Digital Marketing Planning_13947813

Digital Marketing Planning (DMP4) / 13947813
1
Assignment / Project Front Sheet
CIM Membership
Number: 13947813
Unit Title: Digital Marketing Planning
Level/Award: Diploma in Digital Marketing
Accredited Study
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DIGITAL MARKETING PLANNING
CONTENTS
TASK TWO - Production of the Digital Marketing Plan…………………………..……………....3
TASK ONE - Marketing Audit……………………………………………………………………...16
TASK THREE - Report on Digital Marketing Planning………………………………………….22
Total Word Count: 4,394
APPENDIX - Organisation Background…………………………………………………………..29

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TASK TWO
THE DIGITAL MARKETING PLAN
Produced for the Digital Marketing Director, UK Football Academy
By Jane Saint, Marketing Executive
CONTENTS
Digital Marketing Audit Summary
- Current Position
- Target Audience Outline
- Key Issues that Impact on the Online Community
- External Issues
- Internal Issues
Digital Marketing Plan
- Situation Analysis
- Objectives
- Strategy
- Tactics
- Actions
- Controls
Word Count: 3,294

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Digital Marketing Audit Summary
Current Position
UK Football Academy’s current online market position is strong, appearing top or near the
top of the natural Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) for a wide selection of keyword
searches such as:
 UK Football Academy
 Football Academy UK
 Football academies in England
 English football academies
The results of these searches deliver the UK Football Academy website link above its main
competitors on a large number of occasions giving a distinct competitive advantage.
Through the in-depth Competitor Comparison Analysis however, certain areas did show
improvement and / or development opportunities and through the use of a scoring system
across a wide range of criteria, UK Football Academy ranked 2nd
against its three main
competitors online.
Target Audience Outline
Analysis of UK Football Academy’s target market has shown that it can be segmented into
three target audiences, 11-15 year old boys, 16-22 year old youths and parents / guardians.
The target audience for building an online community to aid business development is
therefore the first two segments as they show the greater propensity for engaging in online
communities and social networks.
This target audience is highly focused on football and becoming professional footballers but
also has all the other normal interests of boys that age i.e. music and cars etc. and therefore
are also easier to engage with socially as a group than with the parents / guardians segment
who have a far greater diversity of interests and are therefore harder to engage with as one.
Key issues that impact on the online community
External Issues
 Political instability in emerging markets is an important factor as if a country where
many players come from, and is therefore a key part of the online community, falls
into turmoil a downturn in internet use would be expected which could directly impact
the number of people within the community.
 Foreign governments’ technological policies are also important as initiatives could aid
in the online community’s growth by making it easier for people to access the internet
while restrictions could greatly hinder it. The foreign policies of the countries that the
higher proportions of players come from should therefore be monitored so that any
initiatives that could benefit the growth of the online community can be shared and
take up encouraged. The sharing of this information will also help growth by adding
non-directly football-related value to the community conversation.

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 UK government initiatives may offer direct benefits to UK Football Academy and
therefore the growth of the online community through sponsored links, subsidies for
investment or free staff training and these should therefore be monitored to take
advantage of if available.
Internal Issues
 The website which is one channel to the online community has good content, use of
photos and video but needs development to focus more on the customer:
- The pages need to be cleaner and less cluttered
- The writing should be an easy colour to read
- Link text should be uniform
- The logo / brand needs to be consistent in colour and the strapline easy to read
- Sponsored links need to work
- Page mistakes need correcting
“.. minor problems need to be corrected because they reduce the credibility of the site”
(Chaffey, D., 2009 E-Business and E-Commerce Management. Pearson Education UK)
The better the journey through the website, both directing people to the online
community and taking people from the community through the sales funnel to making
a booking, the better the customer experience and therefore the better the success of
both the community and the business.
 UK Football Academy has competitive advantage through its age and price range
and there is therefore an opportunity to influence the online community by
highlighting this.
 There is also an opportunity to add value to customers and increase revenue through
the introduction of an online shop to the website. This addition could then be shared
through the online community providing further content as well sales promotion to
increase revenue.
 Facebook and Twitter are not used to their full potential as they are not updated
regularly enough or promoted to current players to engage with. This is a key area
that can be taken advantage of to grow the online community to aid business
development.
 There is also an opportunity to add value and increase stickiness to the online
community by using YouTube as a key part of content and engagement.
 There is an opportunity to add value to website by the addition of a translate facility.
This would aid the many foreign speaking target audience’s user experience by
making it easier for them to understand the information they are researching.

