Assessment
Marketing Management
Introduction. This covers the scope of the plan and identifies the key goals.
Product proposal. What will your proposal be about? Refer to Appendix 1 of Kotler et al. (2013, p. 627) and the contents of a marketing plan (Kotler et al. 2013, p. 79).
Answer questions in regards to the product proposal.
Key considerations:
• What is the brand name of your for-profit organisation?
•What is the new product that will generate revenue for which you will prepare a marketing plan and strategy during this subject? Give the product a name and describe its features and benefits.
Look up ‘brand extension' in Kotler et al. (2013) and describe whether your product is considered a line or a category extension.
• Identify your products'/brands' strengths and weaknesses (first part of a SWOT analysis).
•Discuss what information will be required to prepare your brand extension plan including consumer, competitor and market information.
This is a group assessment. Marks are awarded for overall group performance and are distributed to contributing group members equally; so, contribution by all group members together with group cohesion is important for good
Students are to form groups of up to four (4) members (no more) and you are recommended to form
For this assessment, you need to assume that your group is the marketing management team for an authentic
In doing
The organisation you select may be an organisation that you or one of your group members have either worked for organisation. Whichever
the outcome of your group's work on this major assessment will be the construction of a ‘brand/product
Current marketing situation - understanding the market
Building on from the work you completed in Session 1, this session looks at the marketplace you will be competing in.
Situation analysis
With reference to Appendix 1 of Kotler et al. (2013, p. 627) and the contents of a marketing plan (Kotler et al. 2013, p. 79), write a one-paragraph summary of the current situation. Write this after completing the following sections of the situation analysis:
• Review the macro-environment and list two (2) major trends in each area that will need to be considered, and explain how they will influence your brand extension plan (i.e. from a political, legal, environmental, technological, social and economic perspective). In other words, undertake a Pestle analysis.
• Review your micro-environment and in particular undertake a Porter's Five Forces analysis.
• Review the size of the market you are going to compete in and forecast demand and market share.
• Undertake a SWOT analysis whereby you will summarise the internal strengths and weaknesses, and the external threats and opportunities (Kotler et al. 2013, pp. 77-8).
• Identify your consumer research requirements.
• Describe at least three (3) factors that will determine your success.
Marketing opportunity - connecting with the customer
Building on from the work you completed in the previous sessions, this session looks at connecting with the customer. With reference to Appendix 1 of Kotler et al. (2013, p. 627) and the contents of a marketing plan (Kotler et al. 2013, p. 79), this session's tasks may include:
• Describe the segment(s) of the market you will compete in and what your target(s) are.
• What geographical region(s) will you compete in (e.g. local area, state, national, regional or global)? (See Kotler et al. 2013, p. 248.)
• What demographic profile(s) will your target customers have (e.g. age, gender, family size, income, occupation, education)? (See Kotler et al. 2013, p. 249.)
• What psychographic profiles will your target customers have (e.g. beliefs, attitudes, cultural backgrounds)? (See Kotler et al. 2013, p. 251.)
• Are there any behavioural traits for the target market (e.g. habitual buyers in this category, light-users, once-a- year buyers, impulse)? (See Kotler et al. 2013, p. 251.) • Is it a business-to business target market? Why? Classify the business in terms of geographical area; what derived demand will drive the market; nature of the buying transaction (tender); and quantity types (one or many).
• Explain the rationale behind why these are the optimal target market segments, for example:
Ð growing segment/new segment just emerging Ð large segment
Ð will it provide large return on investment/large sales revenue?
Ð competitive gap in this area
Ð changing consumer habits have opened up new market.
•Explain what market targeting strategy you will use, and why. (See Kotler et al. 2013 , p.258.)? Undifferentiated/differentiated or concentrated/niche?
• What are your overall objectives? (See Kotler et al.2013 , p. 633.)
• Explain your core marketing strategy to achieve these objectives. (See Kotler et al. 2013 , p.79 & p. 633.)
Developing strong brands
Building on from the work you completed in previous weeks, this session looks at the developing strong brands. With reference to Appendix 1 in Kotler et al. (2013, p. 627) and the contents of a marketing plan (Kotler et al. 2013, p. 79), consider the following areas in relation to your product. The product
• Describe your product/service including its key features and benefits.
