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