Assessment - MKT5000
Semester 2 2016
Assessment details
Description Marks out Wtg (%) Due date
Marketing Audit 100 40 6th September
Marketing Plan 100 50 17th October
Notes
• All assessment items are to be submitted through the Moodle assessment links found on the study desk.
• The marketing reflection can be submitted in any format.
• The Marketing Audit and the Marketing Plan are to be submitted using a Word format (2010 or earlier). Assignments submitted in a PDF format cannot be marked and will be returned to students un- assessed.
• The Marketing Audit and the Marketing Plan are expected to have a title page which includes your student name (as it appears on your enrolment record), your student number, and the course name.
• Submission times and dates refer to Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST, which is GMT +10).
• Late submissions will incur a penalty of 5% per day unless a request for an extension has been granted prior to the due date. Note the USQ extension policy found at http://policy.usq.edu.au/documents.php?id=14749PL
The Assignment – 2 options

Your first assessment task asked you to reflect on and write about the concept of the value proposition and exchange. This assignment now asks you to build on this by conducting a marketing audit and then from that information develop a marketing plan (next assignment).
You may complete these two assignments individually or in a group of three (3) people. You cannot change groups or opt in or out of the group once you have joined a group (team). Most marketers work in teams. Doing a team assessment may be of value to you in developing your teamwork skills. The teamwork experience gained in this course could be a useful example to place on your CV.
You must submit your intention to work in a group (team) to Karen by email. You will be asked to complete the team form supplied on Study Desk stating your group member names, their student numbers, and naming the person who will submit the two assignments (the marketing audit and the marketing plan). The same person must submit both assignments.

Regarding the assignments – the Marketing Audit and the Marketing Plan you have choices on which company you select. It doesn’t matter which company you select, but it does matter that you complete the Marketing Audit and the Marketing Plan on the same company.
Before you can develop your marketing plan and recommendations you need to know more about the product offering, possible competitors, market opportunities and other environmental factors that are likely to impact your strategy and implementation plan. This review and analysis is known as a Marketing Audit. You are required to conduct a Marketing Audit that includes an analysis of the internal and external factors that will be relevant to the development of a marketing strategy for either a company or product of your choice or based on the case study information provided. This assignment should be 2500 words maximum – excluding references.
The Assignment Task
The assignment will have four sections
• Organisational Overview
• Environmental Scan
• Target, Customer, Competitor and Stakeholder Analysis
• Conclusions and Recommendations
Section 1 – Organisational Overview
A marketing audit should always commence with an overview of the company, its vision, mission and brand value. This information provides the reader with sufficient context to then understand and evaluate your future recommendations and analysis. In this section you should also provide sufficient information about the company and the product/service you are focusing on so that the marker can appreciate the contextual issues you explore in later sections of the assignment. It is also important that you incorporate here some insights about the value proposition for this product/service.

Section 2 – Environmental Scan
In reviewing the organisation you are studying it is also important to consider and review the organisation in terms of its internal strengths and weaknesses and the external opportunities and threats it faces. SWOT, TOWS and PESTLE analyses are good tools to assist this stage of your analysis as are environmental scans and it is recommended that you use some of these tools in this section to summarise and highlight relevant information. You may also use any other additional analysis tools that you deem appropriate to provide you with the information for your audit. In this section you would use tables, graphs and other ways to summarise the information – don’t forget to discuss your analysis and findings don’t just present the information and hope that the marker will understand what you think is important here.

Section 3 – Customer, Competitor and Stakeholder analysis
Next you would consider the market in which the firm operates in terms of both competitors and customers and this is done in 4 parts:
• Target market analysis
• Customer analysis
• Competitor analysis
• Stakeholder analysis
A Target Market Analysis - Who are the target markets for this company and product? It is likely that you will discover more than one possible target markets from the information you source, whilst you need to list them all in this part of your audit and to analyse their priority and relevant merits, when it comes to your second assignment and to the customer analysis (the next step) you are only required to focus on ONE (1) target market. This is important – at this stage of your assignment choose ONE target market, defend that choice (justify with information from the first two sections and other sources) and then only discuss and plan for that ONE target market.

