Week 8: Capstone Pitch & Campaign Review

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MBA Module: Digital Marketing

Week 8

Capstone Pitch & Campaign Review

Defend your strategy. Demonstrate your results. Leave with a portfolio.

Today's Agenda

  • Capstone Standard & Rubric
  • Pitch Structure
  • Storytelling With Data
  • Retrospective & Pathways
  • Student Presentations
  • Concept checks: short MCQ / true-false after each major Part (cold-call a student)
  • Deliverable: Pitch deck + live URL

Part 1: The Capstone Pitch Standard

Present like a CMO, not a student.

What We're Evaluating (maps to Capstone 50%)

Syllabus split: Live asset 20% + Strategy & pitch 30%. Use this rubric inside that split.

Criterion Syllabus bucket Weight of capstone What markers look for
Execution quality (sandbox) Asset 20% 20% Live URL, clear VP + CTA, mobile-usable, lead capture works
Strategic clarity Pitch 30% 10% Business goal → marketing goal → channel plan alignment
Integrated channel thinking Pitch 30% 8% SEO, SEM, Meta, email reinforce one journey (not silos)
Data-driven reasoning Pitch 30% 7% Claims backed by metrics, benchmarks, or demo evidence
Communication & Q&A Pitch 30% 5% Clear story, time-boxed, confident defense of budget

Asset 20% + Pitch criteria 10+8+7+5 = 30% → Capstone 50%.

Check: Capstone Weights

Instructor: cold-call one student / group, then click to confirm.

Prompt: What are we grading?

Part 2: Structuring Your Pitch

The narrative arc of a winning marketing strategy presentation.

The 7-Part Pitch Structure

  1. The Business Context (1 min): Who are you serving? What is the business objective?
  2. The Target Persona (1 min): Who is your customer? Their pain, desire, and intent.
  3. The Strategy (2 min): Your integrated channel plan and why you chose these channels.
  4. The Assets (2 min): Show the live landing page. Describe the SEO, Ads, and Email setup.
  5. The Data (2 min): What do your analytics tell you? What worked? What didn't?
  6. The Recommendation (1 min): If you had a real NPR 150,000/month budget — where would it go?
  7. Q&A (3 min): Open floor for questions.

Budget Allocation: Defending Every Line

Sample NPR 150,000/month allocation — justify every rupee.

Channel Allocation Why
Google Ads (SEM) 40% — NPR 60k Highest-intent demand; CPL directly measurable
Meta Ads 30% — NPR 45k Demand creation + retargeting warm audiences
SEO / Content 20% — NPR 30k Long-term compounding asset; reduces paid dependence
Email / Tools 10% — NPR 15k Retention; highest ROI per rupee spent
Adjust allocations based on your data — but every % must have a KPI to defend it.

Cite Like a Manager

Weak: “Studies show digital marketing works.”

Strong: “Published Kathmandu home-services Search case: CPA NPR 4,722 → 2,571 (−42%) in 90 days — then local SEO ~3× leads over six months. Cited as separate layers.”

Capstone ammo: Stack brief · All week readings

The "So What?" Test

After every data point or claim you make, ask yourself: "So what?" If you can't answer it, the data point isn't earning its place in the pitch.

Weak Statement

"Our email open rate is 32%."

Strong Statement

"Our email open rate is 32% — 7 points above the industry average — because we used personalised subject lines and sent at Tuesday 9AM."

Check: Pitch Structure

Instructor: ask a student or pair to answer — then reveal on-screen.

Prompt: Budget currency.

Part 3: Storytelling With Data

Numbers don't persuade. Stories with numbers do.

The DATA Storytelling Framework

D — Describe

State the metric clearly. What is the number and what time period?

A — Analyse

What caused this? Compare to a benchmark, a prior period, or a competitor.

T — Tell

What is the business implication? What decision does this drive?

A — Act: What is the specific recommended action?

Handling Stakeholder Questions

Anticipate These Questions

  • "What's the ROI on this?"
  • "Why this channel and not that one?"
  • "How long before we see results?"
  • "What happens if this doesn't work?"
  • "How does this scale?"
The Magic Phrase: "That's a great question. Based on the data we have, my recommendation would be X. However, the assumption I'm making is Y, and if that changes, we should revisit Z."

Check: So What? Test

Instructor: cold-call one student / group, then click to confirm.

Prompt: Weak vs strong claim.

Part 4: Module Retrospective

What we built. What you now know.

What You've Built in 8 Weeks

Assets Created

  • ✅ Live, optimised landing page
  • ✅ Keyword-researched SEO content plan
  • ✅ Google Ads campaign blueprint
  • ✅ Meta Ads campaign setup
  • ✅ 3-email automated welcome sequence
  • ✅ GA4 analytics dashboard

Frameworks Mastered

  • ✅ Funnel vs. Flywheel
  • ✅ LTV:CAC ratio analysis
  • ✅ Search Intent mapping
  • ✅ Quality Score optimisation
  • ✅ Audience temperature tiers
  • ✅ Data → Insight → Action loop

The Integrated View: One Campaign, All Channels

A truly integrated campaign looks like this:
  1. Content (SEO) creates organic discovery and authority
  2. Google Ads captures high-intent traffic immediately
  3. Meta Ads creates demand in cold audiences via storytelling
  4. Email nurtures leads and drives repeat purchases
  5. Analytics connects all channels, optimises budget allocation

Each channel feeds the others. That is the flywheel in action.

Check: Evidence Layers

Instructor: cold-call one student / group, then click to confirm.

Prompt: How to cite cases.

Part 5: Career Pathways

Where this knowledge takes you.

Digital Marketing Roles for MBA Graduates

Role Core Skill Used Career Path
Growth Manager Full-funnel, analytics, experimentation Head of Growth → VP Growth
Brand Manager Content, social, positioning strategy Marketing Director → CMO
Performance Marketing Lead Paid search, paid social, ROAS Senior PM → Head of Paid
Digital Consultant All of the above Partner → Founder
Entrepreneur / Founder DIY everything Your own journey

The Marketing Leader's Mindset

Be Curious

The digital landscape changes quarterly. Never stop learning. Follow industry blogs, test new channels.

Be Experimental

The best marketers are scientists. Form hypotheses. Test everything. Kill what doesn't work.

Be Accountable

Own your numbers. Know your CAC, ROAS, and LTV cold. Be the person who can defend the spend.

Thank You!

Open Week 8 Note

Check: Board Challenge

Instructor: cold-call one student / group, then click to confirm.

Prompt: Budget cut 30%.

Capstone Presentations

10 minutes per student. 7 minutes presentation + 3 minutes Q&A.

Present your Digital Sandbox. Tell us the story of what you built, what the data showed, and what you would do next with a real budget.

Good luck. You've earned this.