Formative Group Discussion


 

Deansgate Manchester

Task Ai:

Strategic direction of Manchester City Council (MCC):

To market Manchester and the North West region nationally and internationally, making it a world class destination for people to live, work, do business in and for tourism and leisure.

Digital Marketing Communications Objective:

To inform, advise and assist Manchester’s residents and tourists, both nationally and internationally, providing accessible and interactive information, via regular reviews of the Deansgate Manchester community and monitoring responses weekly until May 2011.

DMCM Product/Services/Offering (PSO):

To promote the Deansgate network, including reviews of Deansgate bars and restaurants, clubs and shops, allowing public feedback.

Responses engage and educate the reader. Furthermore, Deansgate reviews can advise tourists and residents on where to visit. However, how reliable are the reviews - are they subjective? Also, negative Deansgate reviews may cause anger of local businesses and reduce popularity of Deansgate.

Risks include:

·         The Project being unnoticed by MCC.

·         Become banned on Google/social networks, reducing SEO and awareness.

Task Aii:

Possible DMCM approaches:

·         Banner and PPC adverts on Google

·         Advertise reviews on the blog via social networks and MCC Facebook Page.

DMCM Choice:

1.   To use Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) to advertise the Deansgate blog.

Social media networks allow an international and national audience to help increase awareness, generate a following and advertise the services currently in the Deansgate community. This will provide an information bank exclusively showcasing Deansgate as an area, saving users time.

Risks include:

·         Reviews are costly, time consuming and may affect the Deansgate brand.

·         People can post their own comments on the information supplied, this would need to be monitored.

·         Quality of Blog content.

Disregarded Choice:

MCC can’t afford banner and PPC adverts as there is currently no budget for this. With cuts in Government expenditure, there is no capacity to assemble these adverts. Digital Deansgate has limited staff members and a lack of knowledge about digital marketing communications management as this is a learning process.

 

Michelle Lee              07188684

Alanna Ashton           07347041

Elena Williams           07297523

Tim Grimes                07203868

Jack Finlay                 07221455

Introduction to Digital Deansgate - DMCM

We are currently studying at university doing a Digital Marketing Communications Management (DMCM) module at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School.

We have formed a DMCM company called Digital Deansgate, which aims to establish a platform by which Deansgate is promoted and reviewed.

Our team consists of five members:

Social Media Manager:               Elle Williams

Social Media Coordinator:           Tim Grimes

SEO Manager:                          Jack Finlay

Review Coordinator:                  Alanna Ashton

Media/Design Specialist:             Michelle Lee

Our Mission Statement

“Our core purpose is to inform, advise and assist Manchester’s residents and tourists, providing accessible and interactive information, via regular updates in the Deansgate online community.”

Chosen Organisation

We, Digital Deansgate have chosen to develop a digital marketing communications and business strategy for Manchester City Council (MCC). MCC currently has a website and a Facebook group, however, we see much room for improvement. MCC's values are People, Pride and Place. Digital Deansgate aims to concentrate on Place to "celebrate all things Manchester" and make improvements to where people visit, specifically Deansgate.

The strategic direction of MCC is:

"To market Manchester and the North West region nationally and internationally, making it a world class destination for people to live, work, do business in and for tourism and leisure."

The website is used to showcase all of the services MCC offers and the facebook group allows some interaction between residents and tourists in Manchester and MCC.

We aim to improve!

Follow us on Twitter - Deansgate_UK

Follow us on Facebook - Add Deansgate Manchester as a friend to find out more...

Task 2: DMCM updates

Task 2:

·         Improvements to existing social media existence;

o       Deansgate’s own Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, You Tube accounts

o       Link up with existing Manchester City Council (MCC) Facebook page

·         Links on MCC website, personal accounts and Manchester websites to do with events, bars and restaurant services.

·         Banner adverts on Google

·         Pay per click adverts on Google

·         Reviews of Deansgate localities via digital resources

·         Allowing comments from anyone to be supplied

Choices>>>

1.    Reviews of restaurants, bars, nightclubs and shops in Deansgate Manchester.

2.    To use Social Media Networks such as those mentioned above to advertise the    Deansgate blog.

3.    To use digital resources such as You Tube and Flickr to showcase Deansgate in      videos and images.

Why>>>

1.    Reviews on Deansgate specifically are hard to find and there is nowhere currently that advises visitors to Manchester where to go in Deansgate.

2.    Social media networks allow an international and national audience and helps to increase awareness, generate a following and advertise the services currently in the Deansgate community.

