MKTG 301 Project Handbook

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Department of Marketing - University of Auckland

S2 2012

Project HandbookMKTG 301 Marketing StrategySemester Two 2012


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Contents1. Background Information on the MKTG 301 Project .............................................. 2

2. Project Brief for Semester Two, 2012 .................................................................... 3

2.1 Introduction..................................................................................................... 3

2.2 What Microsoft Can Offer ............................................................................... 3

2.3 Project Focus ................................................................................................... 3

2.4 Client Brief and Meetings with Industry Contact ............................................ 4

3. Developing Your Written Marketing Plan .............................................................. 5

3.1 Outline for Writing a Marketing Plan .............................................................. 5

3.2 Some Helpful Hints in Writing Marketing Plans .............................................. 6

3.3 Guidelines ........................................................................................................ 6

3.4 Report Due Date and Marking Guide .............................................................. 7

4. Project Responsibilities and Support ..................................................................... 9

4.1 Working in Teams ............................................................................................ 9

4.2 Mentors and Project Support........................................................................ 10

4.3 Responsibility ................................................................................................ 10

5. Project Presentations ........................................................................................... 10

5.1 Industry Dragons ........................................................................................... 11

5.2 Presentation Dates ........................................................................................ 11

6. Key Project Dates ................................................................................................. 12

7. Further Information and Updates........................................................................ 12


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1. Background Information on the MKTG 301 ProjectAt the beginning of the course we will announce our industry partner for the

semester this firm will be the focus of your project. Working in teams of 4-5,you are required to develop an appropriate marketing strategy and programmethat reaches the desired goal of the client.

This will be written as a formal report (i.e. a marketing plan) and formallypresented to a panel of industry experts in an oral classroom presentation.

Your idea will therefore need to be:

1. Something that incrementally changes an existing product or service;2. Something entirely new to the market; or3. Something that the company has challenged you to address.

The standard Marketing Plan outline we have provided will help you understandwhat basic content is required (see Section 3.1). What follows are details that

should be considered in the process of carrying out the project. Feel free to addor subtract details according to the particular demands of your project. Inaddition, the following table of milestones is provided to help guide you through

this project:

Week Date Project Task

1 17-July Get to know the project and deliverables - read the course outline!

2 24-July

Client Briefing. Teams formed in tutorials. Meet with your team - set

expectations (grade, attendance etc.) & organise a regular meeting

time slot for the duration of the semester

3 31-July Identify & break-down problem & conduct primary/secondaryresearch. Hand in team contract.

4 7-AugMarket analysis - internal and external (frameworks = pest, porters,

swot, competitor, stakeholder etc.)

5 14-Aug Market analysis - compile list of questions for survey

6 21-AugRun survey monkey & collect data (if required TBC). Draft plan

(intro, current situation sections)

BREAKAnalyse quantitative (survey) data & identify key issues (what are the

issues driving Microsofts "problem")

BREAK Draft plan (key issues section)

7 11-Sept Brainstorm strategy - consider objectives & controls

8 18-SeptConduct financial analysis of proposed strategy - adjust & complete

strategy based on financials, class discussion and quantitative findings

9 25-SeptDraft plan (objectives/KPIs, strategy/implementation &

financial/profitability sections)

10 2-OctComplete draft plan (conclusion & executive summary sections) and

proof read

11 9-Oct PRESENTATION & submit strategic marketing plan

12 16-Oct Ready for exam!


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2. Project Brief for Semester Two, 20122.1 IntroductionThe major course project is a strategic marketing plan for our industry partner

Microsoft New Zealand. The strategic marketing plan will present a marketing

strategy that addresses key strategic issues and finds opportunities for creatingcustomer value. To produce such a plan requires you and your team to apply yourgrowing knowledge about strategic analysis, strategy development andimplementation to our partners business. The lectures and tutorials are designedto help you to do this.

Microsoft New Zealand is a leading producer of computer software. Recently they

have developed a smartphone, the Windows Phone, which has the potential tobecome a strong competitor in the NZ smartphone market. Although theWindows Phone was a late arrival to the market the value proposition is uniqueand commendable.

