MKTG3033 Chap.6 Research and Situation Analysis
Research and Situation Analysis
Week 6 begins the planning half of the course with problem definition and research. This chapter places research first in the RACE and ROPE processes the client pitch must show, then teaches the three-step workshop method: review the brief, run desktop research, and write a mini situation analysis covering what is happening, why it matters, who is affected and what evidence supports it.
A campus waste brief serves as the worked case, and the chapter drills the separation of evidence, assumption and gap. Practice items drill classification and key issue writing.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Research as the first stage of RACE and ROPE
- 02
Reviewing a client brief as a team
- 03
Desktop research sources and tools
- 04
Writing a mini situation analysis
- 05
Key issue and key opportunity
- 06
Evidence, assumptions and information gaps
Worked example · free
A mini situation analysis for a tax clinic after a budget cut
- +1Key issue: with paid reach cut sharply, eligible people outside existing referral networks, especially in regional areas, may never hear the service exists.
- +1Key opportunity: word-of-mouth referrals and partner organisations already work, so communication can multiply referral pathways at little cost.
- +1Information gap: which referral sources currently bring regional and Aboriginal clients, to be found from the clinic’s source tracking.
Key terms
- Desktop research
- Research from existing sources such as the client website, social media, news coverage, library databases and industry reports.
- Key issue
- The central problem in the client’s situation that communication has to tackle.
- Key opportunity
- A good result for the client that well-planned communication could help bring about.
- PESTLE analysis
- A scan of political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors affecting an organisation.
Research and Situation Analysis FAQ
What should a situation analysis include?
The Week 7 workshop asks for four things: what is happening, why it matters, who is affected and what evidence supports your understanding. The course tracker adds a key issue, a key opportunity, an evidence table with sources, and a list of missing information with the person responsible for finding it.
What do RACE and ROPE stand for?
RACE is research, action planning, communication and evaluation. ROPE is research, objectives, programming and evaluation. The class summary asks the client pitch to show a clear strategic process such as either one, linking research, objectives, strategy and evaluation, so research must visibly come first.
How much research should go into the client pitch?
Only what supports the argument. The course guidance on pitching warns against spending minutes on background research. Use research to define the problem and justify the insight, and keep the rest in an appendix or your speaking notes for the question time.
Which desktop research sources does the course suggest?
The Week 7 workshop lists the client website, its social media, news coverage, library sources and industry reports such as IBISWorld. The Week 6 module adds library guides on country, company and industry research, PEST or PESTLE analysis and SWOT analysis. Choose tools that fill a named information gap.
What is the difference between an assumption and a gap?
An assumption is something the team is treating as true without evidence, such as which channel a public prefers. A gap is information the team knows it lacks and must find, such as current referral numbers. Assumptions should be labelled and tested; gaps should be assigned to someone in the tracker.
What is the agency work-in-progress tracker?
A course workbook that runs a team like an agency. Its action register lists tasks such as reviewing the brief, identifying the key issue, collecting audience insight and drafting goals and objectives, each with a status, owner and deadline, followed by tables for evidence with sources and for missing information.
Exam move
Practise the three steps on any brief you can find, giving yourself fifteen minutes to produce the four-question mini analysis. Label every statement as evidence, assumption or gap, and attach a source to each piece of evidence. Learn what RACE and ROPE stand for, and be ready to say where your research appears in either. Review the A2A rubric bands too, because the same evidence discipline lifts the weekly reflection marks.
Finally, rehearse saying your situation analysis aloud in under a minute, because the pitch gives the situation and insight together only about two minutes. Label every claim in your notes as evidence, assumption or gap.
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