For this individual assignment, you are asked to produce a fully referenced Industry Briefing Paper for the Marketing Director of a company of your choice. Note, the size/scale of your chosen organisation [SME, multinational, domestic vs. international], industry/market sector) will be important when writing up your implications for this paper!

The paper needs to be written in 3rd person and provide the Marketing Director of this company with the following:

an up-to-date picture of the practitioner literature and practitioner insights in your chosen topic area (see below for full details) and supported by the Source and Practitioner Insights Worksheets.

provide recommendations regarding future use and/or implications of this topic for your chosen company

Your review of the practitioner literature should draw upon at least eight industry/trade/market reports, newspaper, and magazine articles.  It should be fully referenced in Harvard style and should aim to provide a critical overview of research which has been carried out in the area. Your briefing paper can also refer to online blogs, discussion boards and/or academic textbooks.

Your paper should be a maximum of 2000 words (excluding references and appendices).

Topics for the Industry Briefing Paper (choose one only)

          Topic 1: COVID-19 and attendance at music festivals

          Topic 2: Post-series depression and consumer behaviour

          Topic 3: Artificial intelligence in the film industry

          Topic 4: Cultural misappropriation and the fashion industry

          Topic 5: Service Robots in elderly care networks

Your briefing paper should be addressed to the Marketing Director of your chosen company, suggesting how your insights and recommendations could be incorporated into future marketing plans and activities.

Key elements of an Industry Briefing Paper

Introduction to the briefing paper (clarification of its purpose)

Critical analysis and discussion of your chosen topic are (use the Source Worksheet to help develop the questions and search terms and record sources to be used)

Use of case studies and practitioner comments to clarify how your chosen topic is already being considered/used by other companies in their marketing activities (recording findings on the Practitioner Insights and The Case CT worksheets)

Discussion of key issues and challenges specifically from a marketing perspective (using the findings from above)

Conclusions and recommendations: based on your research, what recommendations would you make to the Marketing Director of your chosen company?

References: List ALL sources used, in Harvard style (refer back to the CT tools for the references)

Appendices: include any case studies and supporting information (include the completed critical thinking worksheets)

Assessment 3: Allocation of Marks for the Industry Briefing Paper

Marking guidelines

Allocated Marks

Introduction to the briefing paper (clarification of its purpose)

5

Critical analysis and discussion of your chosen topic

20

Use of case studies and practitioner comments to clarify how your chosen topic is already being considered/used by other companies in their marketing activities

20

Discussion of key issues and challenges specifically from a marketing perspective (using the findings from above)

20

Conclusions and recommendations: based on your research, what recommendations would you make to the Marketing Director of your chosen company?

20

References: List ALL sources used, in Harvard style

5

Appendices: include any case studies and supporting information (include the completed critical thinking worksheets)

10

Students should also refer to the University Grade Criteria for Level 4 which is available in the Module Handbook.

Rubric
Industry Briefing Paper and Critical Thinking Tasks
Industry Briefing Paper and Critical Thinking Tasks
Criteria    Ratings    Pts
This criterion is linked to a learning outcome Introduction to the Briefing Paper
5 Pts
Full marks
0 Pts
No marks
5 pts
This criterion is linked to a learning outcome Critical analysis and discussion of the topic
20 Pts
Full marks
0 Pts
No marks
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a learning outcome Case Study and Practitioner Comments/examples
20 Pts
Full marks
0 Pts
No marks
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a learning outcome Key issues and challenges from a marketing perspective
20 Pts
Full marks
0 Pts
No marks
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a learning outcome Conclusions and recommendations
20 Pts
Full marks
0 Pts
No marks
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a learning outcome References
5 Pts
Full marks
0 Pts
No marks
5 pts
This criterion is linked to a learning outcome Appendices
include any case studies and supporting information (including IMPORTANTLY the completed critical thinking worksheets)
10 Pts
Full marks
0 Pts
No marks
10 pts
Total points: 100

The two main foci of this class are (a) the study of sound and aurality as a social,
technological and aesthetic practice, and (b) the relationship between these aural practices
and related or associated visual media. With this in mind, this paper should engage some
aspect of either of these questions. Ideally, your paper will draw on some problem, issue or
insight from class that has sparked your attention. To help you along this path I offer some
general questions and ideas. These are only suggested topics, so feel free to develop one
on your own or in conjunction with me. If you’d like my help developing a topic, please
see me in person during office hours.
Instructions for Research Proposal and Annotated Bibliography
Your proposal should provide a brief outline of the topic your paper will be exploring. It
should clearly identify and explain the primary research question animating your
investigation, as well as provide a justification for why this question is relevant within the
context of this course. The annotated bibliography should have 2 scholarly sources, none
of which are assigned as course readings (you can use course readings and/or nonscholarly as sources for your final paper, but NOT for the proposal). Each bibliographic
entry should provide (1) a properly formatted bibliographic entry, (2) a brief summary of
the source, and (2) a brief description of how it is appropriate to your chosen research
topic.
Suggested Research Topics
1) Explore the history of a particular form of creative aural practice and explore its
connection to related visual practices. For e.g.
– phonography or DJ-ing as a cultural form
– acoustic architecture
– sound poetry
– the development of multi-channel audio installations
– sound design for film, video, gaming, theater, television, etc.
2) Explore the work and ideas of a particular sound artist, discussing and
contextualizing their work historically and theoretically.
3) What are some intersections between sound (or visual) art as a “high” cultural
practice and related or similar applications in the realm of popular culture? For
example, how might you relate the radiophonic work of John Cage to that of
Scanner? Are there grounds to compare the Dadaist collage art of John Heartfield
and the music of Negativland? Can we compare the music videos of Director X to
experimental film or videomakers?
4) Compare the sound practice of a given communication medium in two or more
cultural, social or historical contexts. For e.g.,
– How does the approach/treatment/practice of sound in Indian cinema differ from
American (or Chinese, Italian, or French, etc.) cinema?
– How does sound of contemporary theater differ from the theater of Shakespeare’s
time?

*Give an example of a specific product whose value is perceived differently by the customer and the business supplier.
(Let’s try to expand beyond the ones mentioned in the textbook, although they should give you some ideas.)

*Identify these differences in value and provide an explanation of why final consumers and business suppliers might perceive them differently.

*What is meant when we say that business-to-business demand is inelastic in the short term and discontinuous in the long term? [you might find some clues in your textbook p. 11]

*Give an example of a real business/industry that illustrates this phenomenon.

Text Book: Vitale, R., Giglierano, J., & Pfoertsch, W. (2011). Business-To-Business Marketing: Analysis and Practice. Upper Saddle, NJ: Prentice Hall.