Managing and optimizing brand equity is one of the long-term goals of any organization and thus it is a joint responsibility of all the functional departments. Brand equity is the set of assets linked to the brand. These assets include brand awareness, brand loyalty, and brand associations. Appropriate alignment of key departments with marketing is a key element in the brand management and optimization process.
As the regional marketing director leading a phased marketing strategy to reopen parks after a safety incident, you must ensure key functional departments in the organization coordinate for a smooth reopening of the parks. There is a need for clear, concise, and frequent communication for helping departments understand their responsibilities and their interdependencies with other departments. As a part of your initial analysis about the brand implications, create a presentation to help the departmental heads understand the alignment needs and the roles and responsibilities of the cross-functional departments.
Prompt
In this assignment, you will identify the responsibilities of three functional departments of the organization in the course scenario: sales, operations, and marketing. You will also share the need for alignment between these functional departments to ensure the smooth reopening of the park and to improve brand equity.
Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:
- Describe the need for an alignment among the sales, operations, and marketing departments to ensure the successful reopening of the park. Consider the following key elements (1–2 slides):
- Interdepartmental communication
- Knowledge and feedback sharing
- Identify and describe the role of these cross-functional departments and how they can contribute to improve brand equity. Consider following points for your description (3–5 slides):
- Sales
- If the sales department’s primary role is to create individual and group sales for the company, what strategy can they undertake to grow sales considering the current situation? Ground your response in research and rich detail, using citations and resources.
- Operations
- If the operations department’s primary role is the safety of the guests and employees, what strategy can they undertake to ensure a safe and fun experience for both guests and employees? Ground your response in research and rich detail, using citations and resources.
- Marketing
- If the marketing department’s primary role is to attract, retain, and grow revenues from the park’s target audience, what strategy can they undertake considering the current situation? Ground your response in research and rich detail, using citations and resources.
- Sales
What to Submit
Submit a narrated PowerPoint presentation that is 5 to 7 slides in length. Consult the Shapiro Library APA Style Guide and FAQ: Where Can I Find Information on APA Style and PowerPoint Presentations for more information.
Note: In addition to the text on the slides, remember to include audio narration in your PowerPoint presentations to convey your information effectively. If due to technical challenges, audio narration is not possible, precise and extensive speaker notes should be used to address all the critical elements in the presentation. For example, you can use brief bulleted lists on the slide and include detailed explanations in your audio narration or speaker notes.
Module Two Presentation Rubric
| Criteria | Exemplary (100%) | Proficient (90%) | Needs Improvement (70%) | Not Evident (0%) | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Need for Alignment Among Cross-Functional Departments | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies the need for alignment among the marketing, sales and operations departments specifically from a communication and knowledge-sharing perspective | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the need for alignment among functional departments to ensure the successful reopening of the park | Does not attempt criterion | 25 |
| Strategies and Brand Optimization: Sales | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies and describes the key strategy of the sales department for optimizing the brand equity | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the role of sales departments in brand optimization | Does not attempt criterion | 20 |
| Strategies and Brand Optimization: Operations | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies and describes the key strategy of the operations department for optimizing the brand equity | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the role of operations departments in brand optimization | Does not attempt criterion | 20 |
| Strategies and Brand Optimization: Marketing | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Identifies and describes the key strategy of the marketing department for optimizing the brand | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include identifying the role of marketing departments in brand optimization | Does not attempt criterion | 20 |
| Articulation of Response | Exceeds proficiency in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative manner | Clearly conveys meaning with correct grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, demonstrating an understanding of audience and purpose | Shows progress toward proficiency, but with errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, negatively impacting readability | Submission has critical errors in grammar, sentence structure, and spelling, preventing understanding of ideas | 10 |
| Citations and Attributions | Uses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with few or no minor errors | Uses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with consistent minor errors | Uses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with major errors | Does not use citations for ideas requiring attribution | 5 |
| Total: | 100% | ||||