Digital Strategy Evaluation of Tesla: Selecting and Responding to Digital Trends

Learning Outcomes:

MLO 1: 
•    Gain a critical understanding of strategic business functions, and particularly how marketing decisions fit into the context of business strategy in a digital era. You will also develop an appreciation for the digital marketplace, the challenges it poses as well as opportunities. 
MLO 2:
•    Acquire the ability to design, implement, and evaluate marketing strategies that are integrated with key business functions (e.g. financial planning), especially in the digital environment. 

MLO 3:
•    Develop the attributes of a mid-level business manager in making marketing decisions with an appreciation of how different business functions need to be strategically integrated for success in the market-place, with an added appreciation for the digital environment. 
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Assignment Brief
You are tasked with writing an individual report providing an evaluation of a chosen area of digital strategy for Tesla, who have requested you to take the role of consultant to provide insights on how Tesla should react to changes in the digital environment Tesla was founded in 2003 by a group of engineers who wanted to prove that people didn’t need to compromise to drive electric that electric vehicles can be better, quicker and more fun to drive than gasoline cars. Fast forward to today, Tesla builds not only all-electric vehicles but also infinitely scalable clean energy generation and storage products. Tesla believes the faster the world stops relying on fossil fuels and moves towards a zero-emission future, the better. With models Model S Model X, Model 3 Tesla Semi, it now produces its own vehicles in the manufacturing plant in California.  The focus of your report is therefore the car company of Tesla.

 

You are to select one topic (Digital Theme) from the list below and focus your whole report upon this
•    Digital new product development 
•    Digital Marketing Business Models 
•    Routes to Market and Multichannel Strategy
•    Promotional Strategy and Branding

Each of these topics will be introduced to you via the lecture programme, where potential themes will be identified Your report should consist of the following sections:
1.    A brief introduction to Tesla along with a review of the digital theme you have selected for the report.  You are to then identify three digital trends within your chosen digital theme that could affect Tesla within the next 5 years, using evidence and research to support. 
(20 Marks)
2.    Using marketing insights, identity a singular target market for Tesla, for the whole car offering. The focus should be on be upon the primary target market for Tesla cars, using your marketing insights to support and justify. You may consider using demographic, psychographic and geo-demographic criteria as appropriate. 
(20 Marks)
3.    Using your three digital trends from part 1, evaluate the impact these will have upon Tesla. What should Tesla do to respond to the trends you have identified?  What are the implications for Tesla and how should Tesla respond to these trends at a strategic level in order for it to ensure its innovative positioning within the market place? How are these three trends important to the target audience from part 2? (60 Marks)

 

Additional Guidance Notes

This is a business report, and therefore whilst addressing all the requirements above, it needs to be very concise and impactful. So please carefully consider and refine the contents of your submission – see the Harvard Business Review article, “How to Improve your Business Writing”, which you can access through the eLearning Portal. Given the focus on impact on the reader, please use creative/visual techniques to make and strengthen your arguments – e.g. infographics, graphs/charts, and mock-ups of target markets or market insights.

You can use appendices if you wish, for supplementary information to the main contents of your report; e.g. to show how a new and innovative marketing technique has been effectively used for another campaign – a point which you have made in the main body of the report, but would like to supplement with the contents in the appendix. However, please do so judiciously, and bear in mind that the marker has no obligation to award marks for your appendices. In other words, there is no benefit in having several pages of appendices because marks are, strictly speaking, awarded only for the contents of the main report. 

Good use of references is welcome, including academic articles, market research reports, and credible web-sources. Use these to add credence to your arguments, to support your points, or illustrate your understanding of techniques, theories etc. However, there is no benefit in simply stacking-up references to support obvious points, or basic theories (e.g. 4Ps, Segmentation criteria etc.). Also, remember this is a business report, so descriptions of basic theory are unnecessary and will quickly use-up the word-count. If you use an advanced theoretical approach (e.g. a framework proposed in a recent journal article) or refer to something very technical (e.g. DMP – Data Management Platform), then it might be worth providing a sentence of explanation for the benefit of the reader.