BRAND MARKETING REPORT LECTURE

BRAND MARKETING REPORT: 

The basics of report writing (in an academic structure):

ANY WRITTEN PIECE NEEDS A STRUCTURE:

·      Anything you write needs a clear beginning, middle and end

·      Critically, what you write needs to be logical

EXAMPLE OUTLINE OF A BUSINESS REPORT:

• ·      Title page - company you are looking at, course, name, word count, shu number
• ·      Contents page - whats inside the report 
•      Abstract/Executive Summary - what the report is about and what you will look into, what you will intent to discuss
• ·      Introduction - about the company
• ·      Mid-section of the report – deals with the key issues under discussion 
• ·      Conclusion 
• ·      Recommendations (from your report research and findings)
• ·      Bibliography
• ·      Appendices - everything you have looked at that isn't in your report but that is important, has to be referenced to the main body of the report

Exactly how does this content break down?

TITLE PAGE; EXAMPLE OF CONTENT:

• ·      The candidate confirms that the work submitted is their own and that appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others (insert date, month and year)
• ·      Word count 

CONTENTS PAGE:

• ·      Literally this is the list of all the things you discuss in your report in a chronological order

THE CONTENTS PAGE ON THE NEXT SLIDE:

• ·      Is an example of a possible page break down, (particularly with regard to the headers)

Contents page break down explained:

1 INTRODUCTION:

• ·      An overview of what you intend to discuss
• ·      Keep this conversation concise, as there is only so much word count you have allocated to the overall piece
• ·      Discuss the key points of your report and your intended research
• ·      Give a flavor of what you anticipate your findings/research may extract, (you will give a fuller over view of your findings through your conclusion)

2 HEADERS:

• ·      If you look at the contents page, you will see a series of headers have been added; a snap shot of this example as follows:
• ·      2 Topshop – this is the main header of the section you intend to discuss; you then go on to break this main header into sub sections; example
• ·      2.1 Research findings; and so what were your research findings on the brand? Write this information under this sub header
• ·      2.2 Initial analysis; what does your initial analysis of your research indicate about the brand, reflecting on 2.1
• ·      2.3 Current brand positioning, (and so on and so forth, all the way through your discussion until you reach your conclusion)

5 CONCLUSION:

• ·      This is a summing up of your research findings/report intentions; it rounds the whole piece off touching on the critical aspects of your discussion
• ·      This must be to the point and concise, (remember restrictions of overall word count)

6 RECOMMENDATIONS:

·      These are your recommendations to industry from research gathered

To complete this part of the report consider:

• ·      Why does your chosen brand have issues?
• ·      What if anything are they doing, (need to do) to redress this?
• ·      Where is the brand situated, where do you feel, (based solidly on research) does the brand need to be?
• ·      How can the brand intervene through its current situation; what can it do not to change its fate? (consider market conditions, positioning in market place, consumer perceptions and so on and so forth)

7 BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• ·      Add all your long referencing through the bibliography
• ·      Zuzanna from the library will be coming in today, to discuss referencing and reference examples
• ·      Remember there is a great deal of support from the library regarding academic writing, (you can book tutorials, there are online services and so on)

8 APPENDICES:

• ·      Can be used to relate any information that connects to your essay context, but would not be put in the actual essay itself
• ·      For example; a sample of a survey you have constructed 
• ·      A full quote which attends to a segment of a quote used in your main essay, (to give the content further context)

BASIC GUIDE TO ACADEMIC WRITING:

• ·      Make sure the font is easily legible, (easy to read)
• ·      Use paragraphs and punctuation regularly; check grammar and make time to proof read
• ·      Add visuals to your piece which under pin specific written contexts you discuss in the report
• ·      Add quotes to under pin key points you may be making in your text
• ·      Add page numbers through the footer of the document; this will help with understanding referencing in your Bibliography
• ·      For example; add references regularly through your piece, (to show where your research came from and to avoid issues of plagiarism)
• ·      Use long referencing in your Bibliography
• ·      Be objective, (the report isn’t about writing your subjective view)
• ·      Make sure there is comparison running through your text; example: ‘when looking at Topshop’s online sales compared to bricks and mortar (high-street)’ this approach allows you to build your case/debate regarding he brands strengths and weaknesses
• ·      Make sure there is a good balance between your primary and secondary research. Generally, make sure there is a good research mix, (this will be evident in your Bibliography)

PLAGIARISM:

·      Is a really important issue/problem in academic writing

• ·      To avoid plagiarism, (intentional or unintentional)
• ·      Reference your work regularly (in text), and list all your references from your text in your Bibliography using the APA system
• ·      Don’t paraphrase too closely to an original source – if you are taking research from a specific piece, make sure you write this information in your own words
• ·      Don’t copy and paste directly from an original source
• ·      Time manage properly 

All your contextual work is put through ‘Turnitin’ which automatically detects plagiarism.