THE BUSINESS SCHOOL

Public Relations & Sponsorship

Management
BMK 0128

Assessment Briefs
2014-2015

CONTENTS
This handbook provides information about the module and its operation. Please study it
carefully.
Section

Page

1.0

ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
1.1
The assessment strategy

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2

2.0

Assessment brief(s)
2.1
Sponsorship Assignment
2.2
Marking Criteria and Guidance for Sponsorship
Assignment
2.3
Guidance to the overall approach for Sponsorship
Assignment
Conceptual
Contextual
Application
2.4
Referencing
2.5
Further Notes on Assignment

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2
2

3.0

Exam Brief
3.1
Guidance for Individual PR Exam Questions
3.2
Guidance to the overall approach to PR Exam
Conceptual
Contextual
Application

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5
6
6
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4.0

Assessment deadlines

5.0

Process for requesting an extension or submitting a claim

for Extenuating Circumstances (ECs)

6.0

Formative assessment

7.0

Arrangements for the return of work and feedback

8.0

Tutor reassessment

9.0

GENERAL INFORMATION
9.1
Academic misconduct and referencing information
9.2
Further reading
9.3
Access to facilities
9.4
Health and Safety information
9.5
Academic Skills/Technical Support

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1.0

ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
1.1

Assessment Strategy

Assessment tasks (including assessment weightings)

One written (2500 words) assignment worth 40% and a two hour exam worth 60%

All learning outcomes to be tested.

In any academic session each cohort taking the module will be set examination questions and an
assignment that will be varied so that all learning outcomes will be tested, in one or other of the
assessments.

2.0

Assessment Briefs

Assessment and feedback is a significant aspect of the Universitys Teaching and Learning strategy.
Please ensure that you are familiar with the Assessment and Feedback Strategy. The document is
also available under the assessment tab in Unilearn.

2.1

Sponsorship Assignment

Select a sponsee and sponsor (a new relationship):

1. Undertake a critical analysis of the sponsee. (20%)
2. Undertake a critical analysis of the sponsor. (20%)
3. Develop a clear set of objectives for the sponsor (based on the sponsee). (10%)
4. Develop a detailed sponsorship strategy based on the above objectives. (50%)
2500 words
22nd April 2015: Sponsorship Coursework Submission
13th May 2015: Feedback for Sponsorship Coursework

2.2

Marking Criteria and Guidance for Sponsorship Assignment

As you would expect, the assessment is looking for evidence of an understanding of and
application of the basic principles of the areas of marketing covered by the assignment as
well as application of the principles to the company / situation in the assignment.
Top Students who simply repeat chunks of the textbook and students who simply
theory dump without evidence of real understanding and application will not pass.
Top mark students will show e.g. critical awareness, compare and contrast and otherwise
show insights into the concepts and ideas and their application.
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1. Undertake a critical analysis of the sponsee. (20%)

Select an appropriate time-scale for undertaking the retrospective analysis leading up

to the present.
A comprehensive and critical analysis of the selected time frame.
Highlighting key areas with appropriate level of explanation for the key areas.
Critique specifically any sponsorship elements throughout.
Supported with referenced and up-to-date evidence throughout.

2. Undertake a critical analysis of the sponsor. (20%)

Select an appropriate time-scale for undertaking the retrospective analysis leading up

to the present.
A comprehensive and critical analysis of the selected time frame.
Highlighting key areas with appropriate level of explanation for the key areas.
Critique specifically any sponsorship elements throughout.
Supported with referenced and up-to-date evidence throughout.

3. Develop a clear set of objectives for the sponsor (based on the sponsee). (10%)

Identification of clearly defined sponsorship objectives (based on and extracted from

the analysis undertaken in question 1 and 2).
Each objective should include a rational, broad time scales, and resource
implications.

4. Develop a detailed sponsorship strategy based on the above objectives. (50%)

The development of a compressive sponsorship strategy for each objective.

The strategy should be detailed in terms of time scales, costs, resources used and
resource implications.
Supported with referenced and up-to-date evidence throughout.

2.3

Guidance to the overall approach for Sponsorship Assignment

As a guide marks will be awarded for:

Understanding of basic concepts

Application to situation
Critical awareness
Referencing
Style/expression
Additional /further insights

The assessment consists of three elements: conceptual, contextual, and application.