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 There is also an opportunity to add value to the website through the addition of live
chat customer service function. Being able to interact in real-time with UK Football
Academy staff will give a heightened user experience and encourage conversion.
 There is also an opportunity to add value to the target audience and increase data
collection through the addition of an e-newsletter. This will aid the growth of the
online community by being an added source of content as well as allowing the
opportunity of direct marketing through the sign up process.
Below is a summary of the key issues brought to light by the Digital Marketing Audit that the
Digital Marketing Plan addresses:
 Website development to improve the user journey to and from the online community
 More proactive use of Facebook and Twitter
 Increase data collection and add value through the introduction of an e-newsletter
 Add value and increase stickiness by using YouTube
Digital Marketing Plan
This plan has been created using the recognised SOSTAC® planning model, originally
developed in the 1990s by PR Smith to help with marketing planning.
Situation - “where are we now”?
The situation analysis has been fulfilled by carrying out the Digital Marketing Audit which can
be found under the second section of this document.
Objectives - “where do we want to go”?
These objectives are designed support the main business objective of building an online
community to aid business development.
Key issue Objective
Website development To improve customer experience by
grouping relevant content together,
improving the readability colour, making the
link text and brand colours uniform, fixing
broken sponsored links and reducing page
mistakes to zero within 2 months
Facebook not used to full potential To drive traffic to the online community by
doubling the number of Facebook followers
within 4 months
Twitter not used to full potential To drive traffic to the online community by
doubling the number of Twitter followers
within 6 months
E-newsletter opportunity To improve customer experience and drive
traffic to the online community by creating an
e-newsletter and distributing to 100

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subscribers within 8 months
YouTube opportunity To drive traffic to the online community by
creating two new YouTube videos and
attracting 10,000 views within 12 months
Objectives Rationale
Improving the usability of the website and therefore the customer experience will aid in
increasing traffic to and from the community.
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are the key social areas for the online community to exist
and engage and it is therefore vital to use these tools to their full potential to grow the
community.
The introduction of an e-newsletter will add value and content to the community and
therefore also aid in its’ growth.
These objectives support the overall Marketing Strategy by helping to reach greater numbers
of potential players globally through growth mediums that are widely accepted and trusted by
the target audience.
Strategy - “how the objectives will be achieved”.
Strategy Statement
UK Football Academy will use a mix of digital and social media channels to create an
interactive community through the delivery of football related information and facilitation of
online games, competitions and conversation topics to enhance the experience of its players
and wider audience.
The long term aims of the community are to build brand loyalty and advocacy to encourage
Academy bookings and therefore to provide the community with reassurance, the brand
itself will be consistently represented across all channels and touch points.
UK Football Academy’s target audience has been segmented into three groups, 11-15 year
old minors, 16-22 year old youths and parents / guardians and this Digital Marketing
Strategy focuses on the first two segments as their online behaviour is already to engage
with and trust online communities.
Their main interests are also the same i.e. to become professional footballers and this
commonality means that no further differentiation needs to be implemented in order to
promote engagement and the content used can be focused on meeting their needs.
The strategy is to use the recognised channels of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube,
promoted through the website and e-newsletter and the content used, positioned to create
interest in the Academy, add value to prospective players’ investigations and to engage in a
fun way with prospective and current players to develop an interactive community that self-
engages and shares information and ideas.

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In order for the community to be successful, it must be interactive and engaging and the
strategy is therefore to start conversations, ask questions, listen and add value.
The audit findings support this strategy as they highlighted an inconsistency in brand
experience and showed opportunities to implement an e-newsletter and better use
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Tactics - “what will be done to achieve the objectives”.
The Digital Marketing Plan Strategy is focused solely on achieving the over-arching business
objective of building an online community to aid business development, the community itself
therefore being considered “the product” of the Marketing Mix.
Though “the product” itself may involve financial investment in its achievement, it does not
have a pricing element directly attached to it and does not therefore incorporate the ‘Convert’
stage of the recognised RACE framework.
Distribution and promotion of “the product” will be through placement on the chosen
platforms of the website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube which will deliver the identified
Objectives and Strategy, which in turn will meet the needs of the target audience who
already engage on these platforms.
The facilitation of “the product” will be the main responsibility of the Marketing Manager who
will follow a scheduled process which will include delegation to other company employees
and invited content stakeholders for specific input tasks, where required.
The physical evidence of “the product” is brand consistency and the growth and increased
engagement of the community itself.
Below is a detailed outline of the chosen Tactics:
Objective Tactics
To improve customer experience by
Navigation bars across the top and down the
left hand side of the home page to be sorted
into segmented relevance and redeployed
under hew headings across the top with drop
down options from the main new subject
heading
Investigation to be undertaken into the best
colours to use on websites for ease of
reading and the site re-designed based on
the results with all link texts becoming one
uniform colour
Consideration to be taken into the brand
identity and following decision, the logo to be
redeployed in one uniform format
Sponsors to be contacted for confirmation of
link approvals and provision of correct
forwarding paths for re-linking to the website

