Developing a Marketing Plan for an Existing Brand in a New Category

Assignment Task

Assignment Task

This module is assessed through one individual assignment which involves you in the application of key marketing principles in the development of an outline marketing plan for an existing brand developing into a new and specific category. The choice of existing brand and new category to move into are up to you but in your assignment, you need to be able to demonstrate:

1)Why the move into that sector makes sense for that brand

2)Why it is a new category for the brand.

·It can be a product (usually a range) or service and can include nonprofit, business to business and digital categories.

·It cannot just be a range extension (for example a new handbag range for Channel) or new consumer group for existing products (for example marketing paper newspapers to Millennials).

·The brand must exist already in some form.

·The brand must not be already in the ‘new category’ - even as a test.

·The brand or new market/product can be international, but it is important you are familiar with the market and can access the data for market analysis easily. Not all countries have the same level of publicly available market information. Many, but not all, previous students have found the UK easier from this point of view. Note it is not enough to take one product and expand it into a new country (this is the Global Marketing Assignment next term) – you need to move into a new category.

·Students on the specialised degree programmes of Digital or Luxury are strongly encouraged to further your knowledge in these areas through this assignment, for example selecting a luxury brand or premium customer segment to target, or selecting a digital based product/service or developing a digital based marketing plan.

The deadline for final submission is Thursday 3rd December, 13:00. (week 11)

·By Week 3 – Decide your topic. It is important to decide your brand and new category early in the term so you can start to write the assignment week by week as we cover the various topics. Students who do this have tended in the past to do much better – and it reduces end of term stress!

·Week 4 & 5 – Individually present the Situational Analysis part of your assignment during the Market Storm session – 5 minute aural ‘speed’ presentation based on your situational analysis during the seminars. Everyone will need to present. Attendance will be taken these two weeks. Top pieces of top line feedback (one positive, one area for improvement) will be given.

Assignment Requirements

·Week 7 onwards - Assignment Submission Box – this draft is for you to check your Turnitin scores, no individual feedback will be given at this stage. Please note that tutors will not read drafts as it will give an unfair advantage to some not others.

·Week 10 Theory Recap – Lecture by module leader will recap the marketing theory covered on the course to ensure student understanding. There will also be an opportunity for questions about the assignment.

·Week 11 – Final Assignment Clinic Lecture and seminar time slot (Monday) will be used for a final assignment clinic to help anyone with last minute issues.

·Week 11 – Final Submission Deadline Thursday 3rd December 2020, 13.00.

HINT #1: Help yourself by closely checking the marking criteria (shown at the end of this document) and to use the help forum (“Ask Sarah”) on your Moodle site to ask for clarification if there is anything you do not fully understand. The topic MUST be an existing brand into a new product or service category (not just a new country).

HINT #2: It is important to note that we will NOT be assessing based upon the novelty or creativeness of your idea but upon the extent to which your outline plan is supported by good quality research and analysis demonstrating a thorough understanding of the principles covered on the syllabus and of the framework for a marketing plan.

HINT #3: Make sure the analysis is your own. Do not use templates such as SWOT or PESTLE on your brand that you have found on-line. This is plagiarism even if you reference them correctly.

HINT #4: Note the assessment criteria has been updated for this term so do not rely on previous versions or the experiences of previous students.

HINT #5: Students who have failed this course in the past almost inevitably are the ones who also did not attend the lectures and seminars. Attendance is taken each week. We have found a direct correlation between attendance and marks achieved so I strongly recommend you engage with the lecture clips, films and forums as well as the face to face seminars if you want to do well on the module.

Your coursework must be presented in the following format:

It must be word-processed in 12 point Arial font and double-spaced

It must be black text on a white or ivory background

All pages must be numbered

Margins must be as follows: Top: 1 inch, Bottom: 1 inch (2.5 cm), Left: 1.25 inches, Right: 1.25 inches (3.2 cm)

It should not contain your name because it is marked anonymously.

Have title page, table of contents and an executive summary