Conceptual
Each question is based on clear and identifiable sponsorship concepts. Using referenced
work, you are required to highlight these areas and provide an appropriate level of
explanation of each concept. You should demonstrate a clear understanding of the key
concepts. You should avoid simply copying and referencing definitions.
Contextual
The assessment should be based on a real life organisation/product/service. You are
therefore required to undertake the relevant research into the organisation and industry in
order to gain the necessary level of insight into the characteristics and workings of both the
organisation and industry.

Application
This element requires you to integrate sponsorship concepts within the context provided,
resulting in the application. For this to happen, you must have a thorough understanding of
the relevant sponsorship concepts, the context, and demonstrate critical awareness (in order
to then apply the concepts to the context).
2.4

Referencing

Referencing is a critical aspect of this assessment. You will be required to search for and
review the appropriate sources required to address the questions. You should familiarise
yourself with the resources available through the University and in particular Summon.
Academic journal articles should be the main focus for your reading and referencing of the
marketing concepts, with a variety of other sources contributing towards the research and
referencing requirements for the context and application elements (e.g. industry reports, web
sites, texts).
2.5

Further Notes on Assignment

1. Length: 2500 words Maximum (not including appendices or bibliography / references).

2. Under no circumstances should you exceed the word limit. Only work up to the word
limit will be marked.
3. Report format required: Justified alignment, Ariel 11 font minimum.
4. The work should be an individual piece of work and should be fully referenced
where appropriate.
5. The work should be submitted according to the Business Schools procedures for
completing and handing in assignment work. Please check with the School Office (Level
1) if you are unsure as to these.
6. Please follow University procedures / regulations if requesting extensions.
7. Submission of work: The assignment must be submitted electronically through Turnitin
on UniLearn.
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8. Submission date: See section 5.3; on or before 11:59. Please note you will normally
be penalised for late submission after this time.
9. Work submitted up to 5 working days after the deadline without an extension will be
marked up to a maximum of 40%.
10. Tutor reassessment applies to this assignment. This means that if you score less than
40% you will be offered an opportunity to improve your mark within a specified time limit
as directed by the module tutor.
11. Work will normally be returned within 3 working weeks of submission.

3.0

Exam Brief

The exam will focus on the Public Relations elements of this module, and will be a two
hour closed book exam in which you write up an analysis and PR plan for a real
organisation, person or event which is currently in the news and is perceived as
having poor public relations in the perspective of some/all the publics it is involved
with.
Once you have identified a topic you should:
1. Critically identify the PR issues and relevant theories surrounding the issue. (20%)
2. Identify the PR approaches that might be appropriate for the situation (40%)
3. Critically assess the implications of the approaches identified (40%)

3.1

Guidance for Individual Public Relations Exam Questions

1. Critically identify the PR issues and relevant theories surrounding the issue.
(20%)
Introduce the topic. It is important that you take an independent and unbiased
approach to this assignment as failure to do this will lead you to ignore
opposing ideas and lead to false assumptions. Remember a good PR person
considers all the opinions.
Identify the background to study
Define the public relations problem
Summarise the actions taken (Review and critique the situation, from a public
relations perspective)
Identify the stakeholders
Recognise the aims/concerns/ issues of each stakeholder
Identify both the actual and the potential PR issues ( show both what PR was
done and what might have been done justifying the reasons for the latter
against theory through the use of references and application of theory.
Link the issues to relevant theories.
2. Identify the PR approaches that might be appropriate for the situation (40%)
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Identify the PR approaches that might be considered and whether these would
create a positive or negative image.
Ensure you consider a wide range of public relations ideas
In this section you should consider the level of practicality and originality of the
ideas and recommend appropriate PR actions to enhance/create a positive
image.
Justify your proposed actions by linking your proposals to relevant theory and
ensure this is fully referenced and sourced

3. Critically assess the implications of the approaches identified (40%)

Consider the implications of each of the potential approaches (PR activities)
that you have recommended
Check that you have addressed all the key issues identified when defining the
problem
Draw conclusions and make recommendations on the topic.
The marking scheme to be used to assess the exam will be made available on the Unilearn
site for the module.

3.2

Guidance to the overall approach to PR Exam

The assessment consists of three elements: conceptual, contextual, and application.

