MK1006 Advertising and Marketing Communications

Your task is to evaluate a ‘new’ medium of your choice in the context of food and/or drinks marketing. This can be the internet, social networks or mobile phone media – please select one medium only.

For your chosen medium:

(a) Discuss its strengths and weaknesses for sending marketing messages about food and/or drinks products to a consumer market.
(b) Identify a current marketing campaign initiated by a brand owner or a retailer for a food or drinks product running on your medium. Alternatively, use a range of reasonably up-to-date examples that you have sourced in the marketing literature. Evaluate the potential effectiveness of the campaign/s on the basis of the strengths and weaknesses of the medium that you identified in (a) above.

For instance, you could choose mobile apps as you medium. In order to address a), you would then need to access the marketing literature associated with this medium. In b) you could explore how a retailer like Waitrose use their mobile app in order to communicate about particular food and/or drinks products.

Your findings are to be presented in a 1000-word report. Be careful to maintain a balanced view. The arguments that you present in your report should be supported by references to relevant academic theory. You will find the core text-book a useful starting point, but please use a range of academic texts – make sure that you are not overly reliant on just two or three sources. Be very careful about what internet sources that you use (other than online academic journals, books and marketing press). The report should be fully referenced throughout, using the Harvard system of referencing. A list of references should be provided at the end of the report.

Assessment criteria:

Your report will be assessed according to its ability to:

1. Construct a concise, balanced, clear and insightful argument throughout the report.
2. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the chosen medium for food and/or drinks marketing.
3. Competently evaluate a current marketing campaign for a food/drinks product running on the medium, alternatively a range of brief examples sourced in the marketing literature.
4. Achieve appropriate report format; fully referenced according to the Harvard method, use of appropriate language and correct grammar.