Reference no: EM133095346 , Length: word count:2500

Marketing and Communications in a Digital World

Assignment task

The assignment will be a report and presentation that allows you to demonstrate your knowledge on the challenges and functions faced by businesses when relaunching a product. You will be required to prepare an individual product "pitch" presentation including slides and script with supporting marketing research and analysis.

Learning outcome 1: Analyse the effectiveness of the marketing mix for any given company or brand.

Learning outcome 2: Identify research requirements to begin to solve a business/marketing problem in a company.

Learning outcome 3: Plan, implement and critique a programme of marketing research.

Learning outcome 4: Analyse the effectiveness of marketing planning within a commercial business.

Task requirements

OVERVIEW

Marketing and communication are key elements of every organisation activity, its importance is also growing in the non-commercial, public and voluntary sectors, the heart of marketing are the customers. As a marketing specialist you have been appointed by the product manager to oversee and plan the relaunch of a product into the market. You have been given a choice of two product the Nokia 3310 and ‘New Coke', by Coca Cola.

For the purpose of the presentation and report you must choose either the Nokia 3310 or the Coca Cola drink. Both products are no longer on the market for many reasons, but both companies feel like now is the right time to relaunch.

Nokia 3310

After 17 years Nokia has decided to relaunch the Nokia 3310, Nokia first launched the phone in the year 2000, the original handset was considered as iconic because of its popularity and sturdiness. More than 126 million were produced before it was phased out in 2005. The 3310 was the first mass-market mobile and consumers have a massive amount of nostalgia and affection for it. The new 3310 qualifies as a "feature phone" rather than a smartphone as it only provides limited internet facilities. It relies on 2.5G connectivity - which has slower data speeds than 3G or 4G - and is powered by the S30+ operating system, which allows web browsing but has a much smaller range of apps than Android or iOS. Its single camera is also restricted to two megapixels. However, its advantage over more powerful handsets is its battery life. It has up to a month's standby time and delivers more than 22 hours of talk time. Its launch price is €49 ($51,75; £41.51). There is a huge audience for a return to a time when all you could do with a phone was make calls and play Snake.

Coca Cola
On May the 8th 1886 the first bottle of Coca Cola was launched, in April 1985 Coca-Cola Company introduced reformulated Coca-Cola, often referred to as "new Coke," marking the first formula change in 99 years. Consumers protested the new coke, which led with the return of the original formula, now called Coca-Cola classic only after few months. The story of "new Coke" is widely recalled, but the context is often forgotten. In 1985, The Coca-Cola Company's share lead over its chief competitor, in its flagship market, with its flagship product, had been slowly slipping for 15 consecutive years. The cola category in general was lethargic. Consumer preference for Coca-Cola was dipping, as was consumer awareness. To revive its position in the cola market, Coca-Cola decided to make a sweeter version of coca cola, which, according to 200,000 consumers who conducted taste tests at the time, was preferable. That changed, of course, in the summer of 1985 as the consumer outcry over "new Coke" was replaced by consumer affection for Coca-Cola classic. The Iconic drink "New Coca Cola was launched which was only on the shelves for 79 days. The relaunch is to be brought back in honour of Netflix series Stranger things.
Consumers can purchase New Coke, made from the same recipe as the 1985 version, for a limited time as part of a bundle.

Report Tasks (1500 Words)
Question 1) Based on your selected product you will explain all seven elements of the marketing mix for when your chosen product first launched as described in the case study above. The analysis should include identification of the positive and negative effects of the elements of the marketing mix during the product initial launch (first launch).

Question 2) As part of the relaunch, you are required to carry out market research. Prior to your market research you should identify the research requirements to prepare for a successful relaunch of your selected products and solve any marketing problem from the first launch. You will identify and select some methods of research then discuss their suitability. You must also discuss methods that you have not selected and explain why these are not appropriate for this research.

Question 3) You will create a detailed marketing research plan and carry out the research, this should include the variety of methods that you have selected from the previous section (section 2). Your research findings must include details to develop a successful marketing campaign in a digital world. After the completion of your research, you must discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the research and its findings in relation to the product relaunch.

Presentation Tasks (1000 Words)
1) Produce a presentation with images and a full worded script that ‘pitches' the planned product relaunch to the chosen company executives. The pitch should include all of the following:
a) Identification of target audience and market segmentation
b) An identification of the projected success of the product based on the market research.
c) Selection of promotional mix for a successful marketing campaign in a digital world
d) A detailed explanation of how an effective marketing campaign can help lead to commercial success.