2.2 What Microsoft Can OfferMicrosoft are providing a real-life opportunity to help them develop a profitable

growth strategy. They will engage with us as much as possible (e.g. by coming toclass, providing relevant information etc.), but dont look to them for the answers- thats your job. We will set up a process for you to meet with them regularly,toss around ideas etc. (see Section 2.4 below), but we need to recognize they

have a business to run and we need to manage this carefully. One thing you canbe sure of they will listen to you and this is a real business strategy you arebeing asked to develop. Both Microsoft New Zealand and you stand to derivevalue from the project.

2.3 Project FocusYour role is to develop the marketing strategies that will achieve greater market

share. In order to capture market share, Microsoft New Zealand has to targetconsumer segments with the right offer meaning an offer that communicatesand delivers compelling (and competitively superior) customer value.

To help you get to grips with the focus for this assignment, we have broken theproblem down into four key questions (see Figure 1.0). You will need to figure outwhere the data is to answer them. Once you have data, deciding which market

segments to target, and what value propositions will capture their business (andrevenue for Microsoft NZ) will be easier to determine.

The strategic marketing process involves information collection (strategicanalysis), development of strategic options (where to compete, how to compete)

and a detailed implementation plan (describing initiatives and actions (to enable,deliver and communicate value). Why do this? In order to determine how togrow the businesss market share.


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Fig 1.0

Central Question: What marketing strategies and actions will establish and grow

Microsoft NZs market share with the Windows phone?

2.4 Client Brief and Meetings with Industry ContactIn addition to the information above, a marketing team from Microsoft NZ willdeliver a brief for this project during the lecture in week 2 (24 July).

Two representatives from Microsoft NZ - Kelsi Benge and Renee Van Veen - willalso be available to meet with students throughout the semester. Kelsi and

Renee will answer student queries regarding the information Microsoft is lookingfor from the project. Please note, Kelsi and Renee are there to answer questionsabout Microsoft, their requirements and any information which might be useful forthis project. Any queries about the project marking or format should be directed

to the MKTG 301 teaching team, not the industry contact ultimately, it is theteaching team who will be grading this assignment NOT Microsoft.

Kelsi and/or Renee will be available to answer student questions on the

dates/times listed in Table 1 (overleaf).


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Table 1: Client Liaison Meeting Times

Week Day Date Time Location

Week 3 Wednesday 1 August 1pm OGGB, Room 401




Week 7 Wednesday 12 September 1pm OGGB, Room 401



Week 10 Wednesday 3 October 1pm OGGB, Room 401

3. Developing Your Written Marketing Plan3.1 Outline for Writing a Marketing PlanBelow is a suggested outline for writing your marketing plan:


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3.2 Some Helpful Hints in Writing Marketing PlansJustify your conclusions/recommendations. Indicate what information about the

market, the product, the customer, the competition, etc. leads you to reach aparticular conclusion or make a recommendation.

The more specifics you can provide, the better, as this demonstrates that you

have thought through your strategy thoroughly. For example, can you specifyamounts, time frames, details of promotional programs, etc.? The more specificsyou provide, the easier it is to evaluate whether your plans are feasible. It alsomakes the task of those charged with implementing the plan easier since theyknow exactly what is expected. Often this important detail can be included in theAppendix.

Make sure your plan is internally consistent. Often, we see actions proposed inone part of the marketing plan working against those proposed in another (e.g. a

product positioned in the budget part of the market, but offered at a relativelyhigh price compared to competitors). The actions you propose should besynergistic, not conflicting. Furthermore, they should be suited to theenvironment and the product/brand/firms position within it.

Think carefully about whether what youve proposed is feasible and adequate.Often, strategies and tactics proposed in marketing plans are either not at alladequate for achieving the stated objectives, or are not actionable due toresource constraints, corporate politics, legal and regulatory barriers, etc.

The plan needs to be completed. Marketing managers rarely have all of theinformation that they would like to complete a marketing plan (or for that matterperform most other tasks). Nonetheless, some action must be taken. This means

you need to devise your plan utilising whatever information you have available.Your plan can (and often should) indicate what additional information needs to begathered in the coming year. This needs to be justified however by indicatingwhat this information will be used for.

You should indicate in your plan how your objectives, strategies and tactics wouldbe evaluated.

Data that is central to your plan (the sales forecast, for example) should go in

tables and figures in the body of the plan. Data that supports the plan, but is notcentral to it (market research findings, for example) should go in appendices.

Any assumptions made in the plan should be clearly stated. Information used inthe plan should be referenced using footnotes.

