Reference no: EM133292298

To pass this assessment, as minimum you will need to:

- Demonstrate an acceptable level of understanding of key terms and concepts used in marketing
- Provide a competent analysis of a given predictable business situation and present an appropriate response in the form of a simple marketing mix plan

Of course, a strong answer will go well beyond the pass threshold, in particular using lots of theory to support Part B. Use the brief that has been provided in the Assessment & Feedback folder to ensure that you are on track for the grade that you want to achieve.

CASE STUDY

The mini case study that you will write about is for an app. You have developed an app that is a guide for purchasing a type of clothing in Milan. You should choose a type of clothing. The app will help customers locate the kind of clothing that they like.

Your task is to provide your detailed marketing mix plans for the app, justified though a clearly identified specific target market within the Italian market place. You should include a Gantt chart covering your marketing communications activities for six weeks prior to launch and we suggest five months post-launch as part of your submission.

Notes:
- The costs of developing the app can be considered to be sunk and therefore do not need to be accounted for.
- You should not aim your app at everyone.
- You should consider all forms of competition, and the position that your app will take in the market place
- You will need to choose an appropriate justified brand for your app.
- You may wish to include other features within your app tailored to your chosen target market.
- You need to choose whether you will make the app free, funded by advertising, or whether you will charge users. You should justify your decision.
- See the information overleaf on how your case study response will be marked (see brief)

Your task is to provide your detailed marketing mix plans for the app, justified though a clearly identified specific target market within the Milan market place. Strong answers will include a Gantt chart as an overview of your marketing communications proposal. You can prepare most of your case study in advance. The actual time frame for your Gantt chart will be indicated on your exam paper.

You will want to provide some information about the market for clothing in Milan. This information and all sources MUST be fully referenced using the Harvard referencing system. If you are not sure what Harvard referencing is then you should use the AIR activity and/or visit PAD on the university's library site.

As part of your product proposals you will need to a) identify the type of clothing that your target market wants to buy and b) propose and justify a suitable brand name for your app.

The app has already been developed. You do not need to account for development costs or supply an app development plan. You should treat the case as if it is a start-up company.

The key to doing well in the case study is getting the target market right. You should NOT target everyone! Not everyone will want your app and targeting the whole of the market would be over-ambitious, particularly for a start-up company. Research the clothing market in Milan and think about how best to segment the market, probably using lifestyle or benefit segmentation. You may also want to include some geo-demographic information to arrive at a manageable group of customers. The more clearly defined your target market the better your response will be, even if there are other potential customers. Write a pen portrait for your ideal customer. Consider the competition and discuss how best to position your app so that it appeals to the customer that you have identified.

Once you have done this you can make your marketing mix recommendations so that each of the elements of the marketing mix are tailored to appeal to the ideal customer that you described in your pen portrait. You can discuss additional features of your app but do not be too distracted by this. You will need to propose a suitable brand name and perhaps a tagline for the app but there are no marks available for visuals so a logo/artwork is not needed. You can choose to charge for the app or to make money from advertisements on the app and make it free to users; be sure to explain your choice.

Customers will access the app through the usual app purchase channels.

Obviously marcomms will play an important part in your plans; you have not been given a budget for marcomms but you should make recommendations that are realistic (TV ads are unlikely to be affordable or appropriate) and suitable to reach your chosen target market. No one knows that your app exists, so how will you drive downloads, and how many downloads might you achieve? You should provide a Gantt chart as an overview that demonstrates your stated Marcomms plans.

If you have further questions after you attended or watched the online live session, you can ask your local tutor or post up questions in the discussion area in Assessment and Feedback on BREO.

- Do not write over the word count; additional writing will be ignored
- You are not expected to answer the case study as a continuous essay. Make it as easy as you can for the marker to understand the points that you are making: you should use headings, bullet points, diagrams and lots and lots of white space.
- Although you will be asked to consider the competition and how you might position against them. You are NOT required to include PEST, SWOT or any other environmental information.
- Extra marks are available for the application of marketing theories when addressing this case study. Strong answers always include lots of applied, referenced supporting theory. Applied means that you do not need to explain a theory, just use it and reference it. We have explored lots of theories in the unit that you can draw on, but you can also introduce your own.
- You should give in-text references in your answers. There will be a final box at the end of the exam for your end-of-text references.
- It is usual to treat software as service (SAS) as a product, rather than as a service product, so the 7 Ps are not needed.