Proposal Pitch Guidelines for Marketing Project: Growing a Brand

The Basics

Please note that the pitch proposal is in the form of a mini marketing report, rather than an essay. Given that the 3 minute in-class pitch presentations are a distillation of the 1K word pitch proposal, it would make sense to prepare the content for the pitch proposal first, then base the presentation content upon this.

To maximise on your word count you can use images, charts/table and infographics within the main body, and make good use of appendices. You can include some of the models that you have worked on in the seminars, these will be useful in managing your word count. Only include information in the appendices that you refer to directly in the main body, please do not place all your research in the appendices, only pertinent extracts from your research.

Identify a current issue or dilemma for your brand and base your marketing project around this. Remember that marketing is broad (Product, Place, Price and Promotion), and not just marketing communications.

Your task is to propose a marketing project to achieve the growth potential of your chosen brand. This may involve any of the marketing framework strategies for a product or service-based brand. Your proposal should also consider new segmentation, targeting, differentiation and positioning strategies for your brand where appropriate. Please note strategies plural, rather than singular, to help you achieve success.

Please refer to the mark criteria in the module handbook.  Consider how you can use subtitles and images etc. (previously mentioned) to assist in your argument. Ensure you have a good balance of creativity supported by a strong commercial argument.

(No need for an executive summary)

•A brief outline of your chosen brand-who are they and why they are interesting and relevant.

•Analysis of your brand’s current situation-this can include key facts such as founders, year founded, key financials, distribution channels and recent news/events that may be related to an issue/dilemma

•A very brief sector overview- is the sector growing or declining? Who are the market leaders? Who is your brand looking to take market share from?

•What are the key issues facing your brand? What are the factors driving these issues?

•Which geographical region/demographic/psychographic are you focusing on?

•Based on your research, what is the opportunity for growth that you have identified?

•What theoretical models/frameworks can you use in this section?

•Primary research to support secondary research can be used in this section.

•The marketing strategies and goals; why, what, who, how and when?

•Support your initiative using analysis including marketing management tools, e.g. market research.

•Ensure to utilise theory from this module, and apply theory thus demonstrating your understanding- What theoretical models/frameworks can you use in this section?

•How will you measure success? You will need some data and you will need to explain how you gathered it, what assumptions you have made and any other data you would like before implementation. Is your idea commercially viable?

•Primary research to support secondary research can be used in this section.

•Do not introduce any new information at this point. Succinctly summarise the main points from the prior three sections.

•Only include material in the appendices that you refer to directly in the main body. Ensure that pages and appendices are numbered, and cross reference these in the main body.

Not included in the word count are the reference list, appendices and words contained within charts and tables within the main body (e.g. a PESTEL or SWOT). The main body is comprised of four sections; the introduction, situation analysis, strategies and tactics, and the summary.

Targeted research and careful editing are key. Make your point clearly and succinctly, use appendices to help manage your wordcount.