Great strategy and tactics are worthless if theyre not commun icated effectively.Is your plan easy to read? Is it well written? Does it follow a logical order? Is itconcise?

3.3 Guidelines

The following guidelines apply to the marketing plan:

The front cover of the final report MUST include your team number ANDnames of all team members

All sources of data should be referenced using footnotes. The written plan should be no more than 10 pages including all tables, but

excluding the 1 page executive summary, title page, table of contents andappendices. We appreciate that it isnt easy to distil detailed information intoa coherent, concise format. However this is exactly what successful managers

do. The challenge is to determine what is relevant and what is not, and tocommunicate that clearly and convincingly.


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You have 7 minutes to make your presentation. This will be followed by a 7-minute question and answer period by the panel. NB: Your presentation

structure and format may be quite different from your formal report consider the needs of each audience carefully.

One hard copy of the plan is due in WEEK 11 -9 October. Please submit theplan to appropriate box at the Business School assignment centre on level 0,OGGB.

Marks will be allocated as follows (out of 30%)Written Plan 15%

Individual Evaluation 10%

Presentation 5%

TOTAL 30%

Since team based work contributes significantly toward your course grade, you

will have the opportunity to make a peer evaluation of individualscontributions. Normally, minor differences between individuals will not affect themark. That is, it is expected that all team members will receive the same markfor the project. However, in business and in 301, there is no room for

passengers. Therefore, if members do not contribute, they may (upon properevaluation of their performance) receive lower marks.

If you are seeking differential marking, all members of the team (including

the non-performing person or persons) must fill out a team evaluation form (onCecil), by 5pm16 October. The team evaluation is completed online andlink will be made available via a Cecil announcement in week 10. Pleasenote that upon completion of the evaluation you will be advised to take a

screen shot as a receipt and evidence to show that you have completed

the evaluation. Should the course convenor agree there is a case for differentialmarking, the university mediator will then be asked to work with the team to

arrive at a fair and reasonable solution.

3.4 Report Due Date and Marking GuidePlease present your document as a succinct management report explaining thestrategy, what you intend to do, why and how, for management review andapproval. We will show you examples from previous semesters to give you afeeling for the look and standard we expect. The marking guide for both thewritten report and the presentations are displayed overleaf.

Due Date: Hardcopy to be handed in to the student centre hand-in boxes, Level

0 OGGB, no later than 4pm, Tuesday 9th October.


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Marking Guide

Below you will find the marking guides for the presentations as well as the final

report.


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4. Project Responsibilities and Support4.1 Working in TeamsThe ability to function effectively as part of a team is critical to the practice of

marketing, and to business and life success in general. The marketing planassignment is intended to help you build your teaming skills, and to developinsight into your own business behaviours and preferences.

The best way to ensure that your team functions effectively is to set ground rulesat the outset. You must develop a team contract covering issues such as whenand where you will meet, how work will be assigned, what process will be

followed if people fail to turn up to meetings, and what will happen if a memberof the group fails to perform as expected. This team contract is to be emailed toVanisha ([email protected]) by 5pm on Tuesday 31 July.

Having said all this, we find people are motivated to do well and contribute to the

best of their ability. Please do your best to work out any problems as they arise,which are often caused by communication difficulties in your busy lives. Thedescriptions of aggressive, passive and assertive behaviour provided will help you
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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diagnose what the problems might be. This is an excellent test of your leadershippotential leaders are people who proactively help teams to develop solutions to

problems.

If the situation seems intractable, please see the tutor immediately. There are anumber of solutions that can be applied please dont let a dysfunctional team

affect your enjoyment and learning. Do not wait until the course is over, and thencomplain about problems with your team! Once you have submitted your peerreviews, these will be final. Please note, the marking process is designed to beobjective and, while we encourage you to attempt to resolve issues of group

dynamics yourselves, if you feel that this may reflect unfairly on your final projectgrade, please inform one of us (during the project process not afterwards) sothat we can ultimately be the objective judges of this.

