C10DM Coursework Brief 21-22 RC V 2022020223
1
C10DM Coursework 2021-22
Section 1 Assessment Overview
Coursework Business report that addresses the brief set out in Section 2 below. This is
an individual piece of work that gives you experience of content planning.
You should include this experience in your CV and Linked In profile. Content
planning involves designing and planning messages that will engage
strategically important customers.
Word Count
and Page
Limit
Report (2,500 words MAX) INCLUDING everything in the report and
appendices but excluding the title page and reference list at the end.
Required
Format
Paper size A4.
Font: Times New Roman 12 point size. Single spacing.
Page margins: 2.54cm Top, Bottom, Left and Right.
Your work must use the headings set out in Table 1.
There is no need to provide an introduction or a contents page to the
business report.
Contribution
to final grade
50% or a maximum of 5 marks to your final overall degree grade (unless
you had a year abroad)
Submission
Date:
Deadline is Wk 8, Tuesday 1
st March 4pm– all submissions after this time
and date will be late.
According to the university policy there are no extensions permitted but
students who submit late due to mitigating circumstances should complete
the online form at https://bit.ly/3o45E46
Submissions more than 5 working days late will not be marked. C10DM Coursework Brief 21-22 RC V 2022020223
THIS IS NOT A LAST MINUTE ”WORK ALL NIGHT” PIECE OF WORK.
Submission
Process
To be uploaded as a single document via Canvas. There is no hard copy
hand in. On the title page please put the course code C10DM, your campus
location, your matric number and/or your name and the word count
Feedback
Process
Your work will be graded according to the grading scheme at the end
of the brief
Feedback and your grade will posted on Canvas Wk11 Wednesday 23rd
March at 0930.
Additional
Help
Check the Discussion Board on CANVAS/Assessments/Course Brief and
Guidance.
You have a range of ways of accessing your course co-ordinator – see the
course booklet and CANVAS/Staff Information for virtual office hours.
Remember that we teach a range of courses not just C10DM so please be
realistic in your expectations of the interval between question and reply and
bear in mind that we are not working 24/7.
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This assignment is not an academic essay but it still requires you to: show an understanding
of digital marketing theory, be able to justify your suggestions through citation, and engage in
critical discussion of the pros and cons of the recommendations you are making (again using
citation of journal readings). In addition, you also being tested on your skills in data handling
(through adherence to word count) and presentation (through use of tables and figures).
You are expected to locate and read at least 10 academic journal articles in addition to
accessing practitioner reports and a range of social media pages and websites; all of which
should be listed in the reference section using Harvard referencing. The content (lectures and
reading) being assessed in the coursework are Topic 1 Digital Communication. Please see
the resources on CANVAS for these topics.
Section 2 Coursework Brief
The Watt Club is the Alumni association of Heriot-Watt University, and is understood to be
one of the oldest of its kind in the UK. A key challenge faced by the Watt Club is maximising
the number of newly graduated Heriot-Watt students who ‘opt-in’ to receive Watt Club
communications (opt-in is required by GDPR). The Watt Club management team have set the
following objective:
You have been asked to design a social media content plan that creates engagement amongst
current students and the Watt Club. The Watt Club has specified that they intend to post
content on Instagram.
The Watt Club team are keen to learn how digital marketing theory can help them improve
their communications opt-in rate to enable alumni to fully benefit from the Watt Club
community. C10DM Coursework Brief 21-22 RC V 2022020223
For more background, please view the recorded guest lecture on
Canvas/Assessments/Coursework Brief and Guidance.
IMPORTANT CONSTRAINTS: Do not contact the client organisation or any other
organisation directly in connection with this project– if you do such activity it will lose you
marks! Do not conduct any student surveys or other primary research (to keep your workload
manageable).
1. Increase the Watt Club opt-in rate of current students upon their graduation, from 52% to
65%*.
3
Please post any questions on the discussion board on
CANVAS/Assessments/Coursework Brief and Guidance or if you prefer you can e-mail
your course co-ordinator.
Table 1: REPORT FORMAT
SECTION
You must use these headings but can add your own sub-headings
Guide Only
TITLE PAGE with the course code C10DM, your campus location, your matric number
and/or name and the word count. Two marks will be deducted if the required format
is not followed.
Not
included in
word
count
1. Persona Development (30 marks)
Develop an appropriate persona for your target posts, and critically discuss the
choices you made when developing the persona, drawing upon Topic 1 Lecture 3.
675
2. Message Focus (20)
Critically discuss the rationale for the message appeal choices covered in Topic 1
Lecture 3 made in your example post, relating these decisions to the developed
persona and the Watt Clubs selected channel. Ensure the message appeal works to
support the Watt Club objective.
