Consumer Report

Assignment Requirements

 

In order to communicate with our consumers, we need to understand them. This assignment is all about developing an in-depth understanding of a consumer. In doing this you will develop a profile, or description of your consumer which would be useful to a Marketing Manager. Your profile/description will be informed by the knowledge you have gained in this course, by interviews with a consumer, and by other secondary research you might choose to do.
From this profile, you will make recommendations for the marketing mix of your own “new brand” in a chosen product/service category

MARK 202 (2014/1): Consumer Profile Assignment

Worth:            30% of the final grade

 

Due:               3.30 pm, May 26^th to the Box labeled MARK 202: Buyer Behaviour,

Mezzanine Level, Rutherford House.

 

Assignments also need to be submitted electronically to Turnitin on Blackboard by the due date/time. See attached sheet for further details.

 

Note: Any work (including electronic submissions) received after the deadline will be deemed late and incur penalties.

 

If you need to hand in your assignment late, please hand it to a staff member at the reception desk on the 11^th floor of Rutherford House and ensure they sign and date-stamp it. Do not put assignments under the lecturer’s door.

 

Penalties:        Late assignments:Assignments received after the deadline will have 10% deducted from the available grade, per day. For example, an assignment that is one day late will lose 10% of the available grade (i.e. a 78% becomes a 68%), two days late 20% (i.e. a 78% becomes 58%), etc. However, assignments received seven days after the due date will not be marked. Consequently, this may jeopardise your ability to pass the course.

 

Extensions: Extensions will be granted only in exceptional circumstances (e.g. illness with supporting medical documents stating the nature and length of impairment) by the MARK 202 Lecturer at the time the assignment is due. Tutors are not authorised to grant extensions. Extensions need to be arranged before the due date.

 

Word limits: The maximum word limit for this assignment is 4500 words (excluding references and appendices). Failure to adhere to this limit will result in 5% deducted from the available grade for every 500 words over the limit.

 

Any student caught plagiarising may be penalised under the Statute on Student Conduct, which can be downloaded from the policy website. You could fail your course or even be suspended from the University. You are strongly advised to consult the Academic Integrity and Plagiarism policy website at: www.vuw.ac.nz/home/studying/plagiarism.html. Your assignments will be submitted to Turnitin so be sure to correctly cite all your references. It is not worth the risk!

 

Purpose:         This assignment is designed to help you apply what you have learned in this

course, including how to acquire knowledge of a consumer’s behaviour and what to do with that knowledge. In completing this assignment you will create a rich profile of a consumer which would be useful for a marketing manager. Secondly, you will apply this profile and knowledge to the successful marketing of a product/service.

 

Format:          All documents submitted should conform to the requirements noted in the booklet “How to write a business report” (available on blackboard) and as detailed in Tutorial #3.

 

In addition, you must use

• 12-point (font size) Times New Roman or similar font,
• 2.5cm margins all sides,
• Justified margins
• 1 ½ spacing.

 

Tables and diagrams may be single spaced, 10-point font. Headings and sub-headings may use different fonts and font size.

 

 

Please read these assignment instructions thoroughly before starting, and keep in mind the marks allocation detail. Ensure you do a final check to ensure everything is covered before you hand your assignment in.

 

Overview:

 

In order to communicate with our consumers, we need to understand them. This assignment is all about developing an in-depth understanding of a consumer. In doing this you will develop a profile, or description of your consumer which would be useful to a Marketing Manager. Your profile/description will be informed by the knowledge you have gained in this course, by interviews with a consumer, and by other secondary research you might choose to do.

From this profile, you will make recommendations for the marketing mix of your own “new brand” in a chosen product/service category.

 

In conducting this assignment you will need to do the following:

 

1. Select a Product Category (Good or Service)

 

Select a product category in the marketplace. The product may be a consumer good or service, but must be:

• one which would typically require a more high-involvement / extended decision-making purchase
• one with which you are familiar
• one for which you know a person who has purchased/consumed the product/service
• one which you are interested in (recommended!).

 

2. Identify your consumer

 

You will need to find someone who will be your source of information for this assignment. This person will be referred to as “your consumer” and will later be considered to be representative of a target market. This person should be someone you know (a friend or family member), as you will need to meet with them relatively regularly. They must meet the following criteria:

 

• not currently enrolled in MARK 202
• willing and able to participate in a series of interviews
• have purchased & consumed the product.

 

Please keep the identity of this individual confidential. That is to say, nothing in the assignment should allow this individual to be personally identified. To assist with this, you may want to use a pseudonym in your final assignment.

 

 

3. Conduct the interviews/discussions as detailed in tutorials

 

Your tutorial workbook guides you through a series of interviews or discussions you will need to undertake with your consumer. You should conduct the interviews in person, and be sure to take adequate notes throughout. In order to maintain the confidentiality of those you interview, please do not provide any information in your report that will allow them to be uniquely identified (e.g. by providing actual names). Ensure your consumer agrees to the interviews and do not pressure them for any information they do not want to provide, or embarrass them in any way.

 

In addition to the interviews, you are encouraged to use secondary sources of information, such as articles, information in textbooks, reports, etc. as appropriate