Marketing Strategy MKT306 Guidance on the Assignment

Task This assignment is a single report in two parts. (As a guide only; each part should form

approximately half of the final report)

a) Investigation and analysis (50%) Individually, choose an organization, either producer and/or brand owner, who is involved in the marketing of mobile phones (This Excludes the Blackberry Brand of Phone). Investigate and evaluate the marketing strategy of the producer/owner using contemporary marketing tools and techniques. This may however be illuminated using examples from other companies/ organizations. You can demonstrate the effectiveness of the reported policies for the chosen company by giving performance data against competitors in the market (e.g. market share, sales, profitability, etc.). b) Recommendations(50%) Your remit is to put forward your own suggestions covering changes in marketing strategy that will improve the future performance of the brand for the benefit of the parent company and its steakholders. Justify your choices again using contemporary marketing methods and techniques. These suggestions should be your own ideas but may include marketing tactics and strategies used by other successful organisations but in different industry sectors. You will put these suggestions, forward in a written report. Please do not just restate the strategies used by your chosen firm but outline your own ideas for improved performance. What should your assignment contain? Title page Table of contents Summary Introduction Situational analysis (SWOT) (PESTLE) Differential advantage/ Competitive edge (USP) Segmentation Targeting & Positioning (STP) Marketing objectives and goals (SMART) Marketing strategies and programmes (7Ps) Conclusion Bibliography (with references) A Turnitin receipt N.B. You need to provide information on all the information sources (both printed and electronic) that you have used during the compilation of your report. Information about each individual source is known as a reference. If you are unfamiliar with the Harvard referencing a guidance document is available on this site of Sunspace

Where this does it fit into the report format?

As your aiming for a 2500-3000 word report you only need to use the following
Title Section. In a short report this may simply be the front cover. In a long one it could also include Terms of Reference, Table of Contents and so on. Summary. Give a clear and very concise account of the main points, main conclusions and main recommendations. Keep it very short, a few % of the total length. Some people, especially senior managers, may not read anything else so write as if it were a stand-alone document. It isnt but for some people it might as well be. Keep it brief and free from jargon so that anyone can understand it and get the main points. WRITE IT LAST, but do not copy and paste from the report itself; that rarely works well. Introduction. This is the first part of the report proper. Use it to paint the background to the problem and to show the reader why the report is important to them. Give your terms of reference (if not in the Title Section) and explain how the details that follow are arranged. Write it in plain English. Current Situation. (Your Swot Analysis and Differential advantage/ Competitive edge sections belong here; remember your giving a view of the organization as it is now) This is where you report the facts as they are now. It will probably have several sections or sub-sections each with its own subtitle. It is unique to your report and will describe what you discovered about the problem. These sections are most likely to be read by experts so you can use some appropriate jargon but explain it as you introduce it. Arrange the information logically, normally putting things in order of priority -- most important first. In fact, follow that advice in every section of your report. You may choose to include a Discussion in which you explain the significance of your findings. Recommendations. (Your suggested

strategy for future development belongs here: Segmentation Targeting & Positioning (STP) - Marketing objectives and goals (SMART) -Marketing strategies and programmes the marketing mix). This is the heart of your report. What do you suggest should be done? Dont be shy; you did the work so state your recommendations in order of priority, and in plain English. Again it will probably have several sections or sub-sections each with its own subtitle
Conclusions. (What does the current situation mean for the firm) Present the logical conclusions of your investigation of the task. Bring it all together and maybe offer options for the way forward. Many people will read this section. Write it in plain English. If you have included a discussion then this section may be quite short. Appendices. (These do not form part of the word count) Put the heavy details here, the information that only specialists are likely to want to see. As a guide, if some detail is essential to your argument then include it in the main body, if it merely supports the argument then it could go in an appendix.