development of a marketing communications

plan for the launch of a product/brand of your choice (ideally taken from any of the brands from your seminar group, including your own) in a country of your choice where the product/brand combination is not currently available i.e. it is possible that the brand may have a presence, but the particular chosen product is not available.(Nike,Heineken,Moet chandon, L’oreal)

You will need to conduct academic research to address the following task.
You should assume the role of a Marketing Assistant when writing the report.

The report should outline your responses to the following tasks:

1.    Identify the chosen product/brand and chosen country. Briefly justify your choice of country as a new market for your product/brand.

2.    Prepare a summary analysis of the campaign context for the chosen global product/brand, including a description of potential customers, competitors, market trends and a review of previous Marketing Communications activities in other countries where the brand/product is currently available. This analysis will provide the foundation for the development of the launch communications plan (question3).

3.    From the summary analysis you are required to develop part of the communications campaign for the launch of the product/brand. You must decide on your overall strategy – Global/glocal/local -and then your promotional objectives. Choosing only one promotional tool, how and why can you use this tool to reach your target customers and fulfill your objectives? Depending on the chosen promotional tool you may need to consider media, message, timing, reach and repetition etc. You do not need to undertake any actual design but you do need to use academic theory to support your ideas.

Word limit: 2000

NOTES:

1.    You are expected to write concisely.  Assume a word limit of 2,000 words (excluding appendices).

2.    You are not required to conduct any primary research

3.    You are expected to show a good level of reading and research.

4.    This is an individual assignment and students are not to collude.

5.    Assignments received after the submission time will be given a mark of zero as per University Policy

6.     The Turnitin plagiarism detection facility will be made available on the module Blackboard site for students to use to check their work. Students are not required to submit a Turnitin report.

Guidance

Most good international marketing management textbooks will contain useful material, but students are also expected to use a range of journal articles.

Students who do not use journal articles are unlikely to pass this assignment and will be penalized for providing an inadequate ‘depth of research’.

You are expected to relate your sources to the task given, and use examples from the seminar activities.

Specific Assessment Criteria for the final summative assignment

The specific assessment criteria to be used to establish the actual mark awarded for this assignment are as follows:

•    Presentation (professional format, maximum length 2,000 word, writing skills, correct referencing etc)                                     10%

•    Choice of country – supported justification of your choice                    10%

•    Campaign context: research into required elements. Clear and logical basis from which to progress to the next task                                40%

•    Marketing communications plan (Clear strategy and objectives. Logical choice of method of promotion chosen, appropriately discussed and supported.).                 40%

Students are required to submit their work in a basic report format – including a cover sheet, contents page and references list, appendix if required; heading and subheading as appropriate.  Excessive use of an appendix for material which should be included ion the body will be penalised.

Students writing in essay format will be penalised.

Important note about ARNA regulations

The regulations specify that students must complete every assessment component contributing to the modules on their programme.  This applies to all forms of assessment as defined in the module descriptor.  Please note that:

•    if any assessment component is not completed, students will be failed in the module even if the module pass mark has been achieved;
•    if the requirements for referral specified in section 5 of ARNA1 are met, a resit opportunity will be given;
•    if unable to complete an assessment component because of extenuating circumstances, students should follow the procedure described in the Student Guide to Extenuating Circumstances1.

This change was approved by Academic Board on 12 October 2009 in consultation with the Students’ Union.  Students should consult their Programme Leader or Guidance Tutor if they have any queries. Independent advice and support is also available from the Students’ Union Advice & Representation Centre ([email protected]) or from a student adviser in Student Services.

1ARNA and the Student Guide to Extenuating Circumstances Affecting Assessed Work are available from http://www.northumbria.ac.uk/sd/central/ar/lts/assess/assproc/assdocstud/

Word limits and penalties for assignments

If the assignment is within +10% of the stated word limit no penalty will apply.

The word count is to be declared on the front page of your assignment and the assignment cover sheet.  The word count does not include:

•    Title and Contents page    •    Reference list    •    Appendices    •    Appropriate tables, figures and illustrations
•    Glossary    •    Bibliography    •    Quotes from interviews and focus groups.