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Website to be read in its entirety and all page
errors corrected
To drive traffic to the online community by
within 4 months
Invite all signed up Academy players to join
Add new conversation-provoking posts at
least 3 times per week
Comment on posts from other sites at least 3
times a week
Share posts from other sites at least three
times a week
Upload new photos at least once a week and
encourage tagging and sharing
Upload new video content at least once
every two weeks and encourage tagging and
sharing
Target a Facebook Social Ad for one month
Add the Facebook “like” widget to the
website
Link Facebook to Twitter account
Display Facebook logo on all other
communications
Play games and share, inviting competition
within 6 months
Link Twitter account to Facebook
Display Twitter logo on all other
communications
Tweet with at least one football player or
culturally fitting celebrity each day
Use Tweet O’clock to aid timely interaction
Tweet discussion-provoking content at least
twice a day
Use Tweet-Doc to upload documents and
video
Use Twit-scoop to learn buzzing keywords
Categorise feed using a hash tag to make
posts more visible to people who search for
tagged keywords

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To improve customer experience and drive
“Users spend 51 seconds reading the
average newsletter. The layout and writing
both need superb usability to survive in the
high-pressure environment of a crowded
inbox.” Jakob Nielsen, leading web usability
consultant
Decide on the focus of the e-newsletter and
the frequency of release
Design sign up form
Create Edition 1 content
Include photos to make more personal
Include a further call to action
Decide on and purchase e-newsletter
software i.e. Mail Chimp
Decide Edition 2 content
Add sign up link next to other social media
buttons on website
Post about on Facebook and Twitter once a
week
Decide on focus of videos i.e. keepy-uppy by
current Academy players
Engage with media students to invite to film
Create YouTube account
Upload using YouTube tutorials / directions
Share via Facebook and Twitter once a
month
Display YouTube logo on all other
communications
Create buzz i.e. by inviting guesses as to
how many times ball kept up
Action - “what the plan is to achieve the objectives i.e. who will do what and when”.
What Who When
Website Development
Google investigation into the
best colours to use on
websites for ease of reading
Assessment of content for
segmentation
Contact sponsors for
confirmation of link approvals
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
June 2012
June 2012
June 2012

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and correct forwarding paths
for re-linking to the website
Meeting to decide on brand
identity, text colours and less
cluttered format
Navigation bars across the
top and down the left hand
side of the home page to be
sorted into segmented
relevance and redeployed
under hew headings across
the top with drop down
options from the main new
subject heading, logo to be
redeployed in one uniform
format and the site re-
designed according to text
colour decision
Website proof reading
Refreshed website launch
Marketing Manager,
Academy Director and
Business Advisor
Out-sourced web designer
Marking Manager
June 2012
June / July 2012
July 2012
August 2012
Grow Facebook Followers
Invite all signed up Academy
players to join
Add new conversation-
provoking posts at least 3
times per week
Comment on posts from
other sites at least 3 times a
week
Share posts from other sites
at least three times a week
Upload new photos at least
once a week and encourage
tagging and sharing
Upload new video content at
least once every two weeks
and encourage tagging and
sharing
Target a Facebook Social Ad
for one month
Add the Facebook “like”
widget to the website
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
June 2012
On-going from June 2012
On-going from 1st
June 2012
1 month from July 2012
1 month from June 2012

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Link Facebook to Twitter
account
Display Facebook logo on all
other communications
Play games and share
inviting competition
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager,
Academy Director &
Coaching Staff
June 2012
Grow Twitter Followers
Link Twitter account to
Facebook
Tweet with at least one
football player or culturally
fitting celebrity each day
Sign up to Tweet O’clock to
aid timely interaction
Tweet discussion-provoking
content at least twice a day
Learn how to use Tweet-Doc
to upload documents and
video
Use Twit-scoop at least once
a day to learn up to date
buzzing keywords to assist
posting discussion-provoking
content
Display Twitter logo on all
Use a hash tag at least once
a day to make posts more
visible to people who search
for tagged keywords
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
June 2012
June 2012
June 2013
Implement e-Newsletter
Meeting to decide on the
focus of the e-newsletter and
the frequency of release
Design sign up form
Create Edition 1 content
Decide on existing photos to
use to make more personal
Marketing Manager,
Business Advisor
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager,
Business Advisor
Marketing Manager,
June 2012
June 2012
June / July 2012
July 2012

