For this assessment you will write an individual report (2500 words maximum), to assess your critical grasp of the subject matter, your research skills, and ability to express and articulate the findings of research

For this assessment you will write an individual report (2500 words maximum), to assess your critical grasp of the subject matter, your research skills, and ability to express and articulate the findings of research.Please read the case study below. The report is to be submitted to blackboard in MS-Word format by Friday 12th November by 11.59pm.You will be expected to reference additional sources beyond the core text and classmaterials.

CASE STUDY: BLUE BIRD FOOTWARE

Established in 1979 and headquartered in Northampton, England, Blue Bird is a British Shoe Maker business. The town of Northampton has a rich history of shoe making dating back to the 15thcentury and is considered the shoe making capital of the world. With many of the finest English shoes manufactured in the town, the sector is currently worth approx. £1.25 billion, and shoes exported from the town are revered across the world. Despite its former success, Blue Bird has been struggling in recent years. Traditionally the company specialised in hand made leather shoes for men and women, with their core product offering being quality handmade brogues. The current Company Director (Mike Stevens) has highlighted problems attributed to an overall decline in sales of the company’s traditional product line, lack of skilled staff and the brand’s current performance not being on a par with other local competitors. However, despite the challenges, many potential opportunities exist for the company. The town boasts a wide student base owing to the local university (The University of Northampton), which has expanded due to the opening of the new £330 million ‘Waterside Campus’. The current student base of the university is approximately 12,850 students.

After discussions with the Board of Directors, Mr Stevens has been considering the way forward as a two-fold process; firstly, to appeal to Generation Z – individuals typically with birth years between the mid-1990s to mid-2000s whom have used the internet since a young age. This demographic cohort are reported to be comfortable using technology and with interacting via social media. Secondly, to appeal to this demographic cohort, Stevens has suggested developing a new product line of sporty, casual and customisable footware. Foe this, he is considering introducing a hand painted design service which allows consumers to create their own pair of unique baseball boots to appeal to the younger audience. Regarding the targeting of Generation Z, Steven’s states

“What the brand needs is rejuvenating, in a way that attracts younger customers – the consumers of today and tomorrow”

Although the company currently has a website and a presence on social media platforms such as; Facebook and Twitter, they are unsure as to how to make the most of these media channels to communicate with the identified “new target segment”. The lack of “digital skills” within the organisation also presents a challenge as the website and social media platforms are not being used to engage with consumers effectively. Stevens sees the advances in digital technology and the recent expansion of the local university as an opportunity to “tap in” to make the new product line appealing to the growing student base. To do this, the company requires a clear vision in the way of a Digital Marketing Strategy for the company to move forward.

You have recently been appointed as the Digital Marketing Manager for Blue Bird and have been tasked with creating a digital marketing plan for the firm.

YOUR TASK:

Review the ‘Blue Bird’ case study andcreate a digital marketing plan presented in the form of a 2,500 word report (maximum). The report should be comprised of two sections as follows:

Part A:Situational Analysis

– To include; Porters 5-forces, SWOT/TOWS and Customer Analysis.

Part B:Strategy Formation

– To include proposed objectives and strategies

Requirements for these sections as described in the table below:

The current members of the marketing team have collected data you may find useful (see appendix A)

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:

Submission requirements for this assessment are outlined in the table below:

PLAGIARISM STATEMENT:

APPENDIX A:

Plagiarism includes submitting work that has been written by someone else and copying passages from other sources without references. Plagiarism is easy to detect and will be acted upon. The Academic Misconduct procedures at Regents University London will be followed in cases of plagiarism.

Information collected by the Marketing Team

Collected demographic statistics on Northampton

• Since 1981 the population of Northamptonshire has increased by almost 33%.

• It is estimated that the county has had above (national) average population growth in recent years

• Northamptonshire has an estimated population of 714,400 people. By 2024, it is projected that the population of Northamptonshire will have grown by approximately 9% to 778,600 people, faster than the projected 7.5% increase for England

• The number of Generation Z individuals residing in Northampton is approximately 124,000

Collected statistics from the company’s current website

• There has been a channel shift from potentials phoning in to enquire about product information, to consumers enquiring about products via the website.

• In 2018 43% of new enquiries were made via the website, compared to 80% in 2020.

• Statistics also indicate that in 2018, 70% of consumers were accessing the company website via desktop devices (30% via mobile devices). In 2020 figures were reported as; 63% accessing the website via mobile devices (37% via desktop). The company does not currently have an app, however their website is viewable on mobile devices.

• There has been a falling level of engagement with consumers across their social media platforms. Due to members of staff leaving there has been a shortage of staff with the necessary web development skills to maintain the current website and social media platforms.

• The number of sales completed online as opposed to the factory store: 2018 38% online (62% in store) compared to 67% online (33% in store) in 2020.

• There has been a drop-in customer satisfaction in using the web site (65% satisfaction reported in 2018, compared to 46% satisfaction reported in 2020.

GRADING SCHEME:

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