Conceptual
These questions are intended to allow you to consider the concepts of public relations
considered during the class room sessions. Where possible you should make reference to
sources for both theoretical and real life experiences to highlight these areas and provide an
appropriate level of explanation of each concept. You should demonstrate a clear
understanding of the key concepts.
Contextual
The exam should be based on the real life public relations situation of the topic. You are
therefore required to undertake the relevant research into the situation and how the different
publics involved are affected, in order to gain the necessary level of insight required.
Application
This element requires you to integrate public relations concepts within the context provided,
resulting in the application. For this to happen, you must have a thorough understanding of
the relevant PR concepts, the context, and demonstrate critical awareness (in order to then
apply the concepts to the context).
4.0

Assessment deadlines
Submission date

Feedback Date

22nd April 2015

13th May 2015

Term 2
Assignment 1

It is important that you keep a copy of all of the work you submit for assessment. You are
strongly advised to use the electronic storage system provided by the University, using the
allocated space on the K drive.
It is School policy that all assessed work must be submitted electronically via Turnitin, by
23:59 on the published date of submission. No hard copies should be submitted unless this
is identified as a requirement in the Assessment Brief. Where hard copies are required,
please ensure the work submitted is stapled in the top left hand corner, not submitted in
folders or ring binders and your student ID number and name are clearly visible on the
assessment.
If you are not able to submit by the deadline, you must inform your Course Leader, Fiona
Cheetham. Depending on the circumstances, you may need to ask for an extension or
submit an extenuating circumstances form see Section 5.4 below.
Assessed work which is submitted late but within five working days of the agreed submission
date will be accepted and the maximum mark available for that piece of assessment will be
40%. This does not apply to the submission of assessed work relating to Tutor
Reassessment, referral or deferral requirements but does apply to previously agreed,
extended or renegotiated deadlines. Work submitted later than this without an approved
extension will receive a mark of 0%.
Please note that loss of data or printing errors are not deemed to be acceptable reasons for
the late submission of work.
It is your responsibility to upload your submission/s onto Turnitin by 23.59 by the dates
shown above. Any technical difficulties can be dealt with by calling the computing helpdesk
01484 473737 which is available 24/7.

5.0

Process for requesting an extension or submitting a claim for Extenuating

Circumstances (ECs)

There are procedures in place for you to request a short extension to a deadline but this
request has to be made no later than two working days after the published submission date.
If you have difficulties such as a short-term illness and need to request an extension, you
should submit a request via the eCover extension and submission system supporting
information to confirm your circumstances may be required. A guide to the eCover system is
available on the intranet.
Late requests for extensions are not accepted and you run the risk of scoring a maximum of
40% for that piece of work if submitted late but within 5 working days of the original deadline,
or 0% if submitted later than this without an approved extension.
The University understands that there may be times when your ability to complete a piece of
assessed work or to concentrate on your studies may be hindered by factors beyond your
control such as illness or significant personal difficulties. The regulations include a process
to allow students who are affected in this way to bring these extenuating circumstances
(ECs) to the attention of the relevant people in the School (such as the Course Assessment
Board) so that proper account can be taken. Please be aware that a claim for ECs will
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usually only be accepted where youve been able to demonstrate that the circumstances
described have had a direct impact on you and were substantial and unexpected - in all
other cases students would be expected to negotiate an extension. The regulations for ECs
can be found in Section 5 at:
http://www.hud.ac.uk/registry/regulationsandpolicies/studentregs
When completing an EC form please be careful to include the correct modules and
assessments and to be sure that you attach appropriate and acceptable evidence to your
claim.
Once completed your claim has to be submitted to the Course Administration Office
(BS1/03) within 5 working days of the date by which your assessment should have been
completed.

6.0

Formative assessment

Opportunities for formative feedback sessions for both the group presentation and individual
coursework have been timetabled in to the delivery schedule. Please refer to section 4.1.
You will be asked to prepare for these sessions to enable staff to offer guidance on your
work in progress.
7.0

Arrangements for the return of work and feedback

You should normally receive feedback on your assessments three teaching (i.e. term time)
weeks after the submission date for the assessment. Dates for the return of work and
feedback are indicated within Section 5.3 of this handbook. Feedback should help you
understand why you received the mark and what you can do to improve your performance in
future assessments.
Feedback will be given for your summative assessments in class. In addition, the marking
criteria/guidance will be completed so you can see how the final marks for the summative
assessments were allocated against all pieces of work. Your final overall mark for both
pieces of work will be loaded onto Grademark.

