Writing a Marketing Case Assignment

What is a Case Study?

A case Study refers to the collection and presentation of detailed information about a particular participant or company, frequently including the accounts of subjects themselves. A form of qualitative and descriptive research, the case study looks intensely at an individual or a company, drawing conclusions only about that participant or company and only in that specific context. The point is not to focus on the discovery of a universal, generalizable truth, nor to look for cause-effect relationship; instead, emphasis is placed on exploration and description. 

Case studies typically examine the interplay of all variables in order to provide a complete understanding of an event or situation.  This type of comprehensive understanding is arrived at through a process known a thick description, which involves an in-depth description of the entity being evaluated, the circumstances under which it Is used, the characteristics of the people involved in it, and the nature of the community in which it is located. Thick description also involves interpreting the meaning of demographic and descriptive data such as cultural norms and mores, community values, ingrained attitudes, and motives.  

Types and Design Concerns 

There are multiple methods and approaches to conduct case studies. Under the more generalized category of case studies, there are several subdivisions, each of which is custom selected for use depending upon the goal and/or of the writer. These types of case studies include the following: 

Illustrative Case Studies

These cases are primarily descriptive studies. They typically utilize one or two instances of an event to show what a situation is like. Illustrative case studies serve primarily to make the unfamiliar familiar and to give readers a common language about the topic in question.

Exploratory (or pilot) Case Studies

These ones are condensed case studies performed before implementing a large scale investigation. Their basic function is to help identify questions and select types of measurement prior to the main investigation. The primary pitfall of this type of study is that initial findings may seem convincing enough to be released prematurely as conclusions.

 Cumulative Case Studies

These serve to aggregate information from several sites collected at different times. The idea behind these studies is the collection of past studies will allow for greater generalization without additional cost or time being expended on new, possibly repetitive studies.

Critical Instance Case Studies

These examine one or more sites for either the purpose of examining a situation of unique interest with little to no interest in generalize, or to call into question or challenge a highly generalized or universal assertion. This method is useful for answering cause and effect questions.

 What to do in a marketing Case?

 The Marketing process is a method for solving problems. It has 4 phases: research, objectives, programming and evaluation. Each element may be modified by the demands of different audiences or publics, including employees, members, customers, local communities, shareholders, and, usually, the news media. The illustration of this process in action – the cases – are grouped according to the various audiences that Marketing professionals reach. Each audience calls for some modifications in the overall 4-step process, and the cases should illustrate the modified process in action.

The managements of institutions need to understand the attitude and values of their publics in order to achieve institutional goals. The goals themselves are shaped by the external environment. The Marketing professional acts as a counselor to management, and as a mediator, helping to translate private aims into reasonable, publicly acceptable policy and action. 

As a management function, Marketing encompasses the following: 

·         Anticipating, analyzing, and interpreting public opinion, attitudes, and issues that might impact, for good or ill, the operation and plans of the organization.·         Counseling management at all levels in the organization with regard to policy decisions, courses of action, and communication, taking into account their public ramifications and the organization’s social or citizenship responsibilities.

·  Researching, conducting, and evaluating, on a continuing basis, programs of action and communication to achieve informed public understanding necessary to the success of an organization’s aims. These may include marketing, financial, fund-raising, employee, community, or government relations, and other programs.

·         Planning or implementing the organization’s efforts to influence or change public policy.

·         Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and training staff, developing facilities - managing the resources needed to perform all of the above.

The Statement of the Case

A typical statement of the case should include:

a)      Summary

The summary has to be written last not be inconsistent. It has to include:

·         The proposal

·         The key benefits

·         Essential background only

·         Essential findings/solutions

b)      Background

You must identify and explain the motivation of the case and facilitate all subsequent information of the situation /challenge and an overview.

c)       Objective and Proposal

May include the kind of influence the client hopes to exert with the audiences, such as informing them or modifying their attitudes or behaviors. The objectives may also include statements about the program itself, such as its composition or how it will operate.

d)      Alternatives

The statement of case should have a section for alternatives to the proposal. It is included to demonstrate that the scenario has been analyzed in depth and to avoid not having considered an obvious alternative.

Alternatives are refuted by demonstrating that they are inconsistent with the stated objective.

e)      Evaluation and Conclusions

Evaluation refers back specifically to the objectives that were set in the process and examines the professional’s degree of success in achieving them.