A Customer Analysis - Once you have selected and justified the ONE target market you wish to focus on, outline any demographic and/or behavioural characteristics of this segment. You would need to comment on:
• Who is this market (demographics), where are they located, how do they spend their time and money (psychographics); what else defines them
(interests, attitudes, values and/or lifestyles);
• the relative size of the segment;
• potential market share and opportunities for growth and development;
• any other information including their likely purchase behaviour and motivations purchasing this product as well as what the product offering would be for this segment (what are they buying and why); and
• refer and reiterate how the value proposition discussed in section 1, relates to this segment with this product/service.

A Competitor Analysis - Given how you have defined the product offering and value proposition for your chosen target audience in terms of its benefits or features, this section would focus on how your product offering compares to alternative purchase choices. Remember this can be broader than just substitute brands – think more broadly here about substitute options for spending their money. So you need to also include an analysis of the
products/services/substitutions that are likely to be competition for this product offering in this market segment. You are also required in this section to include an overview of the current positioning, value-chain structure, marketing channels used and relevant market drivers for this product/service.
A Stakeholder Analysis – You need to consider any other stakeholders who might have an interest in or be able to impact the marketing of this product offering in this segment. For instance, suppliers of raw materials.

Section 4 – Conclusions and recommendations for preliminary marketing strategy
Once you have completed these steps you are then required to summarise the main points and salient elements of this analysis to a concise statement of the overall strategic approach you will be recommending for your marketing and implementation plan – a preliminary marketing strategy (which is assignment 2).
You need to defend your final decisions using both theory and practice references and the content and learning activities presented in modules 1–4 will support this assessment task. You should try to have a good list of references showing where you have found your information and it is important to cite all work and websites you have visited. Check with a USQ reference librarian if you are having trouble finding appropriate information.

Report Writing
Guidelines on writing reports
For assignments 1 and 2 (not the marketing reflection) your reports should comprise:
• An executive summary (no more than 1 page);
• An introduction (approximately 200 words);
• The body that includes all the analysis of the current marketing and internal and external firm environments, customer analysis, competitor analysis and any other analysis. (Approximately 2000 words); and
• A conclusion. This includes the statement of the issues you have found, the gaps identified, overall strategic approach and future recommendations.
(Approximately 200 - 300 words).

The report should present logical, sequential and persuasive arguments, justified or supported by secondary sources of evidence. The purpose of your audit is not to simply reword or describe the product or brand or to provide direct quotes from the literature, but to offer a thorough understanding of the marketing issues, challenges and opportunities facing your chosen organisation in their goal of growing their market share in this industry and with this product. Assignment 2 will then outline the proposed marketing plan to take the next step forward to market

In this assignment you will be assessed on:
• The ability to locate, assess and research material related to current marketing planning process and environmental scanning requirements. You will need to use logic and read widely to identify issues and leads to where you should research for this firm. These are important skills for a marketer to develop;
• The ability to demonstrate an understanding of the current marketing planning process and environmental scanning requirements;
• The ability to identify and assess relevant theoretical and management issues in the environmental scan and audit (SWOT,
PESTEL, TOWS, customer, competitor and stakeholder analysis);
• How well you present logical arguments and gap analysis and how well you defend your recommendations and conclusions.
• The ability to justify your position with use of supporting references; and
• The communication style you adopt, including correct spelling, grammar and referencing. Your report should be in Times New Roman 11 or 12 point with one and a half line spacing.
Marking criteria for assignment 1 MKT5000
Criteria Does not meet minimum standard required (fail).
0 – 19 marks Work is of minimum standard
(pass)
20 - 26 marks Exceeds Minimum standards
(distinction)
27 – 33 marks Work is of a high achievement standard.
34 – 40 marks
Learning objective 1 – problem solving and analysis.
The audit has shown understanding of the internal and external
factors relevant to the
organisation that will
impact the development of a marketing strategy.
It has demonstrated clear problem solving and
critical thinking in the
analysis and choice of theory.
Total Mark