525
3. Application of Social Impact Theory (25 Marks)
Critically assess how you have used Social Impact Theory covered in Topic 1, Lecture
2 to decide the most appropriate message source, message immediacy, and message
numbers.
675
4. Example Post (x2) (20 Marks)
Provide examples of social media posts you will use and show how these are based
on your discussion in section 1, 2 and 3. You can create your own posts or locate
examples from another campaign and explain how it matches your intended strategy.
Two example posts should be included, for the channel being used.
425
5. References (5 Marks)
Provide 10 appropriate academic references as a minimum that are used clearly and
appropriately in the report using Harvard in-text referencing. References should be
listed in alphabetical order. No Bibliography is required. Make sure you show that
you have engaged in course reading. Independent research can be demonstrated
by using Google Scholar and the Library Discovery tool to identify appropriate
literature. C10DM Coursework Brief 21-22 RC V 2022020223
Not
included in
word count
6. Appendices
You can put figures and graphs in the appendices but do not put in endless
screenshots or full print-outs of reports. It is good practice to refer to your appendix in
the main report.
200
Table 2. Assessment Rubric
CRITERIA Possible
Marks
4
Structure Spelling and Grammar: You were instructed to follow the report
format outlined in the assessment brief, within word count of 2,500 MAX. There is
no need to provide a content page to the business report. We will deduct one
mark if not followed.
0
1. Persona Development: You were asked to develop an appropriate persona
in response to the brief. This required you to both develop the persona, and
critically discuss the choices made in its development, drawing upon Topic
1 Lecture 3.
30
2. Message Focus: You were asked to critically discuss the rationale for the
message focus and choices you made in relation to your example posts.
This required you to relate to relevant message appeal literature, and to link
your choices to the needs of the persona developed in response to the Watt
Clubs objective.
20
3. Application of Social Impact Theory: You were asked to critically evaluate
how social impact theory covered in Topic 1, Lecture 2 might be used to
decide the most appropriate message source, message immediacy and
message numbers. This required you to apply SIT theory to the proposed
example posts and provide support for how the plan meets the needs of the
persona/target audience. Critical evaluation could mention debates in the
literature about how source numbers cease to impact at a certain point etc..
There was scope here to highlight the limitations of the theory i.e it does not
cover motivation or message content. However, the main focus of the
answer should be a critical evaluation of how it can be applied. There was
scope to cite industry sources and academic literature to back up your
decisions and also the decisions should be linked to the persona/plan in
Section 1.
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25
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4. Example Post (x2): You were asked to provide two examples of social
media posts you will use and show how these are based on your discussion
in sections 1, 2 and 3. You needed to explain how the posts align with the
prior critical discussion, including the persona needs, message appeal and
also how the post draws on SIT. There was the option of creating your own
posts or locating example posts from another campaign and explaining how
it matches your intended strategy (both would show creativity in thinking).
When designing the post there would be trade-offs (i.e. why a particular
image, appeal, message was selected and what was rejected based on the
earlier discussion). C10DM Coursework Brief 21-22 RC V 2022020223
20
5. References:
Provide 10 appropriate references as a minimum that are used clearly and
appropriately in the report using Harvard in-text referencing. References
should be listed in alphabetical order. No Bibliography is required. Make
sure you show that you have engaged in course reading. Higher marks may
be achieved by using Google Scholar and the Library Discovery tool to
show you can meaningfully move beyond set sources.
5
6. Appendices:
You can put figures and graphs in the appendices but do not put in endless
screenshots or full print-outs of reports. It is good practice to refer to your
appendix in the main report. Please note that appendices are included in
the overall word count!
0
Table 3. CRITERIA FOR AWARDING GRADES
Grade Content/
Criticality
Relevance
and accuracy
Citation –
use of academic
sources
Citation –
use of industry
examples
Structure,
spelling and
grammar
80-
100
Outstanding
answer that shows
detailed knowledge
of content.
Will take a critical
approach and
present a
sophisticated
argument.
Fully
addresses the
question and
100% accurate
Outstanding and
accurate use of
appropriate citation to
support claims.
Extensive evidence of
students independent
research
Excellent evidence of
independent research
into industry practice
Accurate and
appropriate application
to question
Error free.
Very well
structured.
70-79 Excellent
knowledge of
content.
A critical approach
is taken and a good
Fully
addresses the
question but
not as
comprehensive
as 80+ answer.
Excellent and accurate
use of appropriate
citation to support
claims
Very Good evidence of
independent research
into industry practice
Accurate and
appropriate application
to question
One or two
minor errors
Well-structured
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argument is
presented.