3.     Instead of using just the social media networks, other digital devices such as You Tube can showcase Deansgate in a different light and attract a different audience.

Why not the others?>>>

MCC can’t afford banner and PPC adverts as there is currently no budget for this. With cuts in Government expenditure, there is no capacity to assemble these adverts. Digital Deansgate also has limited staff members and a lack of knowledge about digital marketing communications management as this is a learning process.

Advantages>>>

1.      It can appeal to an international and national audience.

2.      Improvements to the social media existence will get more people talking about and visiting Deansgate.

3.      It puts Deansgate on the Map.

4.      It has information all in one spot for people trying to find out information for nights out and visits to Manchester.

5.      There are many ways to showcase Deansgate with the choices we plan to use. 

Risks/Disadvantages>>>

1.      Amount of time and money to undertake reviews

2.      Quality of reviews/videos/images/content

Task one: DMCM updated

Task 1

Strategic direction of Manchester City Council>>>

To market Manchester and the North West region nationally and internationally, making it a world class destination for people to live, work, do business in and for tourism and leisure.

Digital Deansgate Objective>>>

To inform, advise and assist Manchester’s residents and tourists, both nationally and internationally, providing accessible and interactive information, via regular reviews of the Deansgate community.

Service and Offering>>>

To review Deansgate restaurants, pubs, clubs and shops

To provide interactive content

CHOICE??

Advantages>>>

1.            Interactive content engages and educates the reader

2.            The reviews can advise tourists and residents on where to go.

3.            It puts Deansgate on the map

Disadvantages>>>

1.            How reliable are the reviews - will they subjective?

2.            People can post their own comments on the information supplied, this would need to be monitored.

3.            Bad reviews may cause anger of local businesses and reduce popularity of businesses in Deansgate.

Risks>>>

1.            Permission to undertake the project from MCC.

2.            To be banned on Google or social networks, therefore reducing SEO and overall awareness.

3.            Complaints by local businesses for bad reviews.

TARGET AUDIENCE

KEY PHRASES IN RED!

TASK TWO: DMCM Ideas and Objectives

Task 2:

Digital marketing:

v  Improvements to existing social media

o    Deansgate’s own Facebook, twitter, linked in, you tube accounts

o    Link up with existing Manchester City Council Facebook page

o    Links on MCC website

o    Links to personal accounts

o    Links on Manchester websites to do with events, bars and restaurant services

v  Banner adverts

v  Pay per click adverts

v  Reviews via digital resources

v  Allowing comments from anyone to be supplied

CHOICES>>>

1.    Reviews

2.    Social Media Networks

3.    Digital resources such as You Tube and Flickr

WHY??

1.    DDDD

2.    EEEE

3.    FFFF

WHY NOT THE OTHERS:

Can’t afford banner adverts – no budget

Can’t afford PPC adverts – no budget

No capcity to build banner ad

Limited staff members

Lack of knowledge about digital marketing – still learning

Cuts from Government

Pros

Cons

Risks

TASK ONE: DMCM Ideas and Objectives

Task 1

Strategic direction of Manchester City Council:

To market Manchester and the North West region nationally and internationally, making it a world class destination for people to live, work, do business in and for tourism and leisure.

Objective:

To inform, advise and assist Manchester’s residents and tourists, both nationally and internationally, providing accessible and interactive information, via regular reviews of the Deansgate community.

Service and Offering

Reviews

Provides interactive content

CHOICE??

Pros

Engages the reader

Educates

Advises on where to go

Puts Deansgate on the map

Cons

How reliable are the reviews - are they subjective?

People can post their own comments on the information supplied

Bad reviews may cause anger of local businesses

Risks

Permission…

Banned on Google or social networks

Complaints

TARGET AUDIENCE

KEY PHRASES

Introduction to Digital Deansgate!

We are currently studying at university doing a Digital Marketing Communications Management (DMCM) module at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School.

We have formed a DMCM company called Digital Deansgate, which aims to establish a platform by which Deansgate is promoted and reviewed.

Our team consists of five members:

v  Social Media Manager:         Elle Williams

v  Social Media Coordinator:     Tim Grimes

v  SEO Manager:                    Jack Finlay

v  Review Coordinator:            Alanna Ashton

v  Media Specialist:                Michelle Lee

Our Mission Statement

“Our core purpose is to inform, advise and assist Manchester’s residents and tourists, providing accessible and interactive information, via regular updates in the Deansgate online community.”

Follow us on Twitter - Deansgate_UK

Follow us on Facebook - Deansgate Manchester