Recent Question/Assignment

Semester-Long Marketing Plan Project
An effective way to help students learn about marketing management is through the actual creation of a marketing plan for a product or service. This project is designed to accomplish such a task.
Each group set up a company and decides on a consumer product or service they wish to bring to market. It has to be an innovative product/service which has never been in the market before and not belong to any existing company. You can discuss with your tutor about the product/service that you want to select.
Word count: 2500 words (+/- 10%) for the report
Due date: 11pm Friday Week 11 for the report.
Requirement:
The report analysis:
- Competitive information
- Environmental scanning.
- Demand forecasted
- Specific market segmentation, targeting, and positioning statements
- Product or service’s brand positioning
- Who are the market leaders for their chosen product or service? What niche have they identified for their product/service? Is their product or service going to be a leader, follower, or challenger to well-established products or brands?
- Consumer-adoption process for their new product. How will the consumer learn about their new product and how quickly will they adopt it? Will the product be targeted to the heavy users and early adopters first, then early and late majorities? What is their estimated time for full adoption?
- Pricing strategy decisions for their product/service. Students have addressed all or most of the material concerning pricing covered in week 8.
- Students should be directed to turn in their retailing, wholesaling, and logistical marketing plans. Those students who are acting in the role of providing a new “service” should include here their plans for locations, hours of operations, and how their “service” plans on managing demand and capacity issues.
- The integrated marketing communications mix.
- All the possible communication media (for example, students will tend to concentrate their media on television or on the Internet and include other forms such as personal selling and radio).
- At least 5 academic references need to be used
• The assignment must be in MS Word format, no spacing, 12-pt Arial font and 2 cm margins on all four sides of your page with appropriate section headings and page numbers.
• Reference sources must be cited in the text of the report, and listed appropriately at the end in a reference list using Harvard referencing style.
Evaluation Criteria
Introduction about product/service Clear explanation about the motives behind developing your own product/service
Clear introduction about product/service
Competitive information
Clear discussion about direct and indirect competitors. Also provide some discussion about competitive theory
Environmental scanning
Provide full discussion about PESTEL analysis or SWOT. Provide some strategies that help the company deal with Threats and Weaknesses and negative impacts from external environment
Demand forecast
Provide reasonable reasons why customers are interested in the product/service.
Provide consumption trends to predict the future demand for the product/service of their choice

Specific market segmentation, targeting, and positioning statements
Provide market segmentation, targeting, and positioning statements. Provide clear explanation and the link between theories and their choice
Product or service’s brand positioning
Clear discussion about brand positioning
Also provide some discussion brand positioning theory
Who are the market leaders for their chosen product or service? What niche have they identified for their product/service? Is their product or service going to be a leader, follower, or challenger to well-established products or brands?
Provide full discussion about their market strategy. Provide clear justification about their choice
Consumer-adoption process for their new product. How will the consumer learn about their new product and how quickly will they adopt it? Will the product be targeted to the heavy users and early adopters first, then early and late majorities? What is their estimated time for full adoption?
Provide clear explanation about consumer – adoption process. Identify and clearly explain about the product will be target to whom
Pricing strategy decisions for their product/service. Students have addressed all or most of the material concerning pricing covered in week 8.
Provide the price strategy with full justification about their choice
Students should be directed to turn in their retailing, wholesaling, and logistical marketing plans. Those students who are acting in the role of providing a new “service” should include here their plans for locations, hours of operations, and how their “service” plans on managing demand and capacity issues.
Answer all the requirement with full explanation about their choice
The integrated marketing communications matrix.
Clear explanation and discussion about integrated marking communications matrix
Provide good justification about all the tools that they select
All the possible communication media (for example, students will tend to concentrate their media on television or on the Internet and include other forms such as personal selling and radio).
Clear explanation and discussion about communication media
Provide good justification about all the media channel that they select
Style and referencing
Referencing: appropriate references and citations, style Bibliography includes at least 10 relevant references from good sources i.e. journals rather than popular computing press. Very clearly presented.
Group Report Rubric
Evaluation Criteria Fail Pass Credit Distinction High Distinction
Introduction about product/service
No information about product/service Limited information about product/service Some information about product/service Clear introduction about product/service Clear explanation about the motives behind developing your own product/service
Clear introduction about product/service
Competitive information
2 marks Fail
0-0.5 Pass
1 Credit
1.25 Distinction
1.5 High Distinction
1.75-2
No information about competitors Limited information about competitors Some information about competitors Clear explanation and discussion about competitors Clear discussion about direct and indirect competitors. Also provide some discussion about competitive theory
Environmental scanning
2 marks Fail
0-0.5 Pass
1 Credit
1.25 Distinction
1.5 High Distinction
1.75-2
No information about environmental scanning (PESTEL or SWOT)
Limited information about environmental scanning (PESTEL or SWOT) Provide some discussion about PESTEL analysis or SWOT Provide full discussion about PESTEL analysis or SWOT. Provide full discussion about PESTEL analysis or SWOT. Provide some strategies that help the company deal with Threats and Weaknesses and negative impacts from external environment
Demand forecast
2 marks Fail
0-0.5 Pass
1 Credit
1.25 Distinction
1.5 High Distinction
1.75-2
No information about demand forecast Limited information about
demand forecast Provide some discussion about demand forecast: some models of demand forecast are provided but could not link them with the product/service selected Provide clear explanation about demand forecast. Provide some data about consumption trend Provide reasonable reasons why customers are interested in the product/service.
Provide consumption trends to predict the future demand for the product/service of their choice

