The research undertaken by the group will form the basis for you to go on to develop the work for your individual report.
This document provides you with all the information you require to complete the assessment for this module i.e. the tasks, guidance and marking criteria for both components.
Any queries on the assessment tasks during the semester should be made via the Q&A folder on the module’s Blackboard site or in person to your seminar tutor during your scheduled seminar slots on your timetable.
In addition to achieving the objectives for the components you must ensure that you adhere to the University’s regulations on assessments, provided at the end of this handbook, showing “links” to further guidance on the University website.
** As it is your responsibility to ensure you understand what the regulations require you to do, and more importantly what not to do, you are strongly recommended to familiarise yourself with this content which applies to all module assessments. **
Background to the Assessment for MK9414
During your academic and employment/career paths you will be expected to consider the importance of sustainability and the circular economy which is shaping attitudes and approaches to doing business and interacting with customers in attempting to future-proof survival in existing and competitive markets - and marketing plays a significant role in all this entails.
These topical issues form the theme of this assessment that has been designed to both enhance your awareness of what you are likely to encounter as you proceed through your degree and future careers, and to align with the objectives of your degree programmes.
Scenario:
The assessment focuses on sustainability and the circular economy in the fashion sector.
Across both assessed components in this assignment, you should assume the role of a marketing consultant.
Some introductory additional information and sources on this topic are included towards the end of this document to encourage you to make an early start to your work and begin to engage with secondary sources on this topic. More additional materials will be made available to you during the semester on the Blackboard site, but you are encouraged to investigate information for yourselves from reputable and reliable academic and industry sources to enable you to apply the marketing theories and principles you are introduced to during the module to this assessment.
In the seminar, ideally in Week 2 you should form a team of 4 people within your seminar group. Once formed, groups become non-negotiable. Your seminar tutor will provide you with a form requiring group members’ details which should be completed and handed back to your seminar tutor.
The assessed presentation will take place in seminar contact time during weeks 7/8 and should last no more than 10 minutes, with questions to follow.
Task:
- A brief account of what is meant by sustainability and the circular economy and why they are significant to the fashion industry
- Identification, and justification, of an initiative aimed at a specific target market that is intended to change their attitudes and/or behaviour towards sustainability in the fashion industry (this will also form the focus of component 2, your individual report, so make considered choices here)
- Detailed information on both your proposal and the chosen target market with rationale for making the link between the two
- Production of a 20 seconds (max.) video that could be posted on social media to support your initiative and inform and engage your target customer, with supporting justification of its objectives in relation to what your proposal is trying to achieve
- Summarise the key issues that the fashion industry should consider in relation to sustainability/circular economy and how your proposal can contribute to the cause.
The issues you address in this component relate to the following topics in the module syllabus (TLP):
- Researching, sourcing, analysing and using secondary (marketing) data
- The market environment
- Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning; Customer behaviour
- Market research
Using your portal to access the University library’s resources, you should use and cite sources of data from reputable and reliable secondary (existing) sources, both academic and industry-based, to support the issues you address relating to sustainability and the fashion sector/fashion industry and your chosen target customer.
The purpose of the group work component enables you to collect a wider range of research than you would be able to if working by yourself and encourages you to engage with colleagues to consider different perspectives whilst developing and enhancing your personal and academic skills.
All Group Presentations will take place, and be assessed, by your seminar tutor during seminar sessions in weeks 7 and 8. All students are required to attend both seminars when presentations are scheduled. As this is a formal assessment failure to attend will result in a FAIL mark being awarded unless absence has been authorised via Ask4Help (late approval or PECs). Presentations will NOT be rescheduled to match your diary commitments.
The group presentation should be timed to last 10 minutes, with questions to follow.
Some presentations will be internally moderated by members of the teaching team to ensure fairness and consistency of marks across seminar groups.
All groups, irrespective of the week they are presenting, must submit the following documents in week 7:
- One member in each group assigned to upload a copy of the slides to Turnitin on the BB site – name to be given to the seminar tutor
- a hard copy of the Powerpoint presentation slides to your seminar tutor at start of your seminar in week 7 (4 slides/page is acceptable)
- a hard copy of the primary research undertaken: the 5 questions chosen for your questionnaire with your analysis of the responses to each question.
