AMN425 Digital Strategy and Analytics
Assessment 1: Digital Strategy
Guidelines
You are a Digital Specialist Consultant who has been appointed by the organisation to review their current digital strategy and to make recommendations for improvement in a report. There are two parts to the report. The first part involves evaluating the organisation’s current digital strategy. An overview of the organisation’s current digital strategy is provided to you on Blackboard. The second part involves developing recommendations to improve the organisation’s digital strategy.
The following suggested outline provides a more detailed overview of the requirements. You should also refer to the criteria sheet for further guidance.
1. Introduction (approximately 50 words)
Provide a short introduction of the purpose of this report.
2. Digital Strategy Assessment (approximately 1000 words)
You need to evaluate the organisation’s digital strategy using both theory and information from the business context. That is, you need to present the strengths and weaknesses of the organisation’s digital strategy and justify your viewpoints with evidence from the overview of the digital strategy provided on Blackboard, as well as the academic and business/industry literature.
You can use the theoretical frameworks discussed in class (e.g., Rumelt’s (1979) criteria for strategy Assessment) or specific theory or theoretical concepts/frameworks that you identify in your own secondary research (i.e., from academic journals). It is expected that you use multiple theories or theoretical concepts/frameworks to support your analysis.
In evaluating the organisation’s digital strategy, you may want to consider the following questions to guide you (please note: you do not have to cover each question and you can consider additional/other aspects of the digital strategy not included in this list of questions):
• Is the digital strategy aligned with the organisation’s objectives? Why or why not?
• Does the digital strategy address the key communication or business problem of the organisation? Why or why not?
• Will the digital strategy work or has it worked to achieve the organisation’s objectives? Why or why not?
• What quality is the data that was used to develop the digital strategy? What implications does this have for the digital strategy?
• Is the targeting of the audience appropriate? Why or why not?
• Are the digital media appropriate for the target audience? Why or why not?
• Is the creative strategy appropriate for the target audience? Why or why not?
• Is the creative strategy appropriate for the digital media? Why or why not?
• How does the organisation’s digital strategy compare to strategies used by other organisations in the sector?
3. Recommendations for Improvement (approximately 1000 words)
It is important that your recommendations are well supported by both your analysis of the existing strategy (e.g., identification of shortcomings or opportunities in present strategy) and supporting evidence from your secondary research of both the academic and business/industry literature.
There is no set number of recommendations that you should provide, however, it would be reasonable to provide approximately 3-5 recommendations. For each recommendation, you need to provide (1) sufficient explanation of the recommendation so that the organisation could reasonably implement the recommendation and (2) the justification for your recommendation.
You can make recommendations across the full scope of the digital strategy development process (e.g., recommendations to conduct additional research, recommendations on targeting or the digital media selected, recommendations for the creative strategy employed, recommendations for the measurement and Assessment of the digital strategy).
Presentation notes:
• Please include a coversheet, table of contents and page numbers.
• You should use additional sub-headings of your choice to improve readability.
• There is a 10% leeway on the 2000 word limit.
• Tables and visualisations are not included in the word count.
• Referencing and the reference list are not included in the word count.
• Please use APA 7th edition referencing style.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I find information? What are some good sources for my secondary research?
There are range of databases and industry outlets that you can use in your assignment. Some industry databases you can access for information on the business context through the QUT Library website include:
• World Advertising Research Centre (WARC)
• IbisWorld industry reports
Some quality industry publications you can review include:
• https://www.adnews.com.au/
• https://mumbrella.com.au/
• https://www.bandt.com.au/
• https://iabaustralia.com.au/
Some academic publications you can access through the QUT Library website that you can review for theory and theoretical concepts/frameworks include:
• Journal of Interactive Marketing
• Journal of Interactive Advertising
• Journal of Advertising
• International Journal of Advertising
• European Journal of Marketing
• Computers in Human Behaviour
You can access help with researching through the QUT Library website here: https://www.library.qut.edu.au/search/getstarted/howtofind/
Do I have to use the theory or theoretical concepts/frameworks discussed in class?
No. You are free to use the theory or theoretical concepts/frameworks of your choice.
The overview of the organisation’s strategy on Blackboard contains a lot of information. Can I look for extra information about the digital campaign or do I only rely on the information provided on Blackboard?
You are free to search for additional information about the digital strategy summarised on Blackboard and to use that information in your report. That is, if you find supplementary information about the success or failure of the campaign provided on Blackboard, you can include this in your analysis within the report.
The organisation is currently pursuing a different digital strategy to the one outlined on Blackboard. Can I use this information in the report? Can I recommend something that the organisation is already implementing?
You can make recommendations that the organisation is already implementing but remember that your recommendations will need to be supported by your analysis as well as supporting evidence from academic and industry literature. You will also notice that to get a high distinction (7) for your recommendations, they should be novel/new.
In my recommendations, can I provide an example or mock-up/rough?
Yes, you can provide examples or mock-ups of your recommendations. That is, if you are recommending a change to the creative strategy employed and would like to include a mock-up that illustrates your recommendation, you are free to do so. This could help ensure that the recommendation is implementable and that you are communicating persuasively.