• Describe your augmented product/service.(See Kotler et al. 2013, p.278.)
• Identify the classification of your product/service.(See Kotler et al.2013 , p. 279.)
• Work through and explain any relevant product attributes. (See Kotler et al.2013 , p. 284.)
• Discuss your product branding. ( See Kotler et al. 2013, p.298.)
• Explain packaging/labelling decisions. The brand
• Describe your branding strategy including:
Ð brand positioning
Ð brand name
Ð licensing (if required)
Ð brand repositioning (if required) (see Kotler et al. 2013, p. 302).
• Justify any market research you will undertake.
• Describe how you will test market your product.
• Explain any legal aspects that you must consider with your product (e.g. labelling, packaging, health issues).
Delivering value
Building on from the work you completed in previous sessions, this session looks at delivering value. With reference to Appendix 1 of Kotler et al. (2013, p. 627) and the contents of a marketing plan (Kotler et al. 2013, p. 79), complete the following tasks:
• Discuss internal/external factors that have led to your pricing decision (see Kotler et al. 2013, pp. 355-8). For example: o What are your product costs?
o What market share are you after? o What is the product quality? o What is competitor pricing?
o What type of marketplace are you competing in?
• Describe your overall pricing strategy (see Kotler et al. 2013, pp. 363-72). For example:
o - Will you use cost plus or value-based pricing? o Will it be, for example, EV pricing/going rate if a business market?
o For the new product will you use market skimming, market penetration strategies?
o How will your product sit within the product line-up?
• Describe any short-term adjustment strategies you may use in your planning and why you would use them (see Kotler et al. 2013, p. 374). For example, do you want to drive short-term sales growth or are there seasonal adjustments quantity discounts/cash back to take advantage of?
• How will people buy and receive your product? What are your retailing/ wholesaling strategy and tactics for your product? (See Kotler et al. 2013, Chapter 14.):
o Given your type of product, is this exclusive or extensive distribution? - Give examples of places you intend to sell your product.
o Is this an online-only product?
o Will you concentrate on geographical areas?
• How will you manage/design your marketing channel/logistics network to satisfy your consumer?
o What sort of service level do consumers expect for a product of this type, and how will you deliver or over o exceed? o - Can you gain a competitive advantage in this area?
Communicating value
Building on from the work you completed previously, this session looks at communicating value. With reference to Appendix 1 of Kotler et al. (2013, p. 627) and the contents of a marketing plan (Kotler et al. 2013, p. 79), complete the following tasks: o What are your promotional mix objectives? o What are your promotional mix strategies? o What are your promotional mix tactics?
Step through the integrated marketing communication process (see Kotler et al. 2013, p. 462-8) and complete the following tasks:
o Review your target market.
o What are your communication objectives (awareness/knowledge/liking/ preference), and why?
o What is the message you want to tell your target market about your product/ service?
o Which medium/media are you going to use to communicate your message? o How will you know if your message has been received (measures)?
What other forms of promotion will you use and why? What is your overall promotional mix? (See Kotler et al. 2013, p. 456):
o Does it include, for example, PR/sales force/ online strategy? o Are you going to use any sales promotion tools in your plan?
Budget (see Appendix 2 of Kotler et al. 2013, p. 475):
o What are your sales revenue/volume objectives? o What is your budget?
o Consider your distribution strategy; for example, getting product in store o What is the promotional budget/expense forecast?
o Consider your advertising strategy, for example, television/press/public relations/online/sales promotion
o Consider your product development strategy Do you have any contingency planning in place?
Finalise your executive summary bringing together the first part of your plan (audit) and the second part of your plan (implementation).
Citations & references: include the sources you have used throughout the project.
Other relevant information
? It is important to address each and every question/section in the marking rubrics (see below) in order to optimize your marks.
? With regards to referencing. Whilst marketing plans in the business world do not usually include direct quotes, GB530 is a higher education subject and your plan is expected to follow academic protocol by containing the relevant in-text citations and a corresponding list of references: all in Harvard style.
? Please write your Brand extension marketing plan in the third person. If you are unsure about REPORT format and style then consult with your lecturer/facilitator.
? Remember that a fully executed marketing plan contains a significant amount of detail! You can find a good specimen marketing plan (Sonic) in Appendix One (1) in the prescribed textbook.
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