deadline
• Before 10am on the due date.
• Submit well before to avoid issues with
technology etc.
• Feedback
• Within three weeks

15. KEY DATES
Assessment support
- Further guidance including FAQ in Breo and Discussion Board
- Focused session
- Submission date A1 & A2
- Before 10am, Friday Week 3 & week 6

16. LAST THINGS
• Good luck
• Double check brief – tick off all the questions you have answered
• Proof read (twice; first for the critical response, second for the thread
/theme / flow)
• Do illustrate
• Do take care – make an effort