4.2 Mentors and Project SupportWe will use some of the time available in tutorials to ensure you know what to doand when to do it. We are also supporting you by providing a former student in

301 who will act as a mentor for your group. You will be required to meet with

him/her twice during the life of the project. This is not a nice to have. Weexpect you to be proactive in selecting a time to meet with your mentor as soon

as you have formed your group. The mentors role is to advise you how to planthe project, establish who will do what, develop a timeline or critical path, andimportantly, advise you on how to deal with problems - e.g., if someone doesntdo what they said they would do. Your mentors this semester are as follows:

Eyah Al-Atafi, email: [email protected] Kenny Cheung, email: [email protected] Adam Firman, email: [email protected] Benafsha Hajati, email: [email protected] Mat Jonsson, email: [email protected]

4.3 ResponsibilityThis time next year, most of you will be in real jobs with real companies. Thisproject is designed to help you learn how to apply marketing thinking andprinciples. You will get a lot out of it if you recognize it as an opportunity to learnand not just as a chore that you have to do. Our advice is get organized in your

group, get focused, and critically, get on with it so that the project neverbecomes a problem. The mentor will help you do this.

5. Project PresentationsThe ability to communicate verbally to individuals and groups is critical inmanagement and marketing. While some students may be uncomfortable with

this initially, it is better to develop this skill here rather than enter the businessworld without it. Given individual differences in oral and written communicationskills, this form of assessment also ensures that final marks provide an accuratereflection of overall ability. Good preparation always enhances confidence.

You will get practice communicating in your tutorials, where you will be gradedfor your class participation, which includes a presentation of information (further

details provided in course outline and tutorial streams). Your projectpresentations will be marked and you will be given feedback on these. Your oralpresentation will contribute 5 marks of your final project grade (out of 30). Whilethe dragons (see Section 5.1) will be there to feedback and ask questions,

ultimately your grade will be decided by the MKTG 301 teaching team.


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5.1 Industry DragonsYou will be presenting your project to a panel consisting of your lecturers and 2-3

industry dragons. If you have seen the television programme Dragons Den,where entrepreneurs pitch their new business ideas to a team of investors, youwill know the kinds of questions dragons are likely to ask. What (exactly) doesyour product do? How big is the market? Have you done any research to ensure

your product/ service idea will fly? What are your forecasted sales? What data doyou base that on? What kind of return will this proposal generate for yourbusiness over a 5 year period?

Our dragons are high-performing business people from a number of differentroles and types of organisations. Theyre a lot friendlier than the TV versions, andwant to see you do well. They also have high expectations, and want to see andreward excellence in your ideas and pitches.

The top five 301 teams will be invited to present their ideas to our semesterpartner in their boardroom. Excellent for your visibility (and that can lead to job

opportunities), for your CV, it will give you some concrete experience to talk

about in job interviews, and it will build your confidence in presenting to livebusiness audiences.

5.2 Presentation DatesPresentations are booked to take place on the following dates/times listed in

Table 2. Teams will be responsible for streaming into the most appropriate timefor the team. This will be made available on Cecil at the beginning of Week 10.Please note that streaming is on a first come first serve basis.

Table 2: Presentation Dates, Times and Locations

Date Time LocationWednesday 10 October 9am-11am CaseRoom3, Level 0

Wednesday 10 October 1pm-3pm CaseRoom3, Level 0

Thursday 11 October 4pm-6pm CaseRoom2, Level 0

Friday 12 October 9am-11am CaseRoom 223, Level 2

Friday 12 October 3pm-5pm CaseRoom2, Level 0


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6. Key Project DatesImportant dates (including due dates for all things related to the project) arelisted in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Key Dates for MKTG 301 Project

Description Date Time Location

Client Verbal

Brief

Tuesday, 24th

July2pm-4pm In lecture OGGB4

Team Contract Tuesday 31st July 5pmEmail to Vanisha [email protected]

Client LiaisonWednesdaysduring teachingweeks, 1pm

See schedule in Section 2.4

Written MarketingPlan Due

Tuesday 9thOctober

4pmAssignment centre hand-inboxes, Level 0 OGGB

Project

Presentations

Wednesday 10th

October Friday12th October See schedule in Section 5.2.

Team EvaluationsTuesday 16thOctober

5pmMade available in week 10via Cecil

Winning Teams

Presentation toMicrosoft

TBC Microsoft NZ

7. Further Information and UpdatesWe wish you the best with your MKTG 301 project and hope that you not just

gain valuable business experience, but also enjoy this process. Remember toconsult a member of the teaching team if you have any problems or require anyassistance. Please also check Cecil regularly for any updates or amends that

might not be contained in this handbook.

Good luck. We are here to help you.

Documents

MKTG 301 Project Handbook