Specific market segmentation, targeting, and positioning statements
2 marks Fail
0-0.5 Pass
1 Credit
1.25 Distinction
1.5 High Distinction
1.75-2
No information about market segmentation, targeting, and positioning statements Limited information about market segmentation, targeting, and positioning statements. For example: only provide the market segmentation theory rather than focusing on their product/service’s target customer. Provide market segmentation, targeting, and positioning statements. However, don’t provide the evidence for their choice Provide market segmentation, targeting, and positioning statements with clear explanation for their choice Provide market segmentation, targeting, and positioning statements. Provide clear explanation and the link between theories and their choice
Students should be directed to turn in their retailing, wholesaling, and logistical marketing plans. Those students who are acting in the role of providing a new “service” should include here their plans for locations, hours of operations, and how their “service” plans on managing demand and capacity issues.
2 marks Fail
0-0.5 Pass
1 Credit
1.25 Distinction
1.5 High Distinction
1.75-2
No information about distribution system Limited information about distribution system Answer all the requirement without explanation Answer all the requirement with brief explanation about their choice Answer all the requirement with full explanation about their choice
The integrated marketing communications matrix.
5 marks
Fail
0-2 Pass
2.5 Credit
3 Distinction
3.5-4 High Distinction
4.5-5
No information about integrated marking communications matrix
Limited information about integrated marking communications matrix Provide the integrated marking communications matrix with some explanation
Clear explanation and discussion about integrated marking communications matrix Clear explanation and discussion about integrated marking communications matrix
Provide good justification about all the tools that they select
All the possible communication media (for example, students will tend to concentrate their media on television or on the Internet and include other forms such as personal selling and radio).
5 marks
Fail
0-2 Pass
2.5 Credit
3 Distinction
3.5-4 High Distinction
4.5-5
No information about communication media Limited information about communication media Provide the selection of communication media with some explanation
Clear explanation and discussion about communication media Clear explanation and discussion about communication media
Provide good justification about all the media channel that they select
Style and referencing
5 marks
Referencing: appropriate references and citations, style Fail
0-2 Pass
2.5 Credit
3 Distinction
3.5-4 High Distinction
4.5-5
Referencing is unclear. At least 3 relevant references. Referencing mostly clear but inconsistent. At least 5 relevant references given, mainly drawn from provided sources e.g lectures. Clear systematic referencing of all sources.. At least 7 relevant references including at least 5 from own research including page no’s for all articles Bibliography includes at least 10 relevant references from good sources i.e. journals rather than popular computing press. Very clearly presented.
Total (out of 25)

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