Solving the Case

Making Data Relevant To Solve The Case

Many case studies will contain data that needs analysis before it can be utilized in a report. These are some tips for handling data the data that we routinely find in business case studies:

• Data in case studies is not always presented in a clear and rational way. Make sure that you arrange the data so that trends or other significant issues can easily be identified.
• Don’t assume that all the information that you are given is relevant. Be prepared to extract, sort or merge data that has been given to you in the case study in order to identify and summarize the key information.
• Some basic calculations may be necessary, such as sensitivity analysis, to create new and more useful data.
• When presented with financial data, such as balance sheets and income statements, compare these between periods to identify trends. You should also consider whether ratio analysis, cash flow analysis, and break-even analysis will inform your report.

Structuring your Business Report

• The standard structure for a business report based on a case study is as follows.
• Summary of recommendations: this should summarize your analysis and be thorough enough to inform the reader who doesn’t have time to read your full report
• Body of report: the structure of this section is quite flexible but should cover the background issues, statement of the problem, a logical case analysis, and solution choice which notes the alternatives considered as well as the recommended solution.
• Appendices: key data that has been used to inform the report 

Writing up the Business Report

These are some key tips that will help you write a good quality business report that is based on a case study:

·      Prepare an outline of the report before you start writing - this will serve as a roadmap of where you plan to go.

·      Use descriptive headings that clearly describe the section’s contents to engage and inform the reader.

·      Tell a coherent story that unfolds in your report. Your recommendations should emerge from the analysis that you have undertaken and not appear as standalone items at the end of your report.

·      Do not let your analysis be simply a restatement of the facts that you have been given.

·      Be clear about what information you are using and where you obtained it from. Your credibility will depend on the sources you use to support your arguments.

·      Do not allow your own interests to skew your approach to the case and your recommendations. Check the brief you have been given and focus on what is important and relevant to the case.

·      Use graphs and charts to convey difficult concepts or show alternatives in a visually attractive and easy to understand way. Ensure that all graphs and charts that you use are relevant, add value to your report, and are clearly labelled.

·      Use the right graphics for the concepts you are explaining or illustrating. Bar charts or Gantt charts are appropriate for showing a changing relationship over time, while pie charts are the best way to illustrate proportional relationships. Line graphs should be used to show trends to show trends over a period of time. Remember the key is simplicity in illustrating key points - if you can’t explain what your graphics show then don’t use them.

·      Use a clear and consistent formatting style throughout the report - a messy writing style will prejudice the reader against your recommendations while a professional approach lends credibility to your research skills.

Remember that using these steps to prepare your business report based on a case study will enable you to submit a high quality and targeted report. The skills involved in generating these reports are highly sought after by employers in business, industry and particularly consulting.

Dos and Don’ts for Marketing Case Studies

Your case study is part of you assessment for the Cases in.... course and lead to the Final Case. We ask you to adhere to the following guidelines:

We will evaluate your written case based on content and the quality of your presentation, and we reserve the right to ignore those parts of your write-up that are not comprehensible.

We limit the write-ups to a maximum of five DIN A4, 1.5 line spaced computer written pages in 11 (preferably 12) font size with 2cm margins on all sides. Use a standard font, such as “Times New Roman” or “Arial” or one with a comparable letter size. Reducing word spacing and character size in order to squeeze in more text is not acceptable.

Dos...

·         Use short, simple sentences – avoid flowery language

·         All pages should be numbered

·         Proof read for typing, spelling and grammatical errors

·         Take into account ethical issues

·  Research: does the case give adequate background information about the organization itself? What was the major reason for conducting this program? Were the data as complete as necessary?

· Objectives: Categorize this case’s objectives. Which are impact objectives? Specify informational, attitudinal or behavioral. Which are output objectives? Should they have been more quantitative? What is your overall assessment of the objectives used in this case?

·   Programming: Evaluate the theme (if any) in this case. Is it short, catchy, memorable, to the point? What major messages are communicated in this case? Will the message resonate with thepublics identified by your research phase? Evaluate the central actions or special events in this case. Are they truly worthwhile and newsworthy? Are they “pseudoevents”? Were any forms of communication omitted that should have been used? How effective was the use of the communication principles for source credibility, salient information, effective nonverbal and verbal cues, two-way communication, opinion leaders, group influence, selective exposure and audience participation?

  Evaluation: Was each of the case’s objectives separately evaluated? How appropriate and effective were these methods? Did the program achieve its stated objectives?

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