Summary
The task is a 2000 words written report focusing on tackling several questions related to a case study. Questions focus on illustrating the possible motives of the identified personas for participating in social media activities and the relevant implications; identifying which specific segments each persona represents; identifying a likely need or a combination of needs that may have a unique relevance for the identified personas’ motivations to be engaged with the company; and finally on the basis of the analysis, making recommendations with respect to which personas should be the primary and secondary selection, what messaging/value proposition the company should use to communicate with the priority persona as well as which (if any) of the proposed marketing vehicles should the company use with the priority persona. The recommendations should be explained and justified.
Learning outcomes
Demonstrate advanced conceptual understanding of consumer behaviour theories and practices. [LO#1]
Critically analyse the influence of various factors on consumer decision-making and purchasing behaviour. [LO#2]
Recommend appropriate marketing strategies in a variety of marketing scenarios based on in-depth analysis of consumer behaviour within target markets. [LO#4]
Assessment brief
Read the HBR case study: Cespedes, FV 2017, ‘Magpie: developing and using buyer personas’, Harvard Business School Cases, viewed 22 November 2021, pp. 1–22.
To access the case study:
Click on the link: https://hbsp.harvard.edu/import/882067.
Register to create a log-in. (Note: You can select any program length and graduation date; this will not affect your access.)
Once registered, log-in to your account.
Click on ‘My Coursepacks’ at the top of the page.
Locate the article ‘Magpie: Developing and Using Buyer Personas’ and click ‘PDF’ or ‘EPUB’ depending on your preferred format.
Based on the HBR case details and your understanding of social consumer behaviour, explain the possible motives for participation in social media activities (i.e. social publishing and social commerce footprints) for each buyer’s persona. Briefly discuss implications.
Use theoretical insights on motives and attitudes that influence social media activities to support your answers. (Hint: consider affinity impulse, personal utility impulse, contact comfort, immediacy impulse, the altruistic impulse, and the validation impulse.)
Reflecting on the specific archetypes of social media participation identified in the literature, and information in the case study (personas profile description, etc.), which specific segments does each buyer’s persona represent?
Use social media segmentation theory to support your discussion. (Hint: consider the following: Social Technographic, Social Consumption Matrix, Typology of Social Utility, PEW Internet Technology Types, and Microblog User Types.)
Identify a likely need or a combination of needs that may have a unique relevance for the identified personas’ motivations to be engaged with Magpie.
Incorporate consumer needs and motivation theory to support your answers. (Hint: need for power, need for affiliation, or need for achievements, etc.)
Based on your analysis so far, which persona would be best for Magpie to target initially? Why? Which buyer’s persona should Magpie target next? Why? What are the business implications for your priorities and sequencing?
Reflecting on the consumer self-concept theory, what messaging/value proposition should Magpie use to communicate with the priority persona? Why? Which (if any) of marketing vehicles being considered should Magpie use with the priority persona? Explain and justify your answer.
Resources
Tuten, TL & Solomon, MR 2018, ‘Chapter 2 Social Consumers’, Social media marketing, 3rd edn, Sage, Los Angeles.
The above (included in the resources of module 2) will be very important in answering questions 1 and 2.
Requirements
The required word length for this report is 2000 words (plus 10% tolerance). Please use this Case Study Template.
In terms of structure, presentation and style:
AIB standard report format.
Use the AIB-preferred Microsoft Word settings.
Use author-date style referencing (which includes in-text citations and a reference list).
These requirements are detailed in the AIB Style Guide. For this assessment, feel free to follow a structure of question and answer. You do not need to have an introduction, executive summary and a conclusion.
Reference lists for AIB assessments normally contain the following number of relevant references from different sources: 6–12 (for MBA assessments).
All references must be from credible sources such as books, industry-related journals, magazines, company documents and recent academic articles.
Your grade will be adversely affected if your assessment contains no/poor citations and/or reference list and if your assessment word length is beyond the allowed tolerance level (see Assessment Policy available on AIB website).
Grading criteria
Your assessment will be marked according to the following grading criteria:
Criterion 1: Illustration of the possible motives for participation in social media activities and implications. (20%)
Criterion 2: Demonstrated understanding and application of social segmentation theory. (15%)
Criterion 3: Demonstrated understanding and application of consumer needs and motivation theory. (15%)
Criterion 4: Depth of demonstrated critical alignment between recommendations provided and analysis conducted. Depth of justification provided for recommendations. (40%)
Criterion 5: Referencing (5%)
Criterion 6: Structure, communication style, and language (5%)
