MARKETING MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT
Please read these instructions carefully and ask questions if you are unsure about anything. Most errors occur because instructions are not followed. Before you submit your assessment, reread the instructions to make sure you have fulfilled all the requirements.
You are a marketing consultant hired to create a sustainable marketing plan for an organisation of your choice. The assessment is in two major parts; the first tests your ability to research and analyze the organisation and its stakeholders; the second tests your ability to carry out relevant research and analysis that could feed into a sustainable marketing plan for the same organization.
Organization Selection
You may select ANY organization as long as it meets these 5 criteria:
1. It can NOT be an organization discussed in class, such as Fiji Water, Better World Books.
2. It can NOT be a company you have ever worked for or owned, past or present. You need to show that you can analyze outside organizations. However, you can select one of your company's competitors.
3. It may be for-profit or non-profit. It may even be an idea (like literacy) or a person (like a celebrity).
4. If you select a large multinational corporation, it is important that you pick just ONE of its products in just ONE of its markets. For example, Apple Corporation is too large for a short paper; the iPhone in China is more manageable.
5. Make sure first that you can find enough information about the organization. This is critical. Many students complain at the last minute that they can't find any information online or from other people. Don't complain - just pick another organization, and start researching as soon as possible. Don't wait until too late to discover you don't have enough sources to support your paper. You might want to consider analyzing a B-Corporation, since there is often more written about them online, although do be aware that financial data may not be very available.
Required Elements
For each question, provide specific details and data, and support your arguments with research and references.
I. Cover Sheet. Do NOT include your name here or anywhere in your paper. Be sure to include a title (including the name of the organization) and the date you completed your paper.
II. Introduction. Describe your organization in approximately two or three sentences for the benefit of the reader. Keep this brief!
III. Triple Bottom Line Analysis (20 marks). Be very specific about this if you can.
a) Profit: Critically analyse the financial performance of your organisation. In doing this you should provide and critically analyse key facts and numbers, stating whether you think the organisation is under-performing or over-performing, and why.
b) Planet: Critically analyse the performance of your organisation in terms of its environmental impact. In doing this you should provide and critically analyse key facts and numbers, stating whether you think the organisation's performance is net-negative or net-positive on this bottom line, and why.
c) People: Critically analyse the performance of your organisation in terms of its social/people related impact. In doing this you should provide and critically analyse key facts and numbers, stating whether you think the organisation's performance is net-negative or net-positive on this bottom line, and why.
IV. 4C's Stakeholders Analysis (20 marks). Be very specific in this analysis too and follow the brief's requirements closely- here and elsewhere. You're being asked to conduct market research here, not write an essay about business in general.
a) Organisation Analysis: This is NOT an organisational history. Rather, list your organisation's key internal stakeholders, and critically evaluate ONE in detail, looking critically at who they are and what they want from the organisation.
b) Community Analysis:List your organisation's significant external stakeholders (other than competitors and customers, which you will analyze below), and critically evaluate ONE in detail, again looking critically at what they want from the organisation.
c) Customer Analysis: List your organisation's target customer segments, and critically evaluate ONE in detail. Include BOTH quantitative details (demographics, financial data, etc.) and qualitative details (needs, habits, etc.) in your analysis of your chosen segment.
d) Competitor Analysis: List the organization's competitors (direct and a few indirect), and critically evaluate ONE in detail, including an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. nb everyone has competitors.
V. Goals (9 marks). This consists of two parts.
1. Identify briefly your target market. Just say who your target market is for the market research analysis to be carried out below. This could be any of the stakeholders above, though most likely it will be the customers. If you want to target a new customer segment, briefly explain why.
2. Set 3BL MARKETING goals: You will need to create 3 S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-based) goals - one each for People, Planet, and Profit to be achieved with reference to your target market. These form the context for the,more analytical work to follow. Make sure they are goals, not policies, and make sure they are related to your marketing campaign, not e.g. goals for human resources or operations. You need to include a brief appraisal of why they are S.M.A.R.T. with particular reference to those elements such as attainable where it might not be obvious.
VI. Your Marketing Mix, the first 3P's (15 marks). How will you achieve your goals above? Remember this is not a formal report but a means for you to demonstrate your original critical thinking and the results of your research. Be sure to justify your points with research backing where possible. And don't forget to emphasize sustainability!
1. Product: What are you selling? (Pick just ONE product or service if your company has several.) Critically evaluate your product in terms of how it is different or better than the competition and whether you would change anything and why or why not?
2. Price: Critically assess the company's current pricing strategy and on the basis of that identify a pricing strategy for your product offer here. Normally this analysis will encompass three different prices; the old price, the new price, and a competitor's price.
3. Place: Critically evaluate both the product's current means of distribution and those of the competition. On the basis of that propose appropriate distribution channels for this product offer.
VII Your Promotion Plan using AIDA+ (18 marks).
Please structure your Promotion Plan using each of the 5 stages of AIDA+. In each stage, critically assess the media and messages you will use, explaining your reasons for doing so based where possible on research, which you reference. Be specific about your intended promotions.
VIII. Promotion Budget (18 marks).
1. Based on your goals and your AIDA+ plan, create a detailedOBJECTIVE-AND-TASK budget. Do NOT include ordinary operational expenses, such as office space, salaries, or cost of goods sold.Just show specific promotional expenses. You must research and use actual costs and critically evaluate/justify your costings as much as possible.Remember, an objective-and-task budget shows how each marketing expense will contribute to your goal, so show the calculations and projected results for each expense.
IX. Reference Notes + Bibliography. Minimum 5 authoritative and relevant sources. Include reference notes in the body of the paper (for example: Costa 2008) with a complete bibliography at the end. Be sure to use the proper Harvard reference formatting discussed in the Expectations + Guidelines for the course. Points will be deducted for incorrect referencing and for citing poor sources (absolutely no Wikipedia).
Important Notes
• Please write your paper in clearly marked sections, not as one continuous essay. Please stick to the order presented in this assessment brief. Do not add unnecessary sections.
• Your word limit for this paper is 4,600 words, plus 10% extra if you need them. Since your words are limited, do not waste them by providing general marketing definitions or theories - just conduct your analysis as set out in the assessment brief. Your cover sheet, reference notes, and bibliography do NOT count toward your word total. Words in tables, charts, and the introduction DO count.
Upload your completed assessment as a .doc or .docx (NOT PDF) through the system. Do NOT email it to your professor or post it to the forum.