Task Students are required to produce a report (LO8/LO7) on the following case: – graduate researcher

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
a 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 content that can lead
to favorable results for the promoted parties was labeled unethical and illegal. Were developed 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.
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?
(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.