Choose a brand for a product or service that is sold in two countries, if appropriate both in your home country and in the UK. Produce the first part of a Marketing Communications Plan i.e. Context Analysis, for both countries i.e. two context analyses demonstrating the different contexts in which the brand is marketed. It is best done by presenting as a comparison so you note points of similarity and points of difference.

Assessment Brief

 

Assessment title:	AS1 Context Analysis
Weighting:	40%

 

Please read this assessment brief in its entirety before starting work on it.

 

The Assessment Task

 

Choose a brand for a product or service that is sold in two countries, if appropriate both in your home country and in the UK. Produce the first part of a Marketing Communications Plan i.e. Context Analysis, for both countries i.e. two context analyses demonstrating the different contexts in which the brand is marketed. It is best done by presenting as a comparison so you note points of similarity and points of difference.

 

Task:

Produce a Context Analysis which focuses on the respective Marketing Communications plans for the product/ service offered in both countries by your brand. Please write to the headings below and be aware of their weighting within the assessment rubric attached:

 

Customer Context (do not write about the brand or its Marketing communications here or sales. This is the respective target market only).

 

Business Context (what business/ industry is your chosen brand operation in and at what level? Here you need to produce a communications audit with the relevant direct, indirect and new entrants within your market level. There needs to be a strong awareness of the market level your chosen brand is operating within).

 

Internal Context

 

External Context

 

 

NB: Please include a list of references using Harvard referencing style, any details of primary research, and applications of models and frameworks. You can include up to 5 pages of appendices.

 

Learning Outcomes

The learning outcomes that are being assessed in this assessment are a, c:

Knowledge and Understanding

1. a) Analyse and assess the synergies to be gained from the effective integration of marketing communications tools and techniques.

 

1. b) Determine the organisational and strategic context in which international marketing (and corporate) communications are to be created and implemented, and assess the key strategic communications issues arising from this contextual analysis.

 

1. c) Understand and be able to evaluate the structure and content of an integrated marketing communications plan and its use in a strategic positioning context

 

Subject Specific Skills

1. d) Formulate and be able to critically evaluate international marketing communications strategies with particular regard to consumers, business-to-business markets, members of the marketing channel and wider internal and external stakeholder audiences.

 

1. e) Develop international marketing communications plans, based on the application of sound theoretical principles and on a knowledge of the key characteristics of the target audience.

 

1. f) Examine how far knowledge of perception, and attitude, levels of perceived risk and involvement can impact upon marketing and corporate communications.

 

1. g) Select, integrate and justify appropriate mixes of marketing communications tools needed to implement the marketing communications strategy.

 

1. h) Understand, synthesise and be able to apply appropriate measures to evaluate a marketing communications strategy.

 

Key Skills

1. i) Show skills of reasoning, critical thinking and evaluation, in carrying out work effectively and efficiently

 

1. j) Carry out applied research effectively and communicate information, ideas and viewpoints confidently and to a good academic standard in written and verbal form.

 

Your grade will depend on the extent to which you meet these learning outcomes in the way relevant for this assessment. Please see the grading rubric at the end of this assessment brief for further details of the criteria against which you will be assessed.

 

Word Limits

The maximum word limit for this assessment is 1600 words (excluding appendices)

 

 

Assessment Support

 

Assessment support is provided through online sessions and face-to-face. Formative feedback on Feasibility study (formative assessment) will provide a basis for refinement of the business idea and further improvement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

Unless this is a group assessment, the work you produce must be your own with work taken from any other source properly referenced and attributed. The University of Northampton policy will apply in all cases of copying, plagiarism or any other methods by which students have obtained (or attempted to obtain) an unfair advantage.

 

 

Please note that the penalties for copying work from another source without proper referencing are severe and can include failing the assessment, failing the module and expulsion from the university.

 

 

AS1  Context Analysis Rubric

 

Grade	A+   A    A-	B+   B     B-	C+   C    C-	F+    F     F-
Identification of main issues in  Customer context   30%	Concise and very informative discussion of the context with good application of theory.	A good discussion of the context, informative but not showing the understanding of ‘A’	Fairly informative discussion of the context.	Very basic discussion of the context.
Identification of main issues in  Business context   30%	Concise and very informative discussion of the context of the context with good application of theory.	A good discussion of the context, informative but not showing the understanding of ‘A’	Fairly informative discussion of the context.	Very basic discussion of the context.
Identification of main issues in Internal context   10%	Concise and very informative discussion of the context of the context with good application of theory.	A good discussion of the context, informative but not showing the understanding of ‘A’	Fairly informative discussion of the context.	Very basic discussion of the context.
Identification of main issues in external context   10%	Concise and very informative discussion of the context of the context with good application of theory.	A good discussion of the context, informative but not showing the understanding of ‘A’	Fairly informative discussion of the context.	Very basic discussion of the context.
Clear summary and overview of context analysis with identification of main differences and issues 20%	Detailed overview showing high level of understanding of the issues and their relevance to marketing communications planning.	Good overview showing reasonable level of understanding of the issues and their relevance to marketing communications planning.	Overview rather weak in places showing some level of understanding of the issues and their relevance to marketing communications planning.	Poor overview showing lack of understanding of the issues and their relevance to marketing communications planning.