Some but not extensive
evidence of students
independent research
60-69 Good knowledge.
A critical approach
is taken and some
argument is
presented but fails
to fully develop
debate.
Address the
question but
some very
small gaps in
information
presented.
Supports claims by
reference to relevant
literature but could show
a deeper knowledge of
source material.
Limited evidence of
independent research
Good evidence of
independent research
into industry practice
Good but limited
application to question
Several (3-5)
minor errors
Some problems
with structure
50-59 Solid attempt at
answer showing fair
knowledge
Tendency to
description but
work is accurate.
Broadly
addresses
question and
there are some
gaps in
information
Tendency to make
claims without adequate
citation and some
inaccuracy and
inappropriate sources
Very limited evidence of
independent research
Solid evidence of
independent research
into industry practice
Solid but descriptive
application to question
Widespread
(5+) minor
errors.
Loose structure
– Relationships
between
statements are
hard to follow in
places
40-49 Basic knowledge
with clear gaps in
understanding
Tendency to
reproduce and
describe.
Does not fully
address the
question and
several
sections are
inaccurate
Makes poor use of
citation and widespread
inaccuracy. References
from inappropriate
sources. No evidence of
independent research
Basic evidence of
independent research
into industry practice
Basic and descriptive
application to question
Several errors –
and one or two
major
Weak structure
– lacks a clear
framework
35-39 Poor but some
knowledge
Widespread
reproduction and
description
Limited attempt
to answer the
question with
widespread
inaccuracy
Limited use of citation
(3-5 cites) and
widespread
inaccuracy/irrelevance.
No evidence of
independent research
Limited evidence of
independent research
into industry practice
Poor application to
question
Widespread
errors
Very weak
structure –
statements tend
to repetition
0-34 Very poor or no
knowledge
No attempt at
critical discussion
Content is only
loosely
associated with
the question.
Very limited or no use of
citation and widespread
inaccuracy/irrelevance.
No evidence of
independent research
No evidence of
independent research
into industry practice
No attempt to link
content to practice in
answer
Widespread
errors
No apparent
structure to
argument
Section 3 Last year’s feedback to class.
• Make sure that you read and follow questions carefully. Some reports omitted
sections and did not maintain relevance to the brief context throughout.
• Make sure you understand how marks are allocated to each section. Focus your
efforts on the sections that have the most marks and definitely make sure you complete
those sections!
• Be careful when you use any example answers placed on CANVAS that you do
not deviate from the question. We do not set exactly the same question each year.
• Do make sure that you demonstrate evidence you have engaged with and
understand the course content. Make sure you use the lecture slides/textbooks and
reading list before going off to do your own literature search. The reading list provided
in this module is extensive and readings are chosen each year to help with the
coursework brief. Students who did engage with this reading found content that
allowed them to answer questions fully.
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• Remember what you learned in your second/third year marketing modules i.e.
second year marketing modules introduced you to segmentation and targeting.
Remember to use these concepts in your marketing course assignments.
• Always proofread and check the logical flow of your work. In this coursework it is
important to pay particular attention to how different sections link together. Weaker
essays tend to treat each section as a separate question and did not think about the
overall argument that was being presented.
• Ensure you stick to word count: After max word limit, we will stop marking as it is
not fair on other students. It is quite clear to those marking if they are taking longer to
read one assignment compared to the other so do not be tempted to misrepresent the
word count. We have set a limit to avoid students being sucked into doing this work to
the detriment of the dissertation (it is not meant to be a huge report). Please do not
overuse tables.
• Ensure that you are not wasting word count due to your writing style. Visit this
online resource http://writetodone.com/trouble-sticking-to-your-word-count-try-theseediting-tricks/ Equally if your work is coming in way under the word count check to see
if you are fully addressing the question and backing up your points with illustration,
supporting and counter evidence.
• Do not make this into an escape from the dissertation. This is NOT designed to
be a complex assignment. If you are finding it confusing, please contact the course
co-ordinator. It is interesting work to do and nicely structured meaning that students
want to work on this coursework rather than their big monster of a dissertation.
Remember this coursework is only worth a max 5 marks to your final degree grade
and that the difference between 70% and 50% is 1 mark to your final degree! However
your dissertation is worth 20 marks (a difference between 70% and 50% of 4 marks).
DO YOUR DISSERTATION PEOPLE! NB: In EBS the overall degree classification is
based 20% on the average of 4 best grades from third year, 20% from the dissertation
mark and 10% for each the 6 x Yr 4 courses.
*Watt Club Figures are Indicative for Assessment Purposes. C10DM Coursework Brief 21-22 RC V 2022020223