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and purchase e-newsletter
software i.e. Mail Chimp
Create newsletter including a
further call to action
Decide on Decide Edition 2
content
Proof read newsletter
content
Add sign up link next to other
social media buttons on
website
Go live and start posting
about on Facebook and
Twitter once a week
Business Advisor
Marketing Manager,
Business Advisor
Marketing Manager
Out-sourced web-designer
Out-sourced web-designer /
Marketing Manager
1 month from July 2012
July 2012
June / July 2012
June / July 2012
August 2012
Maximise YouTube
Decide on focus of videos
i.e. keepy-uppy by current
Academy players
Engage with Media Students
to invite to film
Create YouTube account
Upload video using YouTube
tutorials / directions
Share via Facebook and
Twitter once a month
Display YouTube logo on all
Create buzz once a month
by instigating competition i.e.
inviting guesses as to how
many times keepy-uppy ball
kept up
Marketing Manager,
Business Advisor
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager / Media
Students
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
Marketing Manager
September 2012
September 2012
September 2012
October 2012
On-going from October 2012
The timings shown above have been dictated by the SMART Objectives identified:
 Website development within 2 months
 Facebook fans doubled within 4 months
 Twitter followers doubled within 6 months
 e-newsletter implemented and distributed within 8 months

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 YouTube videos created and shared within 12 months
Budgetary impact will be minimal as the majority of actions are to be undertaken by the
Marketing Manager as part of her day to day duties and where other stakeholders need to
be engaged, such as the Academy Director and Business Advisor, this will also be part of
“business as usual”.
The other external resources required should also not involve any large budgetary input as
the out-sourced web-designer is retained on a service contract and it is envisaged to engage
the media students by offering them the opportunity to create the videos as part of their
University course.
Control - “did we get there?”
Objective Measurement
improving the readability colour, making
the link text and brand colours uniform,
fixing broken sponsored links and
reducing page mistakes to zero within 2
months
Pre and post-development usability testing i.e.
ease of use, site availability and performance
by selected players, friends and family plus
adherence to the scope given to out-sourced
web designer
doubling the number of Facebook
followers within 4 months
The amount of weekly activity and the
recorded number of Facebook “likes”
within 6 months
The amount of daily activity and the recorded
number of Twitter Account “followers”
To improve customer experience and
drive traffic to the online community by
creating an e-newsletter and distributing
to 100
Adherence to the scope given to out-sourced
web designer plus the number of recorded
subscriptions
Adherence to the scope given to out-sourced
Media Students plus the number of recorded
views

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Digital Marketing Plan Online Reference Sites:
http://blazingminds.co.uk/10-simple-ways-increase-twitter/ [Accessed on 3rd May 2012]
http://www.cim.co.uk/marketingplanningtool/sect7/sect74.asp [Accessed on 2nd May 2012]
http://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/sostac-model/ [Accessed on 2nd
May 2012]
http://www.smartinsights.com/goal-setting-evaluation/goals-kpis/integrated-online-marketing-
strategy-a-tool-for-integrating/ [Accessed on 9th
May 2012]
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/21-creative-ways-to-increase-your-facebook-fanbase/
[Accessed on 3rd May 2012]
http://www.techterms.com/definition/hashtag [Accessed on 8th May 2012]
http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/quarterly/people/note.html [Accessed on 9th May 2012]
http://www.twitscoop.com/ [Accessed on 8th May 2012]
http://twitter.com/#!/tweetoclock [Accessed on 8th May 2012]
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/11/a-guide-to-creating-email-newsletters/
[Accessed on 3rd May 2012]
http://www.youtube.com/t/creators_corner [Accessed on 3rd May 2012]