/40 Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• Discussion of key points and themes has failed to demonstrate a clear understanding of theory and the characteristics of the target market chosen.
• The marketing issues (either internal or external or both) relevant to the product and the company have not been adequately identified and included in the analysis.
• The tools for analysis have not been correctly used and the results have been incorporated into the conclusions in a manner that shows logical integration of theory and other sources of information.
Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• The discussion of key points and themes which has demonstrated an adequate understanding of theory and the characteristics of the product. More detailed and deeper analysis would have resulted in a better score for these criteria.
• The marketing issues relevant to the product and the company have been adequately identified and included in the analysis
• The tools for analysis have been correctly used and whilst the results have been incorporated into the conclusions there are some inconsistencies with the integration of theory and other sources of information.
Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• The discussion of key points and themes has demonstrated a solid understanding of theory and the characteristics of the product.
• Analysis was clear and wellconstructed with some questions and inconsistencies.
• The marketing issues relevant to the product and the company, clearly identified and included in the analysis.
• The tools for analysis have been correctly used and results have been incorporated into the conclusions.
• Some inconsistencies exist with integration of theory and other sources of information. Further information and analysis would have improved the work.

Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• The discussion of key points and themes which has demonstrated a superior understanding of theory and the characteristics of the product.
• Analysis was detailed and included appropriate additional sources of information.
• The marketing issues relevant to the product and the company have been clearly and thoroughly identified and included in the analysis.
• The tools for analysis have been correctly used and the results have been incorporated into the conclusions.
• There are no inconsistencies with the integration of theory and other sources of information.
Criteria Does not meet minimum standard required (fail).
0 – 9 marks Work is of minimum standard
(pass)
10 - 13 marks Exceeds Minimum standards
(distinction)
14 – 16 marks Work is of a high achievement standard.
17 – 20 marks
Learning objective 2 –
Professional
Communication and academic literacy
The work is well written, uses language and style appropriate for a
professional marketer.
The work is appropriately supported with relevant theory and referencing
style reflects academic and
professional requirements.
Total mark

/20 Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• Failed to correctly cite relevant sources of information to support their conclusions and discussions
• Failed to use correct Harvard AGPS referencing style.
• Failed to submit the assessment in the required report format
• Submission has grammatical and/or spelling errors.
• Have failed to use the required analysis tools (SWOT, TOWS, PESTEL, customer, stakeholder analysis, and competitor analysis) and/or have provided only cursory analysis with limited understanding of the tools used and the context of the analysis.
• Failed to provide a report that shows logical presentation of information and synthesis of material is shallow and superficial in its analysis of information and largely lacks coherence for conclusions. Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• Generally cited relevant sources of information to support their conclusions and discussions using the correct Harvard AGPS referencing style and in report format.
• Many analysis tools (SWOT, TOWS, PESTEL, customer, stakeholder analysis, and competitor analysis) used – not all, but largely failed to conduct a deep and meaningful analysis with limited understanding of the tools used.
• Have provided a report that shows some attempt to provide a logical presentation of information and synthesis of material. Analysis is somewhat superficial and there are some problems in terms of the coherence of discussion and conclusions.

Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• Consistently cited relevant sources of information to support conclusions and discussions using Harvard AGPS referencing style and in the required report format.
• Have consistently utilised the appropriate analysis tools and have conducted a deep and meaningful analysis which shows a good understanding of the tools used and context for the analysis.
• Report shows logical presentation of information and synthesis of material, demonstrating a sound understanding of the analysis of information and a coherence of discussion and conclusions. Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• Provided exemplary referenced support for their work correctly cited using Harvard AGPS referencing style and in the required report format.
• Have utilised the required analysis tools and have included information and/or analysis that exceeds the requirements for this assessment task.
• Have conducted a detailed and thorough analysis of the information using referenced evidence and other sources to demonstrate a deep understanding of the tools used and have presented a synthesis and analysis of material that shows considerable coherence and depth of discussion and conclusions.