Please note, in text citations [e.g. (Smith, 2011)] and direct secondary quotations [e.g. “dib-dab nonsense analysis” (Smith, 2011 p.123)] are INCLUDED in the word count.

If this word count is falsified, students are reminded that under ARNA page 30 Section 3.4 this will be regarded as academic misconduct.

If the word limit of the full assignment exceeds the +10% limit, 10% of the mark provisionally awarded to the assignment will be deducted.  For example: if the assignment is worth 70 marks but is above the word limit by more than 10%, a penalty of 7 marks will be imposed, giving a final mark of 63.

Students are advised that they may be asked to submit an electronic version of their assignment.

Time limits and penalties for presentations

The time allocated for the presentation must be adhered to.  At the end of this time, the presentation will be stopped and will be marked based on what has been delivered within the time limit.

Submission of Assessment:

All assignments must be submitted via the Undergraduate Programme Office.  Each assignment must be accompanied by an Assessed Work Form which must be completed in full.  The assignment will not be accepted by the Undergraduate Programme Office unless the form is completed correctly.

Marked assignments will be returned to students.  It is advisable to retain a copy of your assignment for you own records.  Your mark will be returned on the Assessed Work Form via the Undergraduate Programme Office.

Referencing your work

The APA method of referencing uses the author’s name and the date of the publication. In-text citations give brief details of the work you are referring to in your text. References are listed at the end of the text in alphabetical order by the author’s name.  The general format of an electronic journal reference in the APA style is shown below:

Coutu, D. (2009). Why Teams Don’t Work. Harvard Business Review, 87(5), 98-105. Retrieved 29th April 2012 from EBSCO http://searchebscohost.com

Author/s name and initials are listed first, followed by year of publication in brackets.  Then there is the title of article and the journal where the article appears, which is in italics.  Then state the volume and issue number (in brackets) along with the pages where article can be located. Finally add the date the article was retrieved and then the name of the database, followed by the web address. Wherever possible use the homepage URL rather than the full and extended web address.

For further information on why it is important to reference accurately go to the Referencing and Plagiarism topic in Skills Plus available from the Library website:

www.northumbria.ac.uk/skillsplus

You will find other useful help guides on Skills Plus to help you with the skills involved in writing your assessments and preparing for exams.

For further information on the APA style of referencing see the Concise Rules of the APA Style and the APA website http://www.apastyle.org/

Plagiarism and Cheating

Your attention is drawn to the University’s stated position on plagiarism. THE WORK OF OTHERS, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN THE ASSIGNMENT MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO ITS SOURCE (a full bibliography and/or a list of references must be submitted as prescribed in the assessment brief).

Please note that this is intended to be an individual piece of work.  Action will be taken where a student is suspected of having cheated or engaged in any dishonest practice.  Students are referred to the University regulations on plagiarism and other forms of academic irregularity.  Students must not copy or collude with one another or present any information that they themselves have not generated.

For further information on Plagiarism, see the Referencing and Plagiarism topic on Skills Plus.
www.northumbria.ac.uk/skillsplus

Mapping to Programme Goals and Objectives:

This assessment will contribute directly to the following Undergraduate programme goals and objectives.

1. Knowledgeable about the theory and practice of international business and management
Objectives:
Students will be able to:

x    1.    Acquire knowledge of functional areas of business and management.
2.    Acquire knowledge of specialist areas of business.
x    3.    Apply their knowledge to business and management contexts.
4.    Conduct contemporary research into business and management.

2. Skilful in the use of professional and managerial techniques and processes
Objectives:
Students will be able to:

x    1.    Provide evidence of self reflection as a means of informing personal development planning.
x    2.    Demonstrate effective interpersonal communication skills and the ability to work in a team.
x    3.    Demonstrate critical thinking skills.
4.    Demonstrate problem solving skills.

3. Aware of ethical issues impacting on business and professional practice
Objectives:
Students will be able to:

1.    Identify an ethical dilemma in a business situation
2.    Suggest ethical solutions to this dilemma

4. Employable as graduates
Objectives:
Students will be able to:

x    1.    In the context of securing graduate employment demonstrate the skills of self presentation.