8.0

Tutor Reassessment

Tutor Reassessment (TR) is where a student is given a single opportunity to re-submit an

eligible piece of work and for it to be remarked prior to the meeting of the Course
Assessment Board. Tutor reassessment will only be offered if you submit a piece of work for
the original assessment and achieve a mark of between 0 and 39%. The maximum mark
available for a tutor reassessment is 40%. The full regulations for tutor reassessment can be
found in Section E at http://www.hud.ac.uk/registry/regulationsandpolicies/studentregs
As indicated in Section 5.1, the following piece(s) of assessment are eligible for tutor
reassessment:
You will be informed at the point you receive feedback whether your work is subject to Tutor
Reassessment. You will give two weeks to resubmit from the point of receiving your
feedback.
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Submission date

Feedback Date

22nd April 2015

13th May 2015

Term 2
Assignment 1

9.0

GENERAL INFORMATION
9.1

Academic misconduct and referencing information

The University regards any action by a student that may result in an unfair academic
advantage as a serious offence. It is your responsibility to ensure at all times that the
assessments you complete are entirely your own work and that you have used the relevant
referencing technique correctly and in full. The full set of regulations which govern
Academic Integrity can be found under Section 4, Assessment Regulations 3 and 4 at
http://www2.hud.ac.uk/registry/students_handbook.php
Further information on academic integrity, including an overview of the support available for
referencing, can be found within your course handbook; it is important that you familiarise
yourself with this information.
9.2

Further reading

Indicative Reading List (please use the latest editions):

Please see Unilearn for an up-to-date list.
Full use should be made of all resources on SUMMON but the following resources
and texts may be particularly useful.
Use the latest editions in all cases
Core Texts:
Public Relations
Morris & Goldsworthy, PR Today, Palgrave Macmillan
Sponsorship
Collett, P. & Fenton, W., The Sponsorship Handbook, Jossey-Bass
Additional Texts
Public Relations
Harrison,S. Public Relations - An Introduction, , International Thompson Business Press
Kitchen,P. Public Relations Principles & Practice, Thomson
Seital, F P. The Practice of Public Relations, Prentice Hall
Kitchen P J & Schultz D E, Raising the Corporate Umbrella, Palgrave
Middleberg, Don., Winning PR in the Wired World, McGraw-Hill
Hart, Strategic Public Relations, Macmillan
Newsom, Scott and Turk, This is PR, Wadsworth
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Black, The Practice of Public Relations, Butterworth-Heinemann

Center and Jackson, Public Relations Practices, Prentice-Hall
Maitland, Perfect PR, Thomson

Sponsorship
Sleight, S, Sponsorship: What it is and how to use it, McGraw-Hill.
Wim, Lagae: Sports Sponsorship and Marketing Communications: A European
perspective;
Prentice Hall.
Head, Victor, Sponsorship; the Newest Marketing Skill; Institute of Marketing.
Argenti P, Corporate Communication, McGraw-Hill.

Journals
Public Relations Review
Public Relations Quarterly
Journal of Public Relations Research
International Public Relations Journal
Journal of Sponsorship
Campaign
Marketing Week
Corporate Communications - An International Journal
Journal of Marketing
Journal of Marketing Management
European Journal of Marketing
Also, please check the short-term library resources for latest industry reports.
Web Resources

http://www.sponsorship.co.uk
http://www.generatesponsorship.com
http://www.henrystewart.com/jos.aspx
http://www.sportbusiness.com/
http://www.imrpublications.com/
http://www.sportstat.co.uk
http://www.brandrepublic.com/
http://www.sponsorship.co.uk/index.html
http://www.sportsmarketing360.com
http://www.sportstat.co.uk/
http://www.powersponsorship.com

Other Information
Extensive use is made of academic and practitioner based resources.

9.3

Access to Facilities - Arrangements for borrowing equipment/accessing

labs/studios

If you wish to borrow equipment or gain access to specialist facilities please discuss your
requirements with your Course leader or Year Tutor.

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9.4

Aspects of Health and Safety specific to the module

An overview of the Health and Safety arrangements in place for both the University and the
Business School can be found within your course handbook.
9.5

Academic Skills/Technical Support

The Learning Development Group offers study skills support to all students within the
Business School, covering topics such as reading, research, academic writing (including
referencing) and reflective practice. Their contact details can be found within Unilearn under
the Learning Development Group tab.

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