PROJECT 1: COMPANY ANALYSIS

Objective
The purpose of this project is to demonstrate your understanding of the following course concepts:

1. How companies use digital and social media to effectively communicate ideas, information, arguments, and messages to achieve a specific goal.
2. How digital media has transformed the communication of an idea, information, and arguments in society.

Project Description
The use of digital media has transformed how companies communicate with their customers. The use of the websites, YouTube, e-books, e-mail and various forms of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram, and blogs has shaped current day communication strategies.

Project 1 Consists of:

1. Project Requirements (topics and content to cover)
2. Paper Requirements (content organization)
3. Submission Requirements (how to submit your assignment)
4. APA Resources (how to cite and select sources)
5. Due Date Information and Late Policy

Project Requirements
Select a company that utilizes digital or social media to communicate with customers to complete Section 1.

NOTE 1: You are required to complete ALL THREE SECTIONS of this project (Sections 1, 2, and 3).

SECTION 1: COMPANY INFORMATION
Provide the following information about the company you select:
Item 1: What is the name of the company?
Item 2: What year was the company established?
Item 3: What is the company’s goal or mission?
Item 4: What products and services does the company offer or provide?
Item 5: Provide the company website address (URL).
Item 6: How many employees does the company employ?
Item 7: Where is the company’s headquarters located?
Item 8: What are the company’s most recent earnings?

Section 1 Source: Include at least one source for Section 1. Include this source as an in-paper citation and on your Reference page.
Section 1 Example: The Henkel Company
To help you with completing Section 1, an example is provided below:
“…Henkel was founded in 1876. People around the world trust Henkel’s innovations, brands, and technologies. In the fiscal year 2016, the company reported sales of approx. 18.7 billion euros and an operating profit of around 3.2 billion euros (adjusted for one-time gains/charges and restructuring charges). The DAX-30 company has its headquarters in Düsseldorf, Germany. Henkel employs more than 50,000 people worldwide, over 80 percent of whom work outside of Germany. Henkel is thus one of the most international German companies…”

Henkel. (2019). Company Profile. In Company Profile. Retrieved 1/15/19, from

NOTE 2: You cannot use the Henkel Company in your project.

SECTION 2: DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA USE
How does the company use Digital and Social Media to communicate with their customers?

Item 1: List all of the digital and social media platforms the company uses to communicate with customers (including websites, YouTube, e-books, e-mail and various forms of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram, and blogs).
Item 2: Describe how the company uses EACH digital and social media listed in Item 1 above to achieve its goals or mission.

Section 2 Source: Include at least one source for Section 2. Include this source as an in-paper citation and on your References page.

SECTION 3: ANALYSIS
Provide an example of how the company uses digital and/or social media to accomplish an objective (e.g. to address a serious public relations issue, promote a cause, market a product, achieve a strategic advantage by using Big Data, or promote an event).

Item 1:  Describe the situation or example in detail.
Item 2:  How successful was the company in accomplishing the objective? Support your answer with reference (s).
Item 3:  List one thing the company could have done better to accomplish their objective. Be sure to focus on the use of digital or social media here.
Item 4: If you decide to discuss the company’s use of Big Data to achieve a strategic advantage, does their use of Big Data concern you as a potential customer? Why or why not?

To help you with completing Section 3, we have provided two sample topics below:

Section 3 Example 1: Target’s Data Breach
Target’s December 2013 data breach was a public relations nightmare, but the company responded swiftly over social media, posting safety guidelines on Twitter and keeping an open dialog with its aggrieved customers.

Section 3 Example 2: Target’s Use of Big Data
Target is renowned in the industry for its data collection practices. Target maintains a customer relationship management database which includes information from in-store purchases (they link all of your purchases to a unique customer identifier) and data they collect externally (e.g. data from Facebook and other sources).  Combine the two data streams and Target can predict, with a high degree of certainty, what your gender is, where you live, how far you travel to work, your relationship status, and they can even tell if you are pregnant and if so when you are due. The amount of money spent each year on pregnancy-related purchases is tremendous. In efforts to win the market share in this profit area, Target has hired a team of statisticians to perform predictive analysis. The goal, in this particular situation, is to predict which women are expecting (or soon to be), without asking them directly, by analyzing their purchasing behavior (e.g. cribs, baby clothes, prenatal vitamins, etc.). This way Target can “target” this particular demographic (with coupons, discounts, and other offers) very early, thus getting a jump on the competition.

Section 3 Sources: Include at least two sources for Section 3. Include the two sources as in-paper citations and on your References page. At least one source should be professional or scholarly. 

NOTE 3: You cannot use Target in your project or any company we discussed in class (e.g. Google).

Paper Requirements
1. Your paper must follow APA format guidelines throughout.
(A sample APA template for you to use is attached to the bottom of this page). Be sure to use the the sample template.

a. Double-spaced
b. 1-inch Margins
c. 12-point size professional font (e.g. Times New Roman)
d. Header
e. Automatic Page numbers
f. Title page
g. Reference page

2. Length: Minimum of 1,500; Maximum of 2,000 words.
(Title page, Reference page, and direct quotes do not count toward the total word count). 

NOTE 4: Going over 1,500 words is fine, but if you are under 1,500 you will be penalized based on the following scale: One letter grade (10%) for every 500 words you are under the word count minimum.

3. Include one Image.
Include at least one table, graph, or image of an appropriate size that is relevant and supports the information provided in your paper. Feel free to create the image if you like.

Image Example: The Henkel Company Infographic
To help you with completing your project, we have included a sample image. This is a great infographic that provides data on the Henkel Company. This infographic would work well in Section 1.

Henkel Company Infographic [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2019, from here.

4. Title Page
Your title page must be APA formatted and include the following:

a. Project Name
b. Your Name
c. Instructor’s Name
d. Course name and section number
e. Title of Company Analysis

5. References Page
Your References page must be APA formatted.

6. Sources: Include at least Four (4) Sources (Total)
a. Include at least One (1) Source for Section 1.
b. Include at least One (1) Source for Section 2.
c. Include at least Two (2) Sources for Section 3. At least one of the two sources must be a Professional or Scholarly Source.

Clarification: Please do not use unprofessional sources such as Wikipedia, About.com, Answers.com, Dictionary.com, How.com, or anything remotely similar.  Examples of scholarly sources include textbooks, articles, academic journals, and conference proceedings. Scholarly resources are written by experts in their fields, grounded in research, and often refereed (reviewed and edited by researchers in the field). Examples of professional sources include trade journals or magazines. Professional sources are written for a specific audience that works in a certain field. They are not research-based. You can also use our course content (e.g. Read & Watch resources) as a source as well. UMGC has a top-notch, extensive online library. You can find many scholarly and professional sources there.

NOTE 5: You can also use social media (e.g. Twitter posts, blogs, YouTube) sources as well as this is a paper about the use of digital and social media.

7. Setup & Organization
Your paper must include the following pages and Level 1 Headings:

a. Cover Page
b. Company Profile (Section 1)
c. Digital and Social Media Use (Section 2)
d. Analysis (Section 3)
e. Reference Page

APA Resources
UMGC’s Library offers several resources for APA formatting and citation style, including the resources below:
APA 7th Edition: General Rules, Citation Examples, and Video Overview (UMGC Library).