Understanding Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning in Marketing

Objectives of the Individual Assignment

Understand the process of segmentation, targeting and positioning To determine the marketing mix strategies of a chosen organisation. As part of an individual assignment you are required to choose a well known company of your choice and  use blogs as part of the communication activities for your chosen project. A series of blog posts (between 6 and 10, 2000 – 2500 words in total) should be created to communicate with your target audience. The specific aim should be focused on creating and increasing awareness of your project as well as stimulating a dialogue between your chosen company and your audience.  

When developing your blog posts you should give consideration to key elements of marketing theory in relation to the way in which you plan, develop, and execute your communications. You can be as creative as you want in relation to the blog posts and you should also develop mechanisms for engaging with your audience through encouraging them to ask questions and leave comments. Please note: A final copy of all posts will be required to be uploaded on Turnitin in a word document by the submission deadline. 

Engagement with Literature Skills 
Your work must be informed and supported by scholarly material that is relevant to and focused on the task(s) set. You should provide evidence that you have accessed an appropriate range of sources, which may be academic,  governmental  and  industrial;  these  sources  may  include  academic  journal  articles,  textbooks, current news articles, organisational documents, and websites.  You should consider the credibility of your sources; academic journals are normally highly credible sources while websites require careful consideration/selection and should be used sparingly.   Any sources you use should be current and up-to-date, mostly published within the last five years or so, though seminal/important works in the field may be older.    

You  must  provide  evidence  of  your  research/own  reading  throughout  your  work,  using  a  suitable referencing system, including in-text citations in the main body of your work and a reference list at the end of your work. Guidance  specific  to  this  assessment:  You  should  show  a  wide  level  of  reading,  a  minimum  of  10 references, from a variety of sources including textbooks, academic journals and academic based websites. You must reference Kotler & Armstrong 15th/16th edition as your primary source for theory. 
 

2. Knowledge and Understanding Skills 
At level 4, you should be able to demonstrate knowledge of the underlying concepts and principles associated with your area(s) of study.  Knowledge relates to the facts, information and skills you have acquired through your learning.  You demonstrate your understanding by interpreting the meaning of the facts and information (knowledge). This means that you need to select and include in your work the concepts, techniques, models, theories,  etc. appropriate  to the  task(s)  set.   You  should  be  able to  explain  the theories, concepts,  etc.  to show your understanding.  Your mark/grade will also depend upon the extent to which you demonstrate your knowledge and understanding. 
 
3. Cognitive and Intellectual Skills 
You should be able to present, evaluate and interpret qualitative and quantitative data, in order to develop lines  of  argument  and  make  sound  judgements  in  accordance  with  basic  theories  and  concepts  of  your subject(s) of study. You should be able to evaluate the appropriateness of different approaches to solving problems related to your area(s) of study and/or work. Your work must contain evidence of logical, analytical thinking. For example, to examine and break information down into parts, make inferences, compile, compare and contrast information.  This means not just describing what! But also justifying: Why? How? When? Who? Where? At what cost? You should provide justification for your arguments and judgements using evidence that you have reflected upon the ideas of others within the subject area and that you are able to make sound judgements and arguments using data and concepts.  Where relevant, alternative solutions and recommendations may be proposed. 
 
4. Practical Skills 
At level 4, you should be able to apply the basic underlying concepts and principles to evaluate and interpret these within the context of your area of study. You should be able to demonstrate how the subject-related concepts and ideas relate to real world situations and/or a particular context.  How do they work in practice?  You will deploy models, methods, techniques, and/or theories, in that context, to assess current situations, perhaps to formulate plans or solutions to solve problems, or to create artefacts.  This is likely to involve, for instance,  the  use  of  real  world  artefacts,  examples  and  cases,  the  application  of  a  model  within  an organisation and/or benchmarking one theory or organisation against others based on stated criteria.  
 
5. Transferable Skills for Life and Professional Practice  
Your work must provide evidence of the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of some personal responsibility.  This includes demonstrating: that you can communicate the results of your study/work accurately and reliably, and with structured and coherent arguments; that you can initiate and complete tasks and procedures, whether individually and/or collaboratively; fluency of expression; clarity and effectiveness in presentation and organisation. Work should be coherent and well-structured in presentation and organisation.