Criteria Does not meet minimum standard required (fail).
0 – 19 marks Work is of minimum standard
(pass)
20 - 26 marks Exceeds Minimum standards
(distinction)
27 – 33 marks Work is of a high achievement standard.
34 – 40 marks
Learning objective 3
The work shows an understanding of the environmental and
contextual issues in
marketing and provides a creative presentation of conclusions.

Total Mark

/40. Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• Incorrectly identified or failed to identify the key environmental and contextual issues relevant for the product and target market of their choice.
• The assignment lacks a demonstrated understanding of marketing strategy.
• There is an inadequate analysis and consideration of competitors and market opportunities
• Conclusions do not link logically to the discussion and analysis
Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• The key environmental and contextual issues relevant for the product and market chosen have generally been identified in the report.
• The proposal shows a superficial understanding of marketing strategy
• The analysis and consideration of competitors and market opportunities is adequate but would benefit from a greater understanding of theory and work collecting data.
• Conclusions link logically to the discussion and analysis but are somewhat superficial in nature. Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• The key environmental and contextual issues relevant for the product and market chosen have been clearly identified in the report.
• The proposal shows a sound understanding of marketing strategy
• The analysis and consideration of competitors and market opportunities is sound but would benefit from a more incorporation of theory and other data.
• Conclusions link logically to the discussion and analysis. Students who are awarded a mark in this section have done one or more of the following:
• The key environmental and contextual issues relevant for the product and market chosen have been clearly and thoroughly identified in the report.
• The proposal shows a detailed and well-reasoned understanding of marketing strategy
• The analysis and consideration of competitors and market opportunities is thorough and demonstrates a detailed understanding of theory and data.
• Conclusions link logically and consistently to the discussion and analysis and show a solid understanding of the material covered.
Final mark /100
Final Comments:
Assignment 2 – The strategic marketing plan

Description Marks out of Wtg(%) Due date
Strategic marketing plan (modules 5 – 8) 100 50 15th October 2016
Maximum word count 3,000 words

General overview
This assignment leads on from assignment 1. Essentially you are required to establish a marketing plan to grow the market and sales for the organisation you have chosen in the target market you have focused on and given the situational analysis you have conducted in assignment 1.
This assignment should commence with an overall summary (about one page) of the context that you established in assignment 1. This will allow the marker to come up to speed on your analysis and thinking as the baseline for your recommendations in this assignment (it is unlikely that you will have the same marker for both pieces of assessment so consider this in what you present). You DO NOT need to include the full assignment 1 here but you may wish to replicate some of the analysis tables in appendices to this assignment if they are relevant – if you do this, make sure you refer to them in your summary and highlight the key features that a reader needs to note from these tables and analysis summaries. You may make adjustments to your original analysis and conclusions here based on the marking feedback you received in the first assignment.
This assignment should then commence with a specific statement of the marketing objective/s that will guide this plan based on the context you have set from assignment one. You will then show how each of the marketing mix elements (the 4 Ps) will contribute to the achievement of this objective in your plan. Each of the elements of the marketing mix are to be considered (product, place, price and promotion) and for each you will need to discuss the strategy you will adopt (with appropriate justification from theory and other sources), and the tactics you would recommend.

Finally, you will conclude with consideration of a timeline for this plan indicating the ordering of your tactical elements which will result in the achievement of the overall objectives of the plan. You also need to present a contingency plan which would consider any threats or potential reactions from competitors that you identified in assignment one as potentially having a negative impact on your plan and how you would propose these be dealt with if and when they arise. There is no requirement in this plan to focus on or prepare and defend a budget.

