Assessment 2 Overview – Marketing Strategy Plan
Weight: 35%
Due: 14 Oct 19 10:00 AEST, Week 12
Word limit: 3,000 words maximum (+/- 10%)
Referencing: APA, a minimum of 10 scholarly sources is expected at pass level, with additional industry reports and company sources.
Task:
The group assignment will be in the form of the development of a Marketing Strategy Plan and is to be undertaken as part of a team of 4 or 5 persons. This project will require practical activity throughout the semester, with groups formed in-class in Week 7. A one-page document and group contract must be signed and submitted in class in week 8 (see Week 8 submissions folder for full details).
Each group member individually researched the same contemporary brand for Assessment 1. The information garnered from the situation analysis will be brought together to finalise an informed SWOT and to set a clear marketing problem/opportunity to focus on in the development of the marketing strategy.
As a group, you will now build from the situational analysis, to formulate an informed marketing strategy which addresses the major issues and opportunities and builds upon the identified business strengths. Students will identify and leverage the current brand position (this is not a repositioning task) and create a new marketing mix strategy for implementation, with justification.
Again, students are to theoretically examine the components of a marketing mix strategy and then formulate a justified strategy for marketing success.
Please ensure you consult the marking criteria for full explanation of grading and detail of expectations. Notably, students will not just list solutions but will consider and evaluate the solutions in relation to optimal marketing success.
The report should follow content guidelines provided (below) and be a maximum of 3,000 words (+/- 10%) excluding cover page, table of content and reference list (everything else including tables, figures, heading, captions, etc are included in the word count). APA Referencing is desirable. A minimum of 10 scholarly academic sources are expected at a pass level. Students could have more, and will have additional industry and company sources also.
Team work
Team work is a valuable and important component of this program. Students should be aware that in normal circumstances, all members of the team will receive the same mark for the project. A team contract will be submitted at the same time as the initial 1-page overview. The content of the team contract will be discussed in class. Further, peer evaluation will be undertaken by all teams and will be considered in conjunction with the team contract and group records. Any group issues should proactively be raised with your tutor prior to assessment submission. The best way to resolve group issues is through sound group management to minimise the impact of issues on the final group mark outcome. All team members should complete a peer evaluation score sheet by Wednesday 16 October, 5.00pm. This information may be used by the course coordinator to moderate marks for individuals within the team. Individuals who are evaluated by peers below the group standard will be penalized, having marks deducted to a standard which reflects the evidence. In such situations, all individuals are responsible for keeping evidence of their contributions to the group.
Content guidelines
Title page
Table of Contents
(Note there is NO Executive summary for this report).
1. Introduction
• Give a concise background, identifying the crucial insights drawn from the situation analysis with a SWOT and a clear direction and purpose for the development of this. (Why you are writing the report and what it will contain).
2. Objectives
• Define SMART objectives and describe why SMART objectives are important. Identify the criteria for SMART objectives. (Theory).
• Consider the current SWOT and problem/opportunity and identify/justify the SMART marketing objectives for the strategy. (Application).
3. Positioning
• Define positioning and describe why positioning is essential to marketing strategy. (Theory).
• Clearly state the current position of the brand for reinforcement in the proposed strategy (Application).
4. Customer analysis
• Define the segmenting and targeting and describe why they are important. Identify the criteria for selecting a suitable target market. (Theory).
• Propose and justify the most desirable target market, clearly profiling meaningful customer factors. (Application).
5. Marketing mix
5.1 Product
5.2 Price
5.3 Place
5.4 Promotion
• Define each of the marketing mix element and describe how they contribute to a consistent overarching position. Identify the main components of each. (Theory).
• Propose and justify the most desirable 4Ps marketing mix strategy, clearly detailing and justifying strategic choices for each element. (Application).
6. Timing, budgeting and evaluation
• Propose and justify optimal timing strategies.
• Present an approximate budget, with justification of access to resourcing.
• Identify/justify effective methods and timing of evaluation of marketing success.
7. Conclusion
• Finish by reinforcing why this is the right strategy and how it will address the stated problem/opportunity.
8. Appendix
9. References
APA referencing style.
Other important guidelines
• This strategy is in relation to the Australian market only.
• You will draw upon all group members individual analysis in the A1 Situation Analysis to inform the marketing problem/opportunity to address.
• The full report must be submitted electronically through the Blackboard and MUST have a cover attached listing the group name, student names and numbers of each team member involved in the preparation of the assignment.
• References should be included for ALL works used – don’t forget information relating to the brand, any theory, industry, trade, company and news materials.
• ALL students must complete the peer evaluation. Failure to do so may result in penalties.
• Under no circumstances should students contact the businesses involved. Businesses have been briefed to record the names of any students and marks may be deducted.
Format:
• Line spacing 1.5, font 11pt Arial, standard margins
• Use headings to break up content effectively
• The word count includes ALL content (except the cover page, table of content and reference list). So any tables/figures/appendices/captions are all included. Therefore, it is your task to prioritise which information is critical and which is not. Any content over the maximum word limit provided will not be assessed and penalties will apply.