Marketing Plan Assignment (20%)

JRE410 | Winter 2018

 Proposal Due (5%): Wed Feb 7 – in tutorial and upload to turnitin, 6:10pm
 Final Marketing Plan Due (15%): Wed Apr 4 – in tutorial and upload to turnitin, 6:10pm
 Consultation: In tutorial Wed March 28 – during tutorial, you will have an opportunity to consult your business
idea and marketing plan with your TA. (You should work on the paper way before this date)
 Working in a team of TWO people – both of you must be from the same lecture and tutorial section for L0101.

Overview
This assignment will provide an opportunity for you to conduct a strategic industry analysis and develop
marketing tactics for your chosen business idea.

Key Learning Objectives

• To apply theoretical or conceptual frameworks in an entrepreneurial initiative
• To encourage you to keep current with industry events and news
• To enhance your written communication skills through concise business writing
• To develop your secondary research skill

Proposal (5%)

Purpose: To get initial feedback about your business idea (product or service). Tasks:

1. As soon as possible: Choose a business idea (product or service, or both) for which you will analyse the
industry, devise competitive strategies, and develop the marketing tactics.

2. Once you have chosen your business idea, you will conduct an introductory strategic industry analysis.

 Intro & Context – what is your business idea about? Provide sufficient background. Discuss how it
relates to your study in JRE410. Why are you interested in this business venture? What are the value
propositions? Is there an unmet need? Clarify if this business idea is a product or service. You
should indicate if your business idea is new or existing.

 External Industry Analysis [LECTURE 2] – using relevant tools learned in the course, such as industry’s
dominant economic traits, Porter’s 5 Forces, forces driving industry change, market position of
industry rivals (Strategic Group Map), Key Success Factors, Macro-environment factors, etc. There is
no maximum on the number of “tools” to use; however, there are appropriate tools for certain
industries of study.

 Internal Analysis [LECTURE 3] – As this is a start-up company, how are you and/or your partners
prepared in this industry? Using relevant tools learned in the course, such as SWOT, Value Chain
Analysis, Benchmarking, KSF Analysis, or Sustainable Competitive Advantage. You are analysing
your own capabilities, knowledge, and resources relative to the competitors. What are your goals,
focus, culture, strengths, or weaknesses? Is this a joint venture, licensing, do it yourself, or a subsidiary
of another firm, etc. ?

 Competitive Strategies [LECTURE 4]. Briefly discuss the competitive strategies that you wish to adopt
for this business venture. Who are the competitors? How will you position your product / service
offering relative to the competition? Please use the Porter’s five generic competitive strategies to
complete this section.

 Works Cited page.

3. Format: Single-spaced, 2-3 pages. Page count does not include appendices, references or cover
pages. 1-inch margin, font size 10-12 points. Please cite all your sources accordingly.
 Final Marketing Plan (15%)

This is the culmination of your written assignment for this course. You will build a marketing plan based on the
proposal previously developed. Content:

 Executive Summary (no more than half page). Summarize your marketing plan.

 Business Context (no more than half page). Provide a background of your business
venture/good/service. Remember to take the feedback from your proposal and improve on it.

 Situational Analysis (1 page). Use the feedback from your proposal to improve on this section. Provide
a summary of your analyses pertaining to:
o External industry (from proposal)
o Internal company/you (from proposal)
o Competitors (from proposal)
o Competitive Strategy and your positioning (from proposal)

 Marketing Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning [1 to 1.5 pages]

o Present different segments of the market (minimum 2)
o For each segment, discuss market size, customer type, consumer values, purchase decision
process [LECTURES 7 & 8]. Present your chosen target segment(s) and justify. [Lecture 8].
Describe how you will position your product/service offering to differentiate from your
competitors.

 Marketing Strategy (no more than 3 pages)

o Product/Service characteristics and New Product introductions [LECTURE 9]
o Pricing Strategy [LECTURES 10]
o Place Strategy [LECTURES 10]
o Promotions & Communication Strategy [LECTURE 11]

 Timeline & Projections (no more than 1 page). Create a timeline by listing major milestones/tasks for
which your marketing strategy will be implemented. Consider any risks or barriers to accomplish the
marketing strategy. (OPTIONAL) If possible, you may also include preliminary forecasts of revenues and
expenses for 3 years. You may also do a break-even analysis as learned in the pricing lecture.

 Works Cited.

 Appendix. Attach any tables, figures, calculations, etc. in this section.

Format: In total, the final Marketing Plan should be no more than 8 pages, single spaced. Page count does not
include references, appendix. 1-inch margin, font size 10-12 points. Please cite all your work.