For this course, you will be assessed through three pieces of work. These are an individual essay (50%), and in your assigned teams, a marketing plan and presentation (30%) as well as a presentation in class (20%). Additional materials detailing the assignments are outlined in this document. You can find the team you are assigned to on the Moodle page.
Assessment 1. Individual essay (50%)
A 2000-word paper based on topics covered in the module and due on 30 March, one week after the end of the module. The essay should draw on the course readings and lectures as well as additional materials you research yourself.
Assessment 2. Marketing plan presentation (30%)
Within your assigned teams you will identify a product or service which you would like to market and develop a marketing plan. You will prepare a presentation about your marketing plan to present in Lecture 10 of the course.
Assessment 3. Case-study presentation (20%)
In Lectures 2-9 each week two or three teams will deliver a presentation based on the week’s lecture topic. The presentation will use an example to explain a relevant concept to the class.
Assessment 1. Individual essay (50%)
A 2000-word paper based on topics covered in the module and due on 30 March, one week after the end of the module. The essay should draw on the lectures and set readings as well as on additional materials you find yourself.
Your essay should answer the following question:
In your view, what are the three most important changes companies should make to improve the effectiveness of their marketing? Use evidence and examples from throughout the course to support your arguments.
In your essay, you should:
• Demonstrate you have undertaken academic research to gather knowledge and insight in relation to the areas covered in your essay. This means using reliable and relevant in-text references to support your arguments and claims.
• Critically discuss and debate relevant issues. The essay should not be purely a descriptive presentation of facts and information, but a discussion that includes various different viewpoints and perspectives.
• Use relevant business, industry or other relevant examples to demonstrate how the issues discussed in the essay impact consumers, business or other relevant stakeholders. It is recommended to use a smaller number of examples and go into further depth with each to demonstrate knowledge and understanding.
Further advice:
• It is essential you provide multiple perspectives and research extensively into the three chosen areas of focus.
• You are also required to provide suitable and relevant practical (e.g. business and industry) examples.
• You will need to engage with relevant academic literature, key concepts and specific secondary data to help you develop a critical discussion underpinned by academic rigour.
• You may structure your essay in any way that is logical and ensures you connect the
different areas you write about succinctly. You are recommended to use clear sub-headings to help structure your essay.
• Your essay must include an Introduction and a Conclusion section.
• You may use tables, however tables must not contain more than 150 words and must not be used to disguise the word count.
• No appendices should be submitted with this essay.
• You should not use bullet points in the essay.
Assessment 2. Marketing plan presentation (30%)
Within your assigned teams, you will identify a product or service that you would like to market and develop a marketing plan. You will prepare a presentation about your marketing plan to present in Lecture 10 of the course.
Description of Assignment:
•For this assessment, you will be working in teams of 4 members. You will be required to undertake primary and secondary research to develop a market entry strategy for a chosen organization/business.
•You can choose a new business (e.g. a start-up), or an established business who would be entering a new market (e.g. a new country or a new industry). You must clearly identify which market you plan to enter and why.
•You are expected to undertake extensive secondary research to identify consumption trends, buyer behaviours, and market-specific opportunities in the chosen market.
•Working in your group, you will submit and present a set of 12 slides (plus appendices if needed) that will assist the business to enter the new market. Your presentation will clearly advise the business about consumer trends, customer behaviour patterns, country-specific
cultural norms, and business practices.
•Your slide deck report will advise the board of directors of the new opportunities that exist in the identified market along with an actionable market entry strategy.
•You will present your slides in Lecture 10 of the course to the rest of the class.
•Deadline: Slides need to be submitted by 10am on Thursday 22 March 2018. Presentations will take place on Friday 23 March 2018 in Lecture 10.
•Format: 12 slides + appendices. The presentation is 7 minutes long, you may be asked questions at the end of the presentation about your marketing plan.
Advice on choosing a company:
•You will have more to discuss if you choose an area that has marketing challenges which need to be overcome. For example, you could choose to represent a large traditional taxi company in the face of the threat from Uber and Lyft. You could represent Impossible Foods,
the start-up growing meat in the lab, to overcome the challenge of consumer’s buying behaviour.
•Each team must market a different company / product, so in the unlikely event that multiple teams choose the same company, I will discuss with the relevant teams to solve this. The table below outlines some guidance of what to include in your presentation. You do not need to follow precisely this structure or content as some of the below will be more relevant
to some teams than others.
•For this assessment, you must work with your team and contribute equally. Make sure that you divide the work amongst the team members.
•Based on the company you have chosen, first undertake secondary research including exploring the market. Identify direct and indirect competitors. Gather data to develop a useful PESTLE analysis to identify the wider business environmental influences.
•Once the research is concluded, analyze the data and begin developing a market entry strategy for the chosen market.
Assessment 3. Case-study presentations (20%)
In Lectures 2-9, each week a small number of teams (typically 2-3) will deliver a presentation based on that week’s lecture topic. In your team, you will define the concept to the class and use an example to explain it.
Teams will be given a concept to explain in detail to the rest of the class. The goal is to educate your classmates, explaining the concept clearly and in an engaging and interesting manner. I describe these as “case-study” presentations because I want the presentations to use
a clear example (or examples) to convey the meaning of the concept.
I will provide a run-through of this in Lecture 1. If you are unclear about anything please see me during my open office hours and we can discuss your presentation.
Structure:
• The presentation should last no more than 7 minutes.
• Explain the concept assuming no prior knowledge on the part of the audience. If the concept is broad, explain it in the context of how it applies to Marketing.
• Use a detailed example (or examples) to further explain the concept as it applies to marketing and business. For example, you could describe how a company uses the concept well or poorly.
• A good presentation should be informative, creative and engaging. You do not need to use Powerpoint slides if you would prefer not to.
