Task
Students are required to produce a report (LO8/LO7) on the following case:
The role Cambridge Analytica played in the latest American presidential election and the Brexit referendum in the UK.
Political marketing and the use of digital media in political campaigns is not new; however, the way Cambridge Analytica used Facebook users’ data to target users with influential contents that can lead to favourable results to the promoted parties was labelled unethical and illegal. Were developed of key players from SCL Group, the Republican Party establishment and Christopher Wylie the later whistle- blower.
Micro-targeting methods were used as the company managed to acquire its dataset from social media platforms. CA rise to prominence for high profile and right-wing causes is explained as a consequence of successful test runs in the 2014 US mid-term elections. The impact of Cambridge Analytica is described in terms of the two most controversial campaigns linked to the company with the BREXIT referendum and the 2016 US Presidential Election, as well as the other company activities. Finally, the company’s downfall is followed chronologically through several damning newspaper articles, culminating in the public hearing of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in early April 2018.
You are requested to watch the video, provided in the material of this week (Facebook’s role in Brexit — and the threat to democracy | Carole Cadwalladr), research the case of Cambridge Analytica and write a report that reflects on and answers the following questions.
Task 1
Stand in the shoes of CEO Alex Nix: What could have been done better BEFORE the scandal in 2017 and earlier? What could have been done better AFTER the scandal broke (early 2018)?
(Consider the following areas: marketing communication strategy and message, marketing content and communication channels, corporate social responsibility and corporate reputation, the impact on brand awareness and brand trust)
(LO1/ LO2 /LO3)
Task 2
Explain the work and service Cambridge Analytica provided Trump’s campaign. Apart from the legal side, in your perspective, was it right for Cambridge Analytica to provide this work for Trump? How do public goodwill/license to operate and data-driven technology companies interrelate?
(LO4/LO5/LO6)
Task 3
Facebook continues to face major ethical and legal challenges. What challenges Facebook brand is facing today? And what implications these challenges and the case of Cambridge Analytica have for the future of Facebook from your perspective?
4
(LO 6/LO 7)
Write a 3000-words report (10±) answering the above questions. Build clear arguments in your answers. Strengthen these arguments with sufficient evidence from the case study, your research into the market and the company and from the marketing and corporate social responsibility literature as appropriate.
Well established media (e.g. BBC, Financial Times, New York Times, etc) may be used to develop the context of the discussion, but the material used to underpin the research and analysis should be from academic books and/or peer reviewed academic journals.
