Table of Contents
Online Help on MKT10009 Business Report
Purpose or Overview
To develop higher order, critical thinking skills with regards to how key marketing concepts can be used in analysing a range of marketing problems.
Detailed Assignment instructions
This assignment is an individual report that combines elements from all your previous Assignments. You are now a brand manager proposing a new product to the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of your company. For this assignment:
- The brand you are extending is the brand you analysed for your Assignment
- The target market for the brand extension is one of the three personas you created for Assignment
Your report to the CMO will recommend one segment to be targeted from amongst the three personas and justify your recommendation.
Then, you will recommend a brand extension strategy and a new product positioning to the target persona and explain how the new product will be differentiated from competing products currently serving that target persona.
Lastly, you will provide details of the marketing mix for your new product and explain how this marketing mix will attract the consumers (the target persona) to your new product.
Your report will be in these main parts:
- Explain how you have ranked the attractiveness of the three personas and justify why you have chosen one of them to target.
- Your target persona’s characteristics – this will be the foundation of your new product and brand extension
- Explain how the positioning strategy of your new product differentiates it from competing products and how it will appeal to your target
- Details of the Marketing Mix – Product, Price, Promotion and Place (the 4Ps). The Marketing Mix implements and communicates the Positioning you explained
How does this Assignment differ from Assignment 3 (group)?
Here in Assignment 4, you will role play as the brand manager of the brand that you investigated in Assignment 2. Instead of a new company launching a new product to a new market, here in Assignment 4 your company is established in the market and will need to assess the market potential of the three personas from Assignment 1. Then you will decide on one persona as your target market for whom you will launch your new product.
Report Layout – Please include: –
- Title Page* – a separate page containing Unit code MKT10009, Semester and Year, Assignment Number, Date of Submission, Your Name. If you used Chat GPT (or any other AI support), please place a statement on your Title page to say; “I have used Chat GPT (or INSERT other AI as the case may be) in developing and writing this
Assignment”.
- Table of contents – a separate page
Then start the Assignment contents on a separate page.
Use Heading and sub-headings according to the Assignment document such as: –
Part 4. Marketing Mix
- Place
- Promotion
- Price
- Product
Number every page. (In Word > Insert (in the toolbar at top of page) > Page Number.)
Use Proofreading and spell-checking to reduce errors with spelling, grammar and/or sentence construction. Do not use blogs and self-styled “consultants” as authoritative sources. Their credentials cannot be verified. In-text referencing and the reference list must be in the APA style.
Part 1. Target Market Analysis
In Assignment 1, you conducted a small market research project that resulted in three simple ‘personas’: representations of consumers with certain characteristics. Now, in Assignment 4 you must treat these personas as exemplars of typical segments instead of as individuals.
Cut your Personas from you Assignment 1 and paste them into an Appendix (Appendices are not counted in the Word Count). Then complete the Table below and refer the reader to the Persona details in the Appendix.
You should add more details of their characteristics and behaviour using your own research (e.g., using Australian Bureau of Statistics census data, industry analysis, and/or segmentation reports).
You must show how you have compared and assessed their attractiveness as markets for the new product by using each of the following criteria:
1. The fit of the segment with the brand’s identity/positioning
Your brand offers certain products using a certain identity/positioning. In some ways strong brand identities are good, but it can be limiting (e.g., imagine if Apple launched a vacuum cleaner – it would not fit with the Apple brand.
And yet Samsung can launch a vacuum cleaner with no damage to their brand). Which of the segments are most
likely to respond to your brand’s identity, or do you want to risk it and use a new/multi-brand strategy?
2. Size and growth
How large and lucrative are these segments? What are current market factors influencing these segments? A large,
fast-growing segment may be good, but would they have the willingness to pay? It may be better to target a small, niche segment if it means the potential to yield a higher margin.
3. Structural attractiveness
Can we communicate with this segment effectively? Can we deliver to these segments effectively? Are stronger competitors already serving them?Your attractiveness analysis will utilize all relevant theories and frameworks you’ve learned throughout the semester. In addition, for a Higher Grade, provide credible data such as census reports, industry reports, databases, and academic references where appropriate. Conclude by clearly stating which persona you have chosen to be your target market segment.
Part 2. Brand Extension and Product Strategy
You will be extending the product you analysed in Assignment 2. Show how you are using one of the four brand extension strategies (see below) to create a new product that will satisfy the needs of your target.
Fig 2. What strategy will you choose, and why?
Example: Milo decides to target the segment of users over 60 years of age. They could use one of these strategies:
· Line Extension
If they think the brand name “Milo” can cross generational boundaries, then they can just launch smaller cans (more
suitable for single and couple households with no children present in the home). This would be an additional Milo branded product within the same category.
· Brand Extension or Category Extension
The Milo Brand Manager thinks that the Milo brand is strong and elastic enough to be stretched into a new category and product using the Milo brand, so they entered into the breakfast cereal category launched Milo Breakfast Cereal.
This is a Milo branded product in a new category.
· Multi-brands
If Milo is seen as too synonymous with young kids or teenagers (e.g., their tagline is “Gives Your Kids More!”), then the company (Nestle) might instead launch another chocolate and malt powder product but brand it as “Nestle Sustain”.
· New Brands
If Nestle decides to not contaminate the Milo target market and give new benefits, they might launch “Nestle Sustain” chocolate-flavoured chewable tablets with added calcium and other nutrients for older people.
Finish this section by describing the product you are going to offer to your target segment. Show your new product in the “three levels” framework – core, actual, and augmented (Week 6). Include brand elements and brand personality (Week 10).
Part 3. Competitor and Positioning Analysis
Your task is to:
- Research the marketing mix of these
- Then present them in a brand positioning map (Week 5). Make sure you show where your new product is positioned on the Remember, if your new product is in a new category, different from the one in which your Assignment 2 product was located, then you will need to do a Positioning Map that shows the competitors in that new category. Then add your new product to that map.
- Then, using this brand positioning map and thinking about the characteristics of the target market, formulate a
positioning strategy, develop a brand positioning statement (Week 5) and value proposition (see diagram below).
Show how your Positioning links to the needs and characteristics of your target persona. What will be your strategy to build that positioning in the consumers’ mind? Use the concepts of brand equity and brand relationships to show how you will develop your brand.
Fig 3. What value proposition will you choose, and why?
Part 4. Marketing Mix
Now that you have chosen your target segment and decided upon your Positioning you need to create a Marketing Mix to implement and communicate your new product to them. Demonstrate application of theory from the Unit materials when you explain Mix details.
- Place. Will you use distributors (Intermediaries)? Will you use retailers (online and/or bricks-and-mortar)? If yes, then how do you want them to display and promote your new product? (Week 7).
- Promotion. What key messages/themes will you use? (Week 8). They should be a creative way of communicating your Positioning.
Where (which media), during what times (media vehicle matching?
- Recommend and justify a price using one of the pricing strategies (Week 9).
What can your target segment afford?
What do you think they would be willing to pay?
Are you proposing any payment strategies and/or financial partners involved?
- Refer the reader to Part 2, where you described your new Product. Then, if you have additional ideas, put them here.
Your marketing mix plan should be strongly grounded by your understanding of the target market and why it would be effective.