Reference no: EM133839804 , Length: word count:4000

The Marketing Business

Assignment - Marketing Report

Assessment Brief

Marketing Report

Marketing Report (4000 words)

The Basics

Work in groups of 4 (other sized groups must be approved by the module leader)
Select your group's brand from individual pitch proposals
Research and develop marketing strategies for growth of your selected brand
Make it compelling

The Brief

You are required to work in your groups to research and develop appropriate marketing strategies for growth of a brand. The project has 3 phases:

Select your Brand

Your first task as a group is to select your brand. This will be the outcome of the individual pitch proposal process. You will evaluate each other's proposals and select the most compelling case to work on together in this group project. How you choose to do this is up to you as a team, however you will receive guidance from your tutor in the evaluation process.

Research and Strategy Development

You will undertake market research on your brand amongst its target consumers to inform your marketing strategy decisions. You are aiming to discover some key insights about the target consumers' buying behaviour and their relationship with your brand. You will design a research study, carry out the research and analyse your findings.

You will then develop appropriate marketing strategies that can be clearly justified by your research findings. You should consider all aspects of the marketing framework(s) when developing your strategies, all of which when combined underpin your programme for brand growth.

Write-up

Every student must submit a copy of their Group Marketing Report (4000 words) via Turnitin on VLE.
The report must be submitted as a Word Document
It must be 4000 words (+/- 10%)
Use Harvard referencing style. You can find more guidance about referencing here
You must include a reference list at the end of the report.

Group Participation
All members of the team must make an equal and active participation in the project.

A log must be kept of meetings held, group members present, and activities undertaken by each team member. You must also include a summary Log showing participation in the project by individual group members. This Log should be attached to the appendix section of the report.

The Group Marketing Project

The Brief
You are required to work in groups of 4 to research and develop appropriate marketing strategies for a sustainable marketing orientation to grow a brand. The project has 3 phases:
Phases:
The project has three phases:
Select your brand (completed). Your first task is to select your brand. You will research and evaluate different brands during independent study using resources outlined in lectures and in this handbook. Your group will select the most compelling case to work on, you are all expected to work on the Market Research investigation stage. This choice will be made on the basis for a developed plan ...it may well be not the one with the highest mark from Assignment 1 but the one with the most Marketing potential.
Market Research Review and Strategy definition (collaborative work)
Collaborative development and Writing up of the group Marketing Plan (no more than 4000 words)
Phase 1 (COMPLETED)
Select your brand
Your first task is to select your organisation. This will involve discussing the different organisations you explored during Assessment 1. Your group will select the most compelling case to work on based on the marketing plan potential.
This choice will be made on the basis for a potential Marketing Plan ...it may well be not the one with the highest mark from Assignment 1 but the one with the most Marketing Plan potential
Group Project - Step two
Once you have decided which project you all would like to develop you should all work on the next stage i.e., Market Research investigation stage.
This will help you all get to know and understand the organisation.
There will be some summary data in the pitch but a full situational analysis including a competitor analysis and a summary SWOT needs to be well developed.
You must decide what needs to be further developed in that section (or removed) and or improved for the main report.
Remember the brief states:
Your marketing plan will be clearly justified by your research findings (secondary and primary data collection) that point to a clear market opportunity the brand might exploit.
You might conduct some primary data collection at this stage to clarify some aspect of your idea: e.g., some research with target customers, some primary data on competitors e.g., store surveys, pricing surveys etc.
Or you might gather consumer feedback on a later stage such as the message/content you are proposing for your advertising etc.
Structure of the Marketing Plan
Executive summary
Introduction: Brief Overview of the Business/organisation/charity concerned
Market Research (current situation analysis)
Societal Marketing Opportunity/ies identified (*remember to link to UN goals)
Implementation of the Strategies
Timing considerations
How success will be measured - some suggestions
References
Market Research
All Group members to undertake Market Research, the tasks could be divided into areas of Market Research:
External Environment: PESTLE ANALYSIS, competitors ; Internal environment - SWOT Analysis
Melissa Collier-Baker: Subject Librarian
Remember: Euromonitor Passport and Business Source ultimate

Evidence you are aware of these resources and know how to get data from them!
Specific Market Analysis - sector data and trends (e.g., cider market analysis)
PESTEL - any key factors of trends affecting the business?
Competitor Analysis: Perceptual Mapping
Customer analysis ( who is current target segment/s)
Once you've collected the Market Research
Consider the marketing potential based on the research you have gathered
Discuss with your group the areas for this organisation with the potential to develop
What are the options for development (Ansoff Matrix)
What does this mean for the business (the so what?)
Marketing Strategies for selection
You will then develop appropriate marketing strategies, clearly justified by your research findings. You should consider multiple aspects of the marketing mix when developing your strategies, all of which when combined underpin your programme for growth.
Consider all the aspects of the Marketing Framework:
Place
Promotion
Price
People
Physical Evidence (only include if a service business!)
Process
Discuss your ideas for the overall marketing strategy as a group - it is unlikely to be coherent otherwise!

Rational steps in developing effective marketing communication
Identify the target audience
Determine the communication objectives
Design the message
Choose the media
Select the message source
Pricing Strategies
Justify the rationale for the pricing
Understand what this means in terms of positioning
People
In a service company like a hotel, restaurant, beauty salon, retail store etc., interact with customers throughout their journey and become the ‘face' of the organisation for the customer.
Their knowledge of the company's products and services and how to use them, their ability to access relevant information and their everyday approach and attitude needs to be optimised.
People can be inconsistent but with the right training, tools and empowerment and motivation by a company, they can also represent an
opportunity to differentiate an offering in a crowded
market and to build valuable relationships with customers.
How could your business leverage the ‘people'
element to promote your marketing initiative and to
stand out from competitors?

Physical Evidence
Is there a retail presence; how does this link in with the (sustainable) branding?
Process
How could the process by which the service is delivered be improved/support the new marketing initiative?

Referencing - Harvard Referencing