Individual Product Development Plan (90% of portfolio)

Your portfolio will provide evidence that you have understood and applied marketing theory and used external data to inform your analysis. By developing a new product in an allocated category, you will be exposed to all aspects of the marketing mix. Your work will be based on a mixture of analysis and interpretation of external data sources, in-class work on each task and application of marketing principles discussed in class.

You will be expected to source and download the relevant Mintel or Keynote report on your market category.

There are four specific tasks, which you need to submit which will represent the outputs for your individual Product Development Plan.

Word Count: You will need to write approximately 800 words for each of the four tasks. In addition, you will be asked to write an opening and closing statement; each should be a maximum of 300 words.

Opening statement: Before you embark on this assignment, reflect upon what Marketing means to you (300 words)

Task 1: Market and Business Analysis (800 words)
Carry out an external PEST analysis for your allocated market category.

As a group, decide which company you are going to use as the basis of your analysis within your allocated category and outline a suggested mission statement and key objectives.

Identify and explain the relevant marketing theory for the task and how you have applied it. Outline how you used external data (e.g., Keynote or Mintel reports).

Task 2: Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning (800 words)
Using external data sources, identify the different customer segments, which exist within your market category. Also, identify the key competitors and produce a perceptual map for your market.

Identify and explain the relevant marketing theory for the task and how you have applied it. Outline how you used external data (e.g., Keynote or Mintel reports)

Task 3: The Store Audit (800 words)

Identify one store which sells a good range of your company’s products (supermarket, high street store) and then research the following:

Reviewing the key brands on display, discuss shelf positioning, packaging, what makes the product stand out on the shelf (use photos to back up)

What are the prices of each product?

Identify examples of in store promotion with pictures to back up. Once you have identified this, please then identify other promotional messages which drive customers to store e.g. TV ads, social media activity, newspaper/magazine ads, outdoor advertising,

Identify and explain the relevant marketing theory for the task and how you have applied it.

Task 4: Product (800 words)

Design the new product for your company, identifying predicted market share, sales and profit targets (explained using a profit and loss spreadsheet). Also include brand name, packaging, product characteristics, selling price, USP, distribution strategy and communications plan.

Identify and explain the relevant marketing theory for the task and how you have applied it.

Closing Statement: Now that you have completed your assignment, review your definition of marketing in your opening statement. Reflect on what you now consider to be the definition of marketing and back this up with evidence from your assignment and the theory you have learned (300 words).

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