Digital Marketing Strategy

• Develop an 8 10-page digital marketing strategy for a new pet food product (or new product or line extension at your employer or future employer.)

  Introduction

  Digital marketing and social media have completely changed the face of marketing. It is not that the older tools and models no longer work (they do!) but, rather, that these tools and models need to be applied in different ways.

  Digital marketing activities are performed while customers are connected to networks through various mobile devices. Among the many things that make digital marketing unique is the trigger of communication. Customers may target the business (pull communication) or the business may target the digital consumer (push communication). Digital marketing can take place through a variety of modalities including email, text, apps, and any other means by which a customer can communicate on a mobile device. Social media takes the marketer into the world of “views,” “clicks,” and “likes” as a means of ascertaining product appeal to the potential market. Digital marketing has changed the landscape of marketing activities.

  When measuring the results of social media and digital marketing, we have to measure outcomes to determine the effectiveness of a general approach or campaign. If we cannot determine effectiveness, how can we possibly know if this is something we want to do again or not? In this assessment, you will gain insight on some approaches to measuring social media and digital marketing effectiveness. Unlike other areas of business operations (for example, finance), the measurements here are still evolving. However, you need to have at least a foundation for thinking about this very important aspect of marketing.

  Introduction

  This portfolio work project, a digital marketing plan with a social media strategy, will help you demonstrate competency in digital marketing planning and measurement.

  Scenario

  The Vice President of Marketing at MSH Brands (or at your employer or future employer company) was impressed with your marketing plan and brand presentation submitted in Assessments 1 and 2. They have now asked you to develop a Digital Marketing Strategy based on this work.

  Your Role

  You are a Brand Manager at MSH Brands (or at your employer or future employer company). You are being asked to develop a digital marketing strategy for a new pet food product (or new product or line extension at your employer or future employer.)

  Requirements

  Building on your prior work this term, develop a digital marketing plan using the SOSTAC© model. Your plan must address each of the SOSTAC© elements, including:

  1. Situational Analysis

  • Analyze the current situation in terms of customers, intermediaries, and competencies.
  • Conduct a thorough competitive analysis and identify what your competitors are doing in terms of Web presence and social media presence.

  2. Objectives

  • Develop specific measurable objectives for a digital marketing strategy. Where do you want your company to be?

  3. Strategy

  • Articulate short- (< 1 year), medium- (1 to 3 years), and long-term (> 3 years) digital marketing strategies. How do you achieve your objectives within these terms?

  4. Tactics

  • Differentiate various techniques (for example, website, social media, advertising, pay-per-click, events, press releases, sponsorships) to use for implementing strategies. How will you build your sales funnel?

  5. Actions

  • Develop a project plan for executing each tactic. The plan is to briefly capture your execution of the tactics.

  6. Controls

  • Develop specific metrics to monitor tactics. How do you know things are going as planned? How often will you monitor the metrics?

  Deliverable Format

  Requirements:

  • The digital marketing plan must be at least 8 10 pages in length, in addition to the title and reference pages.

  Related company standards:

  • The digital marketing plan is a professional document and should therefore follow the corresponding MBA Academic and Professional Document Guidelines (available in the MBA Program Resources), including single-spaced paragraphs.
  • Use at least five scholarly or academic sources, formatted per APA.

  Evaluation

  By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies through corresponding scoring guide criteria:

  • Competency 1: Apply marketing theories and models to develop marketing strategies.
    • Analyze the current situation in terms of customers, intermediaries, and competencies.
  • Competency 2: Evaluate the effectiveness of marketing strategies and methods.
    • Develop specific measurable objectives.
    • Articulate short-, medium-, and long-term digital marketing strategies.
  • Competency 3: Use data to support evidence-based marketing decisions.
    • Differentiate various techniques to use for implementing strategies.
  • Competency 4: Analyze the role of technology and social media in effective marketing strategies.
    • Develop a project plan for executing each tactic.
    • Develop specific metrics to monitor tactics.
  • Competency 5: Communicate marketing needs, opportunities, and strategies with multiple stakeholders.
    • Write coherently to support a central idea with correct grammar, usage, and mechanics as expected of a business professional.

  EPORTFOLIO

  This portfolio work project demonstrates your competency in applying knowledge and skills required of a MBA learner in the workplace. Save this activity to your ePortfolio for future reference in the workplace.

• SCORING GUIDE

  Use the scoring guide to understand how your assessment will be evaluated.

  VIEW SCORING GUIDE

Digital Communications

The following readings will support your development of a digital marketing plan:

• Kotler, P. T., & Keller, K. L. (2016). Framework for marketing management (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Available in the courseroom via the VitalSource Bookshelf link.
  • Part 6: Chapter 16, “Managing Digital Communications: Online, Social Media, and Mobile.”

Social Media and Metrics

• Bendle, N. T., & Bagga, C. K. (2016). The metrics that marketers muddle. MIT Sloan Management Review, 57(3), 73 82.
• Peters, K., Chen, Y., Kaplan, A. M., Ognibeni, B., & Pauwels, K. (2013). Social media metrics A framework and guidelines for managing social media. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 27(4), 281 298.
• Vinerean, S. (2017). Importance of strategic social media marketing. Expert Journal of Marketing, 5(1), 28 35. Retrieved from http://marketing.expertjournals.com/23446773-504/
• Whiting, A., & Deshpande, A. (2016). Towards greater understanding of social media marketing: A Review. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 18(4), 82 91.

Digital Marketing

• Andrews, M., Goehring, J., Hui, S., Pancras, J., & Thornswood, L. (2016). Mobile promotions: A framework and research priorities. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 34, 15 24.
• Kaplan, A. M. (2012). If you love something, let it go mobile: Mobile marketing and mobile social media 4×4. Business Horizons, 55, 129 139.
• Stocchi, L., Guerini, C., & Michaelidou, N. (2017). When apps are worth paying for? How marketers can analyze the market performance of mobile apps. Journal of Advertising Research, 57(3), 260 271.

Capella Career Center

As you wrap up this course, it is a good time for you to reflect on how you can apply the knowledge you have gained and talk about it professionally. Possible opportunities could include performance review conversations, promotion proposals, and salary negotiations, as well as resume accomplishment statements, interview responses, and professional networking conversations.

Refer to MBA Program Resources to access Capella’s Career Center for resources that can help you make the most of your experience and education to achieve your goals, including how to use your ePortfolio effectively to showcase your work as part of a job search.

Career Connections

How are you ensuring your future success today? Each course in the program moves you one step closer to career success! In each course, be sure to ask yourself: How can I apply these concepts today in my current position?

For example, in this course: how can you develop a marketing strategy for your career positioning? How can you use various digital media to network for enhanced career connections?

• What three approaches to social media would you consider using in your next job search? Why?
• How can you use LinkedIn, Twitter, other SM to position yourself, showcasing your skills/expertise?
• What key alliances do you need in order to be successful in your career? How can you engage in such alliances? Checkout Capella Career Connections. LinkedIn and professional organizations also provide great networking opportunities.

Finally, how am I building a portfolio of demonstrated learning to enhance my career prospects?

This activity is for your own experiential learning.