PRINCIPLES OF MARKETING
Individual Project – Marketing Plan
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION
ORGANIZATION
This is an individual assignment. The purpose of the assignment is to assess students’ overall marketing knowledge and ability to apply that knowledge to “real world” situations. A student is expected to demonstrate its understanding of all applicable concepts from the lecture materials, videos, case studies and textbook materials by developing and discussing a Marketing Plan. Situation description and marketer’s problem are assigned. They should be analyzed by a set of marketing tools. Primary market research should be conducted on a sample of potential or actual customers. Decisions on appropriate marketing strategies and tactics should be suggested and discussed.
Each student is assigned a company (or an organization, or a product) for which he/she will develop the Marketing Plan. The list is provided in the following table:
Use the textbook, material presented in classes, and library resources to support your methodology.
Use a company web site, your earlier PoM homeworks and other sources to collect the information about the company’s prices and pricing strategies.
SITUTATION DESCRIPTION AND MARKETER’S PROBLEM
The new global health threat, the epidemic of Coronavirus, is spreading through the world. It is hugely impacting the economy and every individual company. As a marketing director of an assigned company, you have to minimize the negative impact of the epidemic on your business, particularly sales of your company in the following year. You will have to make a lot of decisions about your marketing strategy and tactics. Therefore, you will develop a Marketing Plan for the following year. Starting right now, analyze the current marketing situation and research the market to find out how buying behavior, buyers’ attitudes and purchase intentions changed. Based on the findings and prior analysis, conceptualize your future strategies and tactics which will help you preserve or regain customers, market share, sales and revenues. Your assumptions are:
– You have unlimited funding for marketing investments. This doesn’t mean that you can propose just any strategy or tactic. You should propose only reasonable marketing investments – those that make sense in the given situation.
– Your company will not have to lay-off the employees. If new employees needed, the labor of all profiles is available. This doesn’t mean that you have to refer to the human resources situation. Focus strictly on marketing.
– Do not base your marketing plan on government help, incentives or tax reliefs.
– The following twelve months are critical. If your company makes it through the following year, it’s saved. Therefore, focus on a 1-year marketing plan.
QUESTIONS / RECOMMENDED STRUCTURE OF YOUR MARKETING PLAN:
1. Summary
2. Current Marketing Situation
2.1. Market Description
2.2. Product Review
2.3. Competitor Review
2.4. Channels and Logistics Review
3. SWOT/TOWS Analysis
4. Objectives and Issues
5. Market Research
6. Marketing Strategy
6.1. STPD
7. Marketing Tactics
7.1. Product
7.2. Pricing
7.3. Distribution
7.4. Communication
8. Action Program
9. Budget and Controls
FORMAT
This assignment has two parts:
1) WRITTEN
The paper has to be written as a word document. Use the recommended structure of your Marketing Plan (9 questions). Structure your paper accordingly.
Your paper should have between 2000 and 3000 words. The text should be double spaced, 12 pt font, 2,5 cm margins. A paper must have a title, student’s name and a list of references. Don’t forget citations in text. Mind your language and syntax. Check spelling and grammar before submitting.
2) ORAL
You will discuss your paper in class. Each case discussion will be approximately seven minutes. All students are expected to participate in the discussion and actively ask questions and comment. Focus on decisions that you made, explain them and list the expected positive impacts.
WHEN? – ASSIGNMENT DUE DATE AND DELIVERY
Written assignment is due Sunday, 19 April 23:59 hours via My Courses / Assignments / Individual Project folder.
Oral assignment / discussion in which you will defend your paper will be in class, 20 – 27 April. Power point presentation is optional. Classlist alphabetical order will apply (10 students per session).
ASSIGNMENT GRADING ELEMENTS
Your papers will be graded on thoughtfulness of your evaluations. You can earn a maximum of 10 points for this assignment.
Written assignment can bring you 8 points.
Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4 weigh 0.5 points each.
Q5, Q6 and Q7 weigh 2 point each.
Q8 and Q9 weigh 1 point each.
Oral assignment / discussion can bring you 2 points. Points will be given for defending the marketing decisions, not for story-telling.
Students who participate in discussing other case studies will be awarded points, on this assignment or on the final grade.
For unchecked spelling and grammar, bad language, wrong format and incorrect or deficient citing and referencing, a maximum of 1 point can be deducted from your grade (-1).
The total contribution of this homework to your final course grade is 25 %.
OTHER INFORMATION
If you have any questions, send me an email, or contact me on Zoom during office hours.