CQUniversity Unit Profile.

This assessment is to be completed entirely without the use of AI and thus demonstrate your core skills and knowledge. Specifically, this online exercise comprises of answering two questions for a randomly assigned consumer goods advertisement. Students need to answer both questions and can refer to their textbook and study notes. Both questions are worth 10 marks each. Answer format will be in short-answer format to be answered within the allocated space that follows the questions in Moodle. The two questions students will need to address are:

1. Map out the marketing communications activity of the assigned advertisement.

2. Who is their main direct competitor and in what way is their marketing communication strategy likely to be similar or different to their main direct competitor?

Submission Instructions:

This online exercise should be completed individually (no groups) through Moodle. The online exercise will be available in Moodle from 9.00am AEST on Friday April 3rd, 2026, to 9:00am AEST on Friday April 10th, 2026. Students need to complete this online exercise in one sitting. Students cannot exit and re-enter the Moodle site once the exercise starts. The online exercise will log students out as soon as the maximum time allowance of 2 hours has been reached.

Please note that the responsibility for access, Internet Service Provider, browsers, Internet connection and the computer you use remains with the student. Refer system access problems (e.g. Moodle login or password issues) to the Technology and Services Assistance Centre (tasac@cqu.edu.au) as soon as possible identifying the unit, your full name, student number, campus and approximate time the problem occurred. Students are encouraged to provide their own timer and not rely on the computer.

Q1. Map out the marketing communications activity of the assigned advertisement. (10 marks)

Q2. Who is their main direct competitor and in what way is their marketing communication strategy likely to be similar or different to their main direct competitor? (10 marks).

Total: 20 marks

This assessment is to be completed entirely without the use of AI and thus demonstrate your core skills and knowledge. Specifically, the second assessment task requires you to prepare a creative brief for a new product or service focusing on the Australian market only. You will present the creative brief as a poster document. This poster document should be 1500 words maximum excluding the title page and reference list.

Your task is to choose ONE (1) of the organisations listed below and write a creative brief for a new marketing campaign.

1. You are the marketing manager for Paul Sadler Swimland (https://www.paulsadlerswimland.com/)
2. You are the marketing manager for Sammy's World of Colour (https://sammysworldofcolour.com/)
3. Your choice: The business/organisation you currently work for or the business/organisation you want to start up (but not both). If you select this option, on-campus (internal) students will need to gain approval from their workshop tutor, off-campus (external) students will need to gain approval from the unit coordinator.

NB: The Second Assessment task is related to the Third Assessment task. The option you choose will also be used in the Third Assessment task.

Your creative brief will be in the form of a poster document. The poster document will be in Word document format up to 1500 words maximum (approx. 2-3 pages). Students must incorporate visual ideas of creativity into their Word document (i.e., images and/or graphs, charts and other visuals).

Your creative brief will need to address the following two key parts:

1. What to say (message strategy statement and types of message strategies):

• Brief background information on your chosen organisation.
• Identification of potential target audience. (Who do you wish to communicate to? What are some key facts already known about this market segment?).
• Message strategy statement and campaign goals: Outline the key idea/message you are trying to communicate. (What is the major selling idea? What is the customer’s need or desire that the idea will solve?).
• The type of message strategy to be used in your creative brief. (What type of message strategy is best suited to bring your message strategy statement to life? For example, generic, positioning, unique selling proposition, etc.).

2. How to say it (appeals and execution):

• The advertising appeals to be used (i.e., rational appeals, emotional appeals, fear appeals, humour appeals, or a combination).
• The advertising execution techniques to be used (i.e., scientific evidence, testimonials, animation, imagery, dramatisation).
• Incorporating visual ideas and creativity (i.e., images and/or graphs charts and other visuals).

Instructions

• This is an individual assessment (no groups).
• Submit your poster document through the Assessment tile on the unit Moodle site.

Your poster document should contain the following:

• A single Word document (no PDF), including a title page, that addresses the two key parts above plus a reference list, using APA referencing style, showing use in-text of at least five (5) quality sources of information such as from academic journal articles, academic textbooks, trade journals, newspaper articles and industry/business websites.
• Use size 12 font with double spacing in this Word document.

Skills

• A creative brief outlines the goal of a new marketing campaign, the potential target audience and the key creative appeals to be communicated.
• A poster document combines text and graphics in a short and concise format to make a visually pleasing presentation.
• This is a challenging assignment. It will provide you with the opportunity to undertake a significant piece of work with a practical commercial application.

Creative brief content (20 marks)

• Background information. 2 marks.
• Target audience. 3 marks.
• Message strategy statement and campaign goals. 3 marks.
• Type of message strategy. 3 marks.
• Advertising appeals. 3 marks.
• Advertising execution. 3 marks.
• Citations and reference list. 3 marks.

