Contents
Knowledge Management Case Study: CreativeEdge Advertising
Question 1 (Marks: 80)
Review the following fictitious scenario, then answer the questions that follow.
CreativeEdge Advertising Agency has developed a strong reputation for delivering innovative marketing campaigns for clients across various industries, including retail, technology, and hospitality. CreativeEdge prides itself on its creative talent and data-driven insights to produce highly targeted and impactful advertising solutions. They have implemented a knowledge management system (KMS) designed to store and organise essential resources including campaign data, client preferences, competitor analyses and industry trends. The system also includes tools for collaborative brainstorming and project tracking.
As the agency expanded, several critical issues began to emerge that hindered the effectiveness of the KMS. For example, campaign details stored by the digital marketing team was not easily accessible to the graphic design team, who would benefit from understanding how design elements impacted campaign success. This lack of integration prevented the design team from accessing valuable insights, such as how visual elements influenced client engagement, which could lead to new knowledge discoveries and improved design strategies.
Another challenge was loss of knowledge from past campaigns, including successful strategies and mistakes to avoid. The performance data from past campaigns lacked effective extraction of insights for future planning. In addition, employees were required to manually upload and update knowledge assets, leading to inconsistencies and missing information. New team members often struggled to find and apply relevant knowledge quickly, leading to inefficiencies. For instance, while new hires might access campaign reports, they often lacked the contextual understanding of how those reports were created and the strategies that led to their success. Synthesising prior knowledge of successful onboarding practices and combining it with current information would enable new employees to quickly adapt and contribute to campaigns.
With clients requesting real-time insights into campaign performance, CreativeEdge faced pressure to enhance its use of analytics and shared knowledge. Combining client preferences with real-time campaign data would enable personalised strategies based on emerging trends and client needs.
CreativeEdge must ensure that employees are motivated to contribute their insights, building a knowledge repository that grows and adapts with the agency’s needs.
By aligning the KMS with the agency’s business strategy, CreativeEdge can drive innovation and create campaigns that are directly linked to revenue generation and profitability. The KMS must improve campaign design, client management and creative strategies, so Creative Edge can strengthen its reputation and enhance customer loyalty. Additionally, the knowledge in the KMS can provide the agency with leverage in negotiations with partners and competitors, enhancing its market position and contributing to long-term success.
Note:
In answering the questions below, consider the following:
- Maintain a balance between theory and application, integrating the theory and application.
- All theory must be referenced from the textbook first and then only supplemented with other credible sources.
- You are required to paraphrase and explain concepts in your own words – do not copy and paste from Al chatbots or other generative Al tools.
- Refer to the rubrics for how marks will be allocated for each question.
- Create a poster comparing information and knowledge, with examples from the scenario.
Submit a written explanation (150-200 words) reflecting your reasons for choosing the examples used in the poster.
- Discuss the concept of knowledge discovery and its sub-processes, with application (10) to the scenario (300-400 words).
- Analyse common issues in knowledge management with application to the scenario. (15)
Compare this analysis to issues faced by real-world companies, with evidence in the form of clickable (traceable) links to your sources. Present your findings in an innovative manner that highlights your key findings.
- Explain, in your own words, the direct and indirect impacts of knowledge management on organisational performance, with application to the scenario. Reflect on how you applied the theory based on your own understanding of the course material. Include recommendations for how organisational performance could be further improved. (15)
- Conduct research on knowledge captured in the advertising agency industry, then (20) create a concept map reflecting your findings.
In 100-150 words, reflect on how you created the concept map based on your own understanding of the textbook concepts.
Question 2 (Marks: 20)
Choose one (1) industry and conduct research on how artificial intelligence is being used for knowledge application in the industry. Present your findings in the form of an infographic.
Knowledge Management Answers: Expert Answers on Above Case Questions
Comparison of information versus knowledge
Information is raw data, facts and reports whereas knowledge is the insights that is gained from understanding a piece of information. In the given scenario, the information in the form of engagement metrics can be converted to knowledge which can be utilised in identifying patterns to improve future campaigns performance. By having sufficient knowledge, it will be possible for CreativeEdge to undertake relevant strategic decisions, optimise campaign design and onboard new employees effectively.
Knowledge Discovery and its sub processes
Knowledge Discovery is the process of extracting information from the stored data. The sub processes included in such processes of knowledge discovery includes data collection, data cleaning and integration, pattern recognition and analysis, and interpretation. In the case of CreativeEdge, the results from the past campaigns are stored. It will be possible to take relevant decisions by analysing correlation between design elements and engagement metrics. For example, an insight that considering a visual style in a tech campaign may result in higher conversion, and this information can be utilised in achieving efficiency in future campaigns.
Common issues in knowledge management
In case of knowledge management, the common issues that are identified are in relation to poor accessibility, loss of knowledge, manual update leading to inconsistencies, onboarding challenges etc. In the given case scenario, the knowledge management challenges can result in reduced operational efficiency, slow learning and lower level of KMS values.
Comparison to real world companies
The case analysis of Coca-Cola and IBM are good examples of knowledge management issues whereby Coca-Cola struggled with knowledge sharing across its global marketing teams and IBM phase challenges in routine in the knowledge of its employees during employee turnover. CreativeEdge can learn from these mistakes in improving its integration, collaboration and retention of knowledge.
Direct and indirect impact on organisational performance
The direct impact is identified in the form of improved campaign outcomes, faster on boarding and better client satisfaction. However the indirect impact can be stronger reputation, better negotiation leverage etc.
Disclaimer: This answer is a model for study and reference purposes only. Please do not submit it as your own work. |