Assessment Criteria (NBS)

General Assessment Criteria

Trait    0 – 29    30 – 39    40 – 49    50 – 59    60 – 69    70 – 79    80 – 100
Knowledge and Understanding    Poor grasp of topic concepts or of awareness of what concepts are.    Minimal awareness of subject area.    Knowledge is adequate but limited and/or superficial.    Sound comprehension of topic.    Knowledge base is up-to-date and relevant, but also may be broad or deep.    Knowledge and understanding is comprehensive both as to breadth and depth.    Exceptional scholarship for subject.
Structure and Alignment    Failure to apply relevant skills.  Work is inarticulate and/or incomprehensible.    Communication of knowledge frequently inarticulate and/or irrelevant.    In the most part, description/ assertion rather than argument or logical reasoning is used.  Insufficient focus is evident in work presented.    Reasoning and argument are generally relevant but not necessarily extensive.  Awareness of concepts and critical appreciation are apparent, but the ability to conceptualise, and/or to apply theory is slightly limited.    Higher order critical appreciation skills are displayed.  A significant ability to apply theory, concepts, ideas and their inter-relationship is illustrated.    A mature ability to critically appreciate concepts and their inter-relationship is demonstrated.  Clear evidence of independent thought.  Presentation of work is fluent, focused and accurate.    Outstanding ability to apply, in the right measure, the skills necessary to achieve highly sophisticated and fluent challenges to received wisdom.

Module Specific Assessment Criteria

Trait    0 – 29    30 – 39    40 – 49    50 – 59    60 – 69    70 – 79    80 – 100
Knowledge and Understanding    Of very little value, content largely irrelevant or limited to isolated relevant points. Little evidence of understanding and incorporating the basics of marketing theory and concepts.    Some useful points but not a coherent working discussion Evidence of some understanding of the concepts and framework but not all tasks addressed to a satisfactory standard.  Some relevant issues omitted. Remedial work required.    The assignment provides some indication of some of the issues but provides little or no content beyond the bald listing of issues and/or a brief definition or explanation of terms. Weak understanding of the theories and application of such to practice A basic response to the tasks indicating insufficient preparatory work undertaken and    Evidence of understanding some of the theories and concepts although gaps in preparatory work are apparent by some inconsistencies or contradictions across tasks    Demonstrates a though grasp of the most important issues Evidence of a good appreciation and understanding of the theories and concepts. A varied source of additional material/sources used to enhance the work.     Demonstrate a clear understanding of the issues. Clear application of marketing models and theory. Work is of a high standard demonstrating a sound knowledge and understanding of the application of the theory and concepts to the tasks enhanced by evidence of a broad research base.    Clear understanding of the arguments. Excellent research and referencing skills. All elements addressed to an exceptional standard.  Evidence of a broad research base from a variety of sources reinforces overall knowledge and understanding of the issues
Structure and Alignment    Majority of work is irrelevant to the task. Weak in the preparation and presentation of the requirements of the tasks.      Presentation is often inaccurate Format, structure and presentation do not adhere to instructions.  Content in tasks may be lacking thus requiring further research and additional work to address the issues to a satisfactory standard.     . Lack of depth in research is evidenced by basic and weak application, and consistency, in addressing the tasks.   May be lacking in secondary sources and narrative in style    Research was useful if not comprehensive Narrative in style with little evidence of citations to enhance the content.  Some inconsistencies which suggest that knowledge and understanding have gaps. Some errors and omissions may be evident..    Good depth of research, Good range of examples applied. Style, format and presentation are appropriate indicating good planning and preparation of the tasks.  A few gaps may be apparent in the application and analysis of the theory but overall produced to a good standard    Impressive research leading to a clear analysis of the strategies involved. Attention to planning, preparation and presentation.  Referencing and good writing style enhances the consistency in application and analysis across the tasks. Logical and reasoned synthesis of ideas    Impressive amounts of theory, well synthesised to present detailed discussion. Professional in all aspects of planning, preparation and presentation.  . Seamless in all respects