Creative brief visual aids (10 marks)

• Clarity and design of brief. 2 marks.
• Concise and well-structured. 3 marks.
• Visuals/creativity/innovation. 5 marks.

Total: 30 marks.

This assessment is to be completed entirely without the use of AI and thus demonstrate your core skills and knowledge. Specifically, the third assessment task requires you to develop and write an Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) plan for the organisation chosen in the second assessment task. You will present the Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) plan as a formal business report. This report should be 2500 words maximum excluding the title page and reference list.

Your Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) plan should include and address each of the following:

 1. Title page

• The title page will include the name of your organisation, the start and end date of the IMC plan (e.g., July-December 2026), campaign name, your name, student ID number and lecturer/tutor name and campus (for on-campus students) and course name and code.

2. Executive summary

• The executive summary should not read like an essay. You need to highlight only those critical aspects from your IMC plan. You should provide a brief overview of the organisation (or proposed business) and product/service, outline the 3 to 5 communication objectives selected with quantifiable targets and time-frame for achievement, present the creative strategy selected (including target audience) and highlight the main elements of the media plan (including total budget).
• Use of subheadings, dot or bullet points is recommended to better present the required information.

3. Table of contents

• The table of contents will present each section of the IMC plan, including subheadings, with their appropriate page number(s). Sections should be numbered (e.g., 1.0 Introduction). The introduction begins on page 1. Pages prior to the introduction use lower case Roman numerals such as i, ii, iii, iv, etc.

4. Introduction

• The introduction should present a brief outline of the organisation (or proposed business) and the product/service that is the major focus of this IMC plan. In addition, aims and structure of the report should be presented.

5. Background and target audience analysis

• The focus here will be on presenting information as to your chosen target audience. It is expected you research the communications management and marketing literature to better understand who is likely to have an interest in your product or service. A profile then needs to be outlined that gives the reader of your IMC plan a better understanding as to whom you will be directing the proposed marketing communications. Consider market segmentation according to demographic, psycho-graphic, socio-economic and geographic customer characteristics.
• Use of additional sources of information to help support the discussion is expected.

6. Three to Five Communication objectives

• Present and explain 3 (minimum) to 5 (maximum) communication objectives for the IMC plan, with quantifiable targets and time-frame for achievement. Some objectives of marketing communications include creating brand awareness and recall, influencing interest or consumer attitudes, establishing a positive brand image and encouraging purchase behaviour. Think about, and justify, why you have selected these communication objectives for this particular target audience.
• Use of additional sources of information to help support the discussion is expected.

7. Creative strategy justification

• Students must justify their creative strategy against the target audience profile and your communication objectives.
• A brief description is required here of your creative ideas with appeal and execution outlined that matches the style of creative strategy chosen.
• Use of additional sources of information to help support the discussion is expected.

8. Media plan

• Select the advertising media and vehicle(s) you will use to achieve each of your communication objectives, and justify your use of this media based on how this best communicates with your target audience. The media plan should be a reflection of the duration of the IMC plan (start and end date) as presented in the title page. You must take into consideration the creative strategy to be adopted when selecting the most appropriate media to use.
• From the Second Assessment, option 1 or 2 selected, the budget is fixed at AUD $25,000.
• From the Second Assessment, option 3 selected, think of realistic figure/s given your business/organisation, communication objectives and the creative strategy to be adopted.
• A table (including budget totals) summarising this discussion is encouraged.
• Use of additional sources of information to help support the discussion is expected.

9. Conclusion

• In your opinion, why do you think it will be possible to achieve each of your chosen communication objectives? Briefly outline the target audience, each of the communication objectives and the creative strategy adopted to help explain your answer.

10. Reference list

• Using APA referencing style, the IMC plan should include at least ten (10) quality sources of information such as from academic journal articles, academic textbooks, trade journals, newspaper articles and industry/business websites.

Instructions

• This is an individual assessment (no groups).
• Submit your formal business report online through the Assessment tile on the unit Moodle site.

Your formal business report should contain the following:

• A single Word document (no PDF), including a title page, that addresses all the key parts above plus a reference list, using APA referencing style, showing use in-text of at least ten (10) quality sources of information such as from academic journal articles, academic textbooks, trade journals, newspaper articles and industry/business websites.
• Use size 12 font with double spacing in this Word document.

Skills

• Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) plans are essential for businesses/organisations to execute their marketing initiatives.
• This is a challenging assignment. It will provide you with the opportunity to undertake a significant piece of work with a practical commercial application. 

• Executive Summary. 4 marks.
• Introduction. 3 marks.
• Background and target audience analysis. 6 marks.
• 3-5 Communication objectives. 8 marks.
• Creative strategy. 8 marks.
• Media plan (including budget). 8 marks.
• Conclusion. 4 marks.
• Structure, grammar and presentation. 4 marks.
• Citations and reference list. 5 marks.
• Total: 50 marks.