Be sure to attach all pertinent documents to your report such as any relevant tables and analysis from assignment one, to support your recommendations. Before submitting your plan, ask yourself the question, “Does this contain all of the information that would be needed for someone else to make a decision in my favour and adopt the recommendations I have made?” If not, revise your work.

Assignment format
This assignment needs to be written as a formal report (refer to chapter 3 of the Communications Skills Handbook for all the required elements) and would include the following sections:
• An executive summary (no more than 1 page)
• An introduction which will be the overview or summary of assignment one – no longer than one page (this will not be included in the word count for this assignment), the summary should briefly summarise the analysis work conducted including information about the target market you selected and the summary of the issues identified in assignment one about the product offering, the target market’s decision making process and any other psychological factors that are relevant, competitor analysis and the overall marketing objectives you suggested be adopted in the development of the marketing plan.
• Include any relevant tables and analysis you provided in assignment one as evidence to support your recommendations here in assignment two. These can be included either as appendices to the assignment or they can be incorporated into the body of assignment two as you deem relevant. Regardless of which approach you take, it is important that it is clear that these are the tables and analysis from assignment one.
• The Marketing plan: This represents the body of your report and would include the following sections:
• Marketing objectives: The marketing plan then needs to begin with a statement of the specific marketing objective/s for your target market. Make these objectives realistic, achievable and measurable (SMART objectives). In writing your objectives be specific and avoid generic terms such as “increase,” “decrease,” implement as soon as possible”, and other non-specific and non-analytical language. Your objectives should align with the context established in assignment one and consider and be directed to the target market, in the location you have identified in that assignment. You also need to ensure that you have re-stated the value proposition you posed in assignment 1 here.
• Shaping the market offerings, delivering and communicating value: -The marketing objectives for this campaign will then need to be translated into specific strategies and tactics for each element of the marketing mix (the 4 Ps). Whilst you need to be reasonably specific here remember you are constrained by a word limit and we are really looking for evidence that you have considered each of the elements and that you know how and why each suggestion fits with your overall objectives and goals for this campaign and how the elements fit with and complement each other (justification is essential and use the analysis you conducted in assignment 1). You need to provide enough detail to ensure we can see your thinking. Use tables here to assist with the word count (tables are not counted in the word count but if used need to be accompanied by discussion in the text – see the Communications
Skills A
• An implementation plan: Next consider the order or sequencing of activities with a marketing timeline related to your marketing tactics (i.e. what needs to occur first etc.).
• Contingencies: after you have developed your plan you then need to consider marketing contingencies, or what are the risky parts of your plan and are there any actions that need to be considered or prepared to counter these if they were to occur.
• Conclusion: Finally, provide an overall conclusion for your work (about 1 para) that brings it all together and re-enforces your case for this plan to be accepted/adopted.

Marking criteria for assignment 2 - MKT5000

Criteria Does not meet minimum standard required (fail).
0 – 19 marks Work is of minimum standard
(pass)
20 - 26 marks Exceeds Minimum standards
(distinction)
27 – 33 marks Work is of a high achievement standard.
34 – 40 marks
Learning objective 1 – critical thinking, analysis and problem solving skills
The work shows evidence of the student’s ability to analyse information and
formulate this into a
coherent and relevant
strategy addressing the contextual issues identified.
/80 • Goals, tactics and contingencies are not integrated, or not evident.
• Little or no evidence of analysis of data and information used to support recommendations.
• No logical argument and presentation of findings, conclusions and recommendations.
• Synthesis of theory and other evidence is shallow and superficial and/or is not related to the marketing plan for the product/market.
• Limited or no evidence of problem
solving skills in the recommendations
• Marketing strategies have not been adequately identified and included in the analysis.
• The plan lacks any creativity and originality, is generally vague and has insufficient detail in the strategies.
• May not have provided contingency plans or timelines.