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TASK ONE
MARKETING AUDIT

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This Digital Marketing Audit has been conducted to analyse UK Football Academy’s
current online presence and its market position with a view to developing a Digital Marketing
Plan to build an online community to aid business development.
The audit uses the recognised PESTLE analysis tool to understand the wider (macro)
environment:
Politics
 Political instabilities worldwide are highly important to UK Football Academy as a large number of players come from
emerging markets so one of these markets collapsing politically could greatly impact on bookings
 Government policies are important to UK Football Academy as decisions such as the increase in Employer’s National
Insurance Contributions of 1% from 6 April 2011 are an unwelcome tax on employment
 The Local Authority’s budget decisions also have an impact on UK Football Academy as for example, higher council
tax will erode profit margins as will increased business rates
 Government initiatives for small businesses such as sponsorship for online / digital development or free training could
greatly benefit UK Football Academy by enhancing the website offering and up-skilling staff
Economics
 Inflation is the main economic concern to UK Football Academy as higher costs relating to the daily provision of the
services will erode profit margins. Specific cost areas are:
- Fuel prices
- Food & grocery prices
- Gas & Electricity charges
- Water rates
- Insurance rates
 Exchange rates have an impact on UK Football Academy as a strong pound may out-price potential players from
being able to make bookings
Social
 The lifestyles of world football stars are important to UK Football Academy as these are the role models that are
aspired to and provide the strong motivations to become a professional footballer and invest in an Academy
programme
Technology
 As UK Football Academy is almost solely marketed online developments in technology across the world are
important as more people able to get online will result in more potential customers
 Government investment, or lack of it, is also important especially in the emerging markets where the majority of
players travel from
Legal
 Data protection is important to UK Football Academy due to the personal details of players being recorded
 E-commerce legislation is very relevant to UK Football Academy – “E-commerce - selling goods over the internet - is
subject to legislation and regulation which can be complex and changes regularly. Transactions and any electronic
marketing - such as promotional emails or online newsletters - are regulated.”
(http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1075384925 [Accessed on 25
th
April 2012])
 Employment law and Consumer Protection legislation are important, as being a small company, breaching
regulations could result in the business being shut down if a court judgement was to go against UK Football Academy
 UK Football Academy is also affected by laws relating to the care of minors (anyone under the age of 18) and though
the Academy does not accept an in loco parentis responsibility for minors, it does recognise that it has special duties
of care towards the minors attending its programmes.
Environment
 Heightened awareness of green issues could have an impact on UK Football Academy if more players decided that
they’d rather seek solutions in their own country to reduce their carbon footprint than fly abroad
The Micro-environment
Target markets Online needs & behaviour
 UK Football Academy’s target audience is global as
players are accepted from anywhere in the world as
long as they can meet UK visa restrictions
 The target audience can be segmented into three,
two ages groups of players, 11-15 minors and 16-
22 youths and their parents / guardians
 Players and parents / guardians alike research
information online to identify available football
academy providers in the UK
 Once possible providers have been identified, they
evaluate their options from the information found on
each providers website and social networking
pages

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 The target playing audience is restricted to boys
only
 As UK Football Academy’s aim is to help players go
on to be signed by a professional football club, the
playing target market is for boys with professional
footballing ambitions, rather than boys who simply
enjoy football as a hobby
 Due to fees involved with playing at the Academy,
the parental / guardian target audience is mid
income to affluent
 Due to the residential nature of the Academy, the
parental / guardian target audience are dedicated to
helping their children succeed and broad minded
enough to allow their children to travel
independently to and remain in the UK for an
extended period
 Due to the global awareness of the English Premier
League all segments of the target audience
consider the UK the best place for football training
 Due to the global nature of the target audience,
they need to be able to make initial contact online
and this is normally made through the website by
parents / guardians or through Facebook by
potential players
 Initial contact is normally asking for further
information or information clarification and due to
the global nature of most enquiries, this information
is needs to be able to be provided online via email
 The target audiences look for reassurance of the
Academy’s service online through videos,
testimonials and social engagement
 Due to the global nature of the target audience,
they need bookings and payments be taken online
 Also due to the global nature of the target audience,
they need customer service to be available online
 The target audiences also look for engagement and
entertainment from online sources
Competitor Comparison Analysis
Mark scheme: 0 = Not working / not implemented 1 = Poor 2 = Medium 3 = Good
UK Football Academy Elite Football Academy Football-Academy Football CV Academy
URL www.uk-
footballacademy.com (2)
www.elite-
footballacademy.com (2)
www.football-
academy.co.uk (2)
www.footballcvacademy.com (2)
Page “busy-ness” Busy (1) Busy (1) Medium (2) Medium (2)
Home page ease of
view (fonts & colours)
Poor use of colour – green &
blue difficult to read on grey
background and inconsistent
colour use on page links (1)
Colour scheme easy to view
but page crossover leaves
25% unreadable (1)
Blue a little nauseous
and initially loaded
font size small (2)
Colour scheme easy to view, consistently
coloured page links, initially loaded font
size slightly small (3)
Initial load speed Good (3) Good (3) Good (3) Good (3)
Ease of navigation Medium (2) Medium (2) Poor (1) Good (3)
Speed of navigation Good (3) Medium (2) Good (3) Good (3)
Ages catered for: 11-22 years (3) 15-21 years (2) Unspecified (0) 16-19 years (1)
Price range: £1,560 - £19,000 (3) £2,900 +VAT - £24,000 +
VAT (2)
Unspecified (0) £9,500 - £24,000 (2)
Sponsored links 6 (2) None (0) None (0) 10 (3)
Link speed Slow - 1 / Failed to link – 5
(0)
n/a (0) n/a (0) Less than 3 seconds (3)
Non-sponsored
affiliations
1 (1) 4 (2) 0 (0) 0 (0)
Logo / brand strength Inconsistent use of colour on
branding & difficult to read
strapline around football (1)
Writing on gold not totally
easy to read but logo overall
easily recognisable as
football related (2)
Weak on blue
background where
mostly shown, better
against white. Unsure
target audience will
get oyster ref (1)
Red & black colour scheme easy to look
at, simple design easily football related
and consistently used on site (3)
Video content Yes (3) No (0) Yes (3) Yes (3)
Speed of video load 5 seconds (2) n/a (0) Unable to load (0) 2 seconds (3)
Expandable photos Yes (3) Only on gallery page (2) No + unable to load
gallery photos (0)
No but used as links (2)
Online shop No (0) No (0) Yes (3) No (0)
Facebook link Yes (3) Yes (3) No (0) Yes (3)
FB followers (likes) 248 (1) 821 (3) n/a (0) 582 (2)
Twitter link Yes (3) Yes (3) No (0) Yes (3)
Twitter followers 255 (3) 204 (3) n/a (0) 154 (1)
YouTube link No (0) No (0) No (0) Yes (3)
Subscribers / views n/a (0) n/a (0) n/a (0) 77 / 74,841 (3)
Translate option No (0) Yes – but doesn’t work! (0) No (0) Yes – and working well (Google Translate)
(3)
Live chat option No (0) No (0) No (0) Yes (email option if support offline) (3)
Newsletter sign up No (0) No (0) No (0) Yes (3)
Page mistakes 5 (2) 3 (3) 7 (1) 0 (3)
Marks out of 78 42 36 21 63

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SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
 Senior management and coaching staff have good football industry knowledge and mentoring & motivating abilities
 Office workforce have good business acumen
 Recent price increase has not effected bookings
 100% online marketing is economic and flexible
 UK Football Academy has strong promotional links
 Customer service is flexible with quick phone and email response
Weaknesses
 Poor cash flow and only 10% profit margin
 Senior management has limited business acumen
 Office workforce has limited football industry and marketing knowledge
 There is no training or development in place for office workforce
 Process failures have been experienced (website offline for 2 weeks)
 Brand is not uniform across business
 There are very limited marketing resources
 There is no customer analysis, segmentation or satisfaction recorded
Opportunities
 Greater internet use & development across the world, especially in emerging markets
 Olympics heightening awareness worldwide of sport in the UK
 Increasing populations worldwide = more 11 to 22 year olds
Threats
 Political instability around the world
 Inflation on the rise
Global Market Size for Online “football academy” searches in the UK

20
Search Engine Market Position for UK Football Academy
Google
Yahoo

21
Digital Marketing Online Reference Sites:
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/layer?topicId=1075384925 [Accessed on 25th
April 2012]
http://www.elite-footballacademy.com [Accessed on 1st
May 2012]
http://www.football-academy.co.uk [Accessed on 1st
May 2012]
http://www.footballcvacademy.comhttp://www.ukcisa.org.uk/files/pdf/about/material_media/u
nder18_guide.pdf [Accessed on 25th April 2012]
http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&sclient=psy-
ab&q=English+football+academies&oq=English+football+academies&aq=f&aqi=g1g-K1g-
m1g-
mK1&aql=&gs_l=hp.3..0j0i30j0i5j0i5i30.14930.22496.8.22622.23.18.0.3.3.3.1206.4387.3-
2j2j3j0j1.8.0...0.0.VCZhplrv1tA&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=1dce7cc5f68
d83de&biw=1024&bih=628 [Accessed on 9th
May 2012]
http://www.google.com/insights/search/#q=uk%20football%20academy%2Cuk%20football%
20training%2Cuk%20football%20coaching%2Cuk%20football%20school%2Cuk%20soccer
%20academy&date=today%2012-m&cmpt=q [Accessed on 1st
May 2012]
http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-swot.html# [Accessed on 25th
April
2012]
http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_10.htm
[Accessed on 1st May 2012]
http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/files/pdf/about/material_media/under18_guide.pdf [Accessed on 1st
May 2012]
http://www.uk-footballacademy.com [Accessed on 1st
May 2012]
http://www.uk.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A7x9Qb0a6KpPcH4AHDlLBQx.?p=uk+football
+academy&fr2=sb-top&fr=yfp-t-702&type_param=&rd=r1 [Accessed on 9th
May 2012]
http://www.which.co.uk/money/tax/guides/emergency-budget-2010-highlights/ [Accessed on
25th
April 2012]

22
TASK THREE
REPORT ON DIGITAL MARKETING PLANNING
Word Count: 1,100

23
REPORT ON DIGITAL MARKETING PLANNING
By Jane Saint, Marketing Executive
For Noelle Thompson, Marketing Manager
Introduction
This report has been produced to describe how the various elements of the digital marketing
planning process link together, to identify two key factors from the audit that influenced the
content of the plan and to explain how the digital marketing mix within the plan is designed
specifically to support the objectives of the plan.
Main Findings
1. How the Elements of the Digital Planning Process Link Together
The elements link the process together by taking the plan through a sequential journey with
the detail from each element leading the decisions for the next stage.
The situation analysis assessed the wider outside, or “macro” environment using PESTLE:
“There are many factors in the macro-environment that will affect the decisions of the
managers of any organisation. Tax changes, new laws, trade barriers, demographic change
and government policy changes are all examples of macro change. To help analyse these
factors managers can categorise them using the PESTEL model.”
(http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_12.htm
[Accessed on 24th April 2012])
The closer or “micro” environment which: “consists of stakeholder groups that a firm has
regular dealings with. The way these relationships develop can affect the costs, quality and
overall success of a business.”
(http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199296378/01student/additional/page_10.htm
[Accessed on 1st May 2012])
And finally, the interior environment using SWOT analysis “a tool for auditing an
organization and its environment. It is the first stage of planning and helps marketers to
focus on key issues. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors. Opportunities and threats are external
factors.” (http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-swot.html# [Accessed on
25th
April 2012])
The results from these analyses and the insights subsequently gained decided the
Objectives of the plan which all link directly to the business strategy to build an online
community to aid business development:
“Companies that understand how customers use the new media in their purchase decision-
making can develop integrated communications strategies that support their customers at
each stage of the buying process.” (Chaffey, D., 2009 E-Business and E-Commerce
Management. Pearson Education UK)

24
Insight – Evidence from Audit Objective
Customer experience can be improved
through making the website easier to view
and navigate
There is target audience appetite for greater
Facebook engagement, evidenced by
greater numbers of followers to two of UK
Football Academy’s competitors Facebook
pages
within 4 months
There is target audience appetite for greater
Twitter engagement, evidenced by two of UK
Football Academy’s competitors also
attracting hundreds of followers
within 6 months
There is target audience appetite for an e-
newsletter, evidenced by UK Football
Academy’s leading competitor using this tool
To improve customer experience and drive
There is target audience appetite for
YouTube engagement, evidenced by UK
Football Academy’s leading competitor using
this tool and attracting tens of thousands of
views
These Objectives drive the Strategy of the plan which is evidenced by the Strategy
Statement:
UK Football Academy will use a mix of digital and social media channels to create an
interactive community through the delivery of football related information and facilitation of
online games, competitions and conversation topics to enhance the experience of its players
and wider audience.
The Strategy in turn leads the Tactics to be adopted, which focus on using the digital
marketing mix and are discussed in more detail in Section 3 of this report.
[Richard Sedley] “Customer engagement places the strategic emphasis on the creation of
valuable relationships and encourages both parties to see mutual advantage in that
relationship. Frequently this will mean that your tactics require a multi-channel approach”
(http://www.smartinsights.com/customer-engagement/customer-engagement-
strategy/customer-engagement-interview-with-richard-sedley-of-cscape/ [Accessed on 23rd
May 2012])
The Actions are the physical activities required to turn the Tactics into reality and that will
ensure the Objectives are achieved. The Actions chosen have been done so to minimise
financial outlay and maximise reach and engagement.

25
Finally the Control elements are the chosen measures to judge whether the plan, and
therefore the Objectives have been achieved.
2. The Way in which Two Key Factors from the Digital Marketing Audit Influenced
the Content of the Plan
Two key factors that influenced the content of the plan were:
1) The design of the website can be improved to provide a better customer experience
2) Social Media platforms are not being used to their full potential
These key factors were identified through in-depth analysis of and comparison with UK
Football Academy’s main competitors, Elite Football, Football-Academy and Football CV
Academy.
Website Design
The analysis and comparisons showed that, although UK Football Academy has a lot of
good content within its website, the information appears visually crowded and is not easy to
read which leads directly to the first Objective of website development.
This key factor therefore influenced the content of the plan in its Tactical decisions relating to
website design and colour choices, brand identity and sponsored links. It also influenced the
plan in regard to the Actions that need to be carried out and the subsequent Control
measures chosen.
Social Media Platforms
The analysis and comparisons also showed that value that can be added by improving the
“stickiness” of UK Football Academy’s online community through greater interaction through
Facebook and Twitter and better use of available digital tools such as YouTube and an
online e-newsletter.
“It is often said that up-to-date content is crucial to site stickiness but fresh content will not
happen by accident, so companies have to consider approaches that can be used to control
the quality of documents and in particular to keep them up to date and relevant” (Chaffey, D.,
2009 E-Business and E-Commerce Management. Pearson Education UK)
This key factor, lead to the other four Objectives of the plan which relate to driving traffic to
the online community and the subsequent Tactical decisions to greatly increase
engagement.
It also therefore greatly also influenced the plan in regard to the Actions that need to be
carried out and the subsequent Control measures chosen.

26
3. How the Digital Marketing Mix will Support the Objectives of the Plan
The elements of the Digital Marketing Mix that support the objectives of the plan are:
Product
This addresses the tangible elements i.e. the look, feel, content and usability of the website
as well as the amount of engaging content placed on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
This element of the mix supports the Objectives of improving customer experience and
driving traffic to the online community.
Place
This addresses distribution, which relates to the Social Media platforms chosen to achieve
the required amount of customer engagement and to satisfying the existing online
behavioural needs of the target audiences supporting the Objective of driving traffic to the
online community.
Promotion
This addresses the promotional tools that can be utilised, which relates to the online push
tactics to be used, which in the plan include Facebook and Twitter posts, uploads and
competition initiation as well as a targeted Facebook Ad Campaign. Again this supports the
Objective of driving traffic to the online community.
People
This is a highly important element of the Digital Marketing Mix which supports the overall
Business Objective as the very core of building an online community to aid business
development involves developing people to drive Word of Mouth and become advocates and
buying decision influencers.
Process
The processes involved with building an online community are also vital as the website must
be operationally robust, load quickly and link as it should to other platforms which
themselves also need to be robust, user-friendly and operationally reliable.
Physical Evidence
Physical evidence relates to the Objective of improving customer experience as it should be
consistent throughout each platform and digital tool adopted and therefore also supports
brand reassurance.
In addition to the visual physical evidence the community sees online, the activity and
interaction of the community itself is also physical evidence and therefore the achievement
of the plan’s Objective of driving traffic to the online community will self-perpetuate the
importance of the physical evidence element of the Digital Marketing Mix in supporting that
Objective.

27
Conclusion
Adoption of this Digital Marketing Plan will result in a better customer and user online
experience. It will grow an online community that is engaged with and promotes UK Football
Academy and which as a result, will aid business development.
[Richard Sedley] “The effectiveness of any marketing initiative needs to be seen in the
context of a strategy that builds from campaign to campaign. The most successful of these
develop existing relationships and utilise them to reach and engage new customers.
Customer advocacy has always been a goal for marketers but the rise of online user
generated content has the potential to take advocacy to another level.”
(http://www.smartinsights.com/customer-engagement/customer-engagement-
May 2012])

28
Digital Marketing Report Online Reference Sites
http://www.marketingteacher.com/lesson-store/lesson-swot.html# [Accessed on 25th
April
2012]
[Accessed on 1st May 2012]
[Accessed on 24th April 2012]
http://www.smartinsights.com/customer-engagement/customer-engagement-
May 2012]
http://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/quarterly/people/note.html [Accessed on 9th May 2012]
Bibliography
Chaffey, D., 2009 E-Business and E-Commerce Management. Pearson Education UK

29
Appendix
Organisation Background
UK Football Academy www.uk-footballacademy.com
The UK Football Academy, based in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, was set up in 2010 by ex-
Queens Park Rangers footballer, Paul Grey.
Facilities boast a state-of-the-art gym facility, a full size Astroturf football pitch, mini soccer
and grass arenas.
Academy courses run from 4 weeks to 2 years and are open worldwide to anyone between
the ages of 11 & 22.
The majority of players come from outside the UK, with high levels of players coming from
Africa and Asia and coaching programmes are intensive and physically demanding with
players needing to be both technically and physically at a high standard in order to complete
their programme.
The Academy's aim is to expose players to English football and help them develop in an
enjoyable and safe environment, through training sessions, fitness work outs and exhibition
matches which will hopefully provide the opportunity for progression into professional
football, though it is highlighted clearly that football is an extremely competitive industry and
no promises are made that Academy players will get a trial for a professional club.
Players that are recognised as possibly possessing the ability to play professional football
are given every assistance from the coaching staff who have the necessary contacts and
coaching staff also help in providing pathways into semi-professional clubs that can act as
an alternative pathway into professional football. All players are provided with a report and
action plan upon ending their stay.
The UK Football Academy offers different courses to suit differing needs, all of these being
residential where accommodation, all meals, transport to and from the airport on arrival and
departure, transport to and from training and matches and all training sessions and match
day management is included.
Every need is covered and full supervision given from the moment players arrive to the
moment they leave. At present, the UK Football Academy also offers evening educational
courses to players staying for 1 or 2 years and as of September 2012, they will be able to
offer a full-time 6th form education to any player on 1 or 2 year courses.
All course bookings taken are subject to acceptance and security and status checks are
carried out on all applicants. Bookings are not confirmed until a deposit or full payment has

30
been received and full balances must be paid no later than 21 days after a deposit is
received. All fees are payable prior to arrival date and late payments result in the booking
being cancelled and loss of any payment made.
A website presence and Facebook and Twitter pages are the existing core digital marketing
activities.

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