1. Introduction

The Assignment Guide should be used in conjunction with the Assignment Brief as its purpose is to provide guidance as to how best to respond to the requirements of the assignment brief. It also gives an indication of what the marker will be looking for in the piece of work.
The four learning outcomes are addressed within the tasks of the assignment:

1) Analyse the effectiveness of the marketing mix for any given company or brand.

2) Identify research requirements to begin to solve a business/marketing problem in a company.

3) Plan, implement and critique a programme of marketing research.

4) Analyse the effectiveness of marketing planning within a commercial business.

2. Report Task Guidance
Introduction
Give a general overview of what you have been asked to do in the report.
A major requirement of this section is to inform the reader of the purpose of the report and what you intend to address (assignment tasks). Use tasks to explain what you intend to cover in the report. You will briefly define marketing and how it contributes to competitiveness of an organisation.

Part One - Elements of the marketing mix.
Based on your selected product you will explain all seven elements of the marketing mix for when your chosen product was first launched as described in the case study above. The analysis should include identification of the positive and negative effects of the elements of the marketing mix during the product initial launch (first launch).

a) Identify and analyse each element of the marketing mix for your selected product when it was first launched. For instance, you can discuss about the features of the product, or the promotional tools used during the first launch.

b) When looking at the marketing mix you must identify and discuss any possible positive and negative aspects within each element of the marketing mix. For instance, you will discuss whether the pricing strategy used to launch the product was right or the channel to which the product was sold made it easier for customers to access and purchase the product.

Part Two - Identify research requirements.
As part of the relaunch, you are required to carry out market research. Prior to your market research you should identify the research requirements to prepare for a successful relaunch of your selected products and solve any marketing problem from the first launch. You will identify and select some methods of research then discuss their suitability. You must also discuss methods that you have not selected and explain why these are not appropriate for this research.

A) As a marketing specialist when conducting your marketing research, you are required to use three different primary methods and three secondary sources.
B) Justify, with examples, why certain methods are more useful than others given the situation you are using them for and explain your reasons for using them. Consider the nature of each method and how they will help for different reasons. This should be covered thoroughly to show the thought processes you went through picking certain methods and rejecting others.

Part Three - Create a detailed research plan.

Now that you have a good understanding of the different methods and sources of research available, you must now carefully plan your research. You will create a detailed marketing research plan and carry out the research, this should include the variety of methods that you have selected from the previous section (section 2). Your research findings must include details to develop a successful marketing campaign in a digital world. After the completion of your research, you must discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the research and its findings in relation to the product relaunch.

a) Plan your research- produce a Gantt Chart to show the timings of your research (including when you are aiming to complete each stage of the process). Your Gantt chart must include all the different methods of research you have selected for this task. You will write your research brief and objectives.

b) Implement your research- conduct your research and discuss the type of data you will collect for this section of your work. Will it be internal data/external data or both? Will it be primary data/secondary data or both? Make sure you consider the usefulness and appropriateness of the data being collected. This should be linked with the research objectives.

c) Critique your research- in this paragraph you will discuss about the strengths and weaknesses of your marketing planning (Gantt Chart),
How well your qualitative and quantitative sampling data support your decision making and appropriate research skills. In this section you will also present your finding in a chart, table, or graph. You will make recommendation from the evaluation of your data. A good way of doing this is to set out a numbered list of recommendations resulting from the research. Your recommendations should include information on the digital and traditional marketing.

Part four Presentation- analyse the effectiveness of marketing planning within your chosen company/brand."
You will need to produce a presentation of no more than 10 slides with "A detailed explanation of how an effective marketing campaign can help lead to commercial success."

a) In this section of your presentation, you will explain your market segmentation and how this can lead to a successful marketing campaign. When completing this section, you will discuss the suitability of your target audience for the selected product.

b) In this section of your presentation, you will Identify all the elements of the marketing mix showcase how each element of the marketing mix impact either positively or negatively your product.

c) Identify all elements of the promotional mix and explain their appropriateness in today's digital world. You must use the product life cycle to explain the life cycle of your product when it was first launch and predict how long you believe your product will be on the market for.

d) In this section you will explain how your research strengths and weaknesses will impact on your marketing campaign for the relaunch.

Attachment:- Marketing and Communications in a Digital World.rar