• Goals, tactics and contingencies are evident though integration could be better and some recommendations supported.
• Argument and presentation of findings, conclusions and recommendations shows logical progression and adequate application of problem solving skills.
• Acceptable analysis and integration of data and some attempt at integration of theory
• The plan shows elements of
creativity and originality but needs to be more specific and detailed in some areas and some application of marketing theory is shown.
• Marketing strategies relevant to the product and the company, are adequately identified and included in the analysis.
• Recommendations could be more
specific & better supported with evidence.
• Contingency plans and/or timelines not well developed. Goals, tactics and contingencies are evident and integration is sound and all recommendations supported.
Argument and presentation of findings, conclusions and recommendations shows logical progression and a sound application of problem solving skills.
Good evidence of analysis of data collected to support recommendations.
The plan shows creativity and originality though questions raised in some areas and generally good application of marketing theory and practice.
Marketing strategies relevant to the product and the company have been generally identified and included in the analysis.
Contingency plans attempted and a time-line provided, though maybe a little generic. Goals, tactics and contingencies are evident, well integrated and all recommendations are well supported.
Argument and presentation of findings, conclusions and recommendations shows logical progression and an excellent application of problem solving skills and analysis.
Deep and meaningful analysis which shows a good integration of theory, data from assignment one and appropriately contextualised.
The plan shows creativity and originality and excellent application of marketing theory and practice.
Marketing strategies relevant to the product and the company have been clearly identified and included in the analysis.
Recommendations are sound with good support and contingency plans and time-lines provided and well developed.
Criteria Does not meet minimum standard required (fail).
0 – 9 marks Work is of minimum standard
(pass)
10 – 13 marks Exceeds Minimum standards
(distinction)
14 – 16 marks Work is of a high achievement standard.
17 – 20 marks
Learning objective 2 –
Professional communication and structure
Professional and academic standard
achieved and in the required format
Total mark
/10 • Failed to submit the assessment in the required report format.
• Many grammatical and/or spelling errors.
• Have failed to provide information in a logical manner and sequence.
• Failed to provide information from assignment one as evidence for this assignment to support recommendations.
• Not all requirement elements of the assignment have been included. Assignment format correct and most marketing plan elements accounted for (some may be more comprehensive than others).
Logical presentation of information.
Appropriate elements of Assignment one included.
All required elements of the assignment included although some not in sufficient detail. Assignment format correct and almost all elements of the marketing plan have been addressed in sufficient detail.
Appropriate components of assignment one have been included and support most of the recommendations.
Report shows logical presentation of information and synthesis of material and recommendations are a sound. Assignment format is correct and all elements of the marketing plan have been addressed in sufficient detail with all elements present and well integrated with relevant information from assignment one.
Report shows logical presentation of information and synthesis of material and recommendations are creative and well supported.
Learning Objective 3 -
Information literacy and academic integrity
Work is appropriately referenced and relevant
and timely information is used.
/10 • Limited or no application of marketing theory and little or no evidence of ability to source and integrate information and theory.
• Discussion of key strategies largely missing and the report fails to demonstrate a clear understanding of theory and the characteristics of the product and market chosen.
• Failed to correctly cite using Harvard AGPS to support their conclusions and discussions. Discussion of key strategies adequately supported by theory and related to the characteristics of the product/market chosen.
Student showed evidence of an emerging understanding of key marketing principles and thinking to present a plan that is sound and implementable
Generally cited relevant sources of information to support conclusions.
Correct Harvard AGPS referencing style adopted. Discussion of key strategies well supported by theory and related to the characteristics of the product/market chosen.
Student showed evidence of an established understanding of key marketing principles and thinking in their proposed plans.
Consistently cited relevant sources of information to support conclusions and discussions using Harvard AGPS referencing style and in the required format. Discussion of key strategies excellently supported by theory and closely related to the characteristics of the product/market chosen.
Student provided evidence of their high level understanding of key marketing principles and thinking in their presentation of their plan.
Provided exemplary referenced support for their work correctly cited using Harvard AGPS in the required format.
All strategies are appropriately contextualised and well supported with theory and other evidence.
Final mark /100
Final Comments: