Competitive Advantage IP
Learning Goal: I’m working on a marketing project and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.
Assignment Details
Advertising in the Digital Age: How to Cultivate Customers
The responsiveness of social media allows brands to more easily tailor their messages to suit the needs of the immediate moment, even while staying true to their images and product lines. As more people are staying home due to the recent pandemic, home improvement brands could emphasize the stress release of home improvement and the need to make homes seem like a refuge and an entertainment playground simultaneously. Engagement, combined with enhancing entertainment on social media, can likewise be fostered by humor.
For example, Wendy’s is a fast food brand that has always been second to McDonald’s in terms of its brand recognition and sales. However, it has cultivated a funny social media profile that has earned the restaurant chain many Twitter followers, as well as increased sales. In one exchange, someone asked Wendy’s on Twitter how much a Big Mac cost, to which the account (personified by a smiling red-haired little girl) responded, “Your dignity” (Bikker, 2019). This also enhances the pleasure of the experience with interacting with Wendy’s on social media and in real life, fostering a close relationship for the consumer with the brand. The brand allows the consumer to learn about new products. The brand is enhanced with more traditional television advertising depicting juicy, delicious burgers and tasty chicken sandwiches but has generated a new demographic of critical younger consumers who like the sassy, funny Wendy’s online voice.
It should be cautioned, however, that not all brands could use Wendy’s social media strategy with the same ease. Wendy’s does not sell a serious product, so cultivating honesty, empathy, and trust is not as necessary, versus, say, health insurance or cars (Bikker, 2019). Its demographic is also very young, and savvy to the ways in which Twitter and online technology often make use of sarcasm and abrasiveness to make a point (Bikker, 2019). A product’s verbal and visual tone must be consistent, even if it adopts a slightly more informal tone on Twitter, where it may interact with followers on a one-on-one basis.
Still, many companies could learn from Wendy’s approach in the digital age. Rather than simply promote deals or deliciousness, Wendy’s has created a persona and ethos for its product far edgier than its primary competitor, McDonald’s. Given that consumers online and coveted younger consumers in particular are mistrustful of brands that make use of strategies that obviously appear to be advertising, Wendy’s approach has proved useful.
In this assignment, select 2 advertisements within the same industry (e.g., YouTube, newspaper, TV, or radio). Write a 5-page analysis of each advertisement for your marketing report based upon the following criteria:
- Describe the message conveyed about its brand.
- Is it consistent with the brand’s message throughout all of the media? How?
- Did you learn anything new about the brand by looking at the different channels?
- How does this view influence your perception of the brand?
- How can you improve the brand’s messaging?
- What would you change to promote the brand further?
Submitting your assignment in APA format means, at a minimum, you will need the following:
- Title page: Remember the running head. The title should be in all capitals.
- Length: 5 pages minimum
- Abstract: This is a summary of your paper, not an introduction. Begin writing in third person.
- Body: This begins on the page following the title page and abstract page and must be double-spaced (be careful not to triple- or quadruple-space between paragraphs). The typeface should be 12-pt. Times Roman or 12-pt. Courier in regular black type. Do not use color, bold type, or italics, except as required for APA-level headings and references. The deliverable length of the body of your paper for this assignment is 5 pages. In-body academic citations to support your decisions and analysis are required. A variety of academic sources is encouraged.
- Reference page: References that align with your in-body academic sources are listed on the final page of your paper. The references must be in APA format using appropriate spacing, hanging indent, italics, and uppercase and lowercase usage as appropriate for the type of resource used. Remember, the Reference page is not a bibliography but a further listing of the abbreviated in-body citations used in the paper. Every referenced item must have a corresponding in-body citation.
Please submit your assignment.
Grading Rubric: Maximum 200 Points
| Grading Criteria | Points | |||||
| Deliverable requirements addressed; understanding of material and presenter’s message and intent are clear | 80 points | Followed assignment guidelines and criteria | 40 pts | Yes/Complete | Mostly | Not at all |
| Overall quality | 40 pts | Excellent | Satisfactory | Needs Improvement | ||
| Scholarly research that supports the writer’s position is properly acknowledged and cited, and direct quotations do not exceed 10% of the word count of the body of the assignment deliverable | 50 points | Title page, table of contents, tables, exhibits, appendices or reference page included | 25 pts | Yes | Partially | Not at all |
| Content is original with less than 35% match | 25 pts | Yes | 36–50% | 51% or over | ||
| Critical thinking: Position is well-justified; logical flow; examples | 20 points | Position is justified with examples | 10 pts | Excellent | Satisfactory | Needs Improvement |
| Presentation flows logically | 10 pts | Excellent | Satisfactory | Needs Improvement | ||
| Structure: Includes introduction and conclusion, proper paragraph formatting, and reads as a polished academic paper or professional presentation, as appropriate for the required assignment deliverable | 15 points | Includes introduction and conclusion | 5 pts | Excellent | Satisfactory | Needs Improvement |
| Paragraphs are formatted properly | 5 pts | Excellent | Satisfactory | Needs Improvement | ||
| Reads as polished academic paper or presentation | 5 pts | Excellent | Satisfactory | Needs Improvement | ||
| Mechanical: No spelling, grammatical, or punctuation errors | 20 points | Spelling and grammar are accurate | 10 pts | Yes | Partially | Not at all |
| Punctuation is accurate | 10 pts | Yes | Partially | Not at all | ||
| APA: Deliverable is cited properly according to the APA Publication Manual | 15 points | References are cited in accordance with APA formatting | 10 pts | Yes | Partially | Not at all |
| Reference page is included | 5 pts | Yes | Partially | Not at all |
For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.
Your assignment will be graded in accordance with the following criteria. View the grading rubric.
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Reference
Bikker, Y. (2019, October 30). A tribute to Wendy’s awesome social media strategy. Medium. https://medium.com/swlh/a-tribute-to-wendys-awesome-social-media-strategy-7f55a66bcf94