Assignment Brief:
The task is divided into two parts (Part 1 & Part 2) and candidates are expected to address both.
Your task is to identify an organisation (producer and/or brand owner), that is involved in the marketing of electronic goods and prepare an individual report of 3,500 words (please see appendix 1 for further details) addressing the following issues.
Part 1:
- Using appropriate sources undertake a full marketing audit of your chosen category and brand. Include an evaluation of the current marketing strategy and position in the market.
- Demonstrate the brands effectiveness by providing an evaluation of their current market performance. This should include relevant market performance data to underpin your evaluation, for example market growth, sales trends, profitability etc.
- Provide a critical evaluation of the brand’s competitive edge (USP) with comparison to the main competitor brands in the marketplace.
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Part 2:
- Based on your Part 1 analysis provide the rationale for the introduction of a new product to the range.
- Outline the features / benefits of the new product.
- Identify target segment/s.
- Set clear marketing objectives to launch a new product with the aim of increasing brand awareness, market share, sales and/or profitability.
- Recommendations – with application to the marketing mix, recommend a relevant marketing strategy to addressing the marketing objectives.
These suggestions should be your own ideas but may include marketing tactics and strategies used by other successful organisations or companies.
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Your arguments, findings and recommendations should be supported by theories, facts and figures published within academic books, journal articles, recognised business magazines and market intelligence reports.
N.B. Please note the maximum word count includes the executive summary but excludes appendix and references.
Assignment Structure:
This is an individual assignment as a single report in two parts. Candidates are encouraged to be creative with their analysis and recommendations by using theories covered in the lectures and workshops.
The below is the structure that candidates must follow for this report:
Part 1.
- Title page
- Executive Summary
- Table of contents
- Introduction
- Environment analysis
- Evaluation of current marketing strategy/performance
- Analysis of the organisations competitive advantage and USP
Part 2.
- Product rationale and specification
- Segmentation Targeting & Positioning (STP)
- Recommend marketing objectives and goals
- Identify appropriate marketing strategies, based on the application of the marketing mix to your chosen product / brand.
- Conclusion
- Bibliography (with references)
Appendix 1 – Word count requirement and word limit penalties
If the word limit is exceeded, the following penalties apply:
| Exceeds word limit by up to 10% | No Penalty – tolerance band | |
| Exceeds word limit by 10.1-20% | 5 percentage points deduction | |
| Exceeds word limit by 20.1-30% | 10 percentage points deduction | |
| Exceeds word limit by 30.1-40% | 15 percentage points | |
| Exceeds word limit by 40.1-50% | 20 percentage points deduction | |
| Exceeds word limit by more than 50% | Mark of zero |
- The word count does not include words in tables, title page, references or appendices.
- Students must indicate word count in submitted work – this word count should appear on your title page.
- The word count for this assignment is 3,500 with a leniency of 10% (+/-) e. a maximum word count of 3,850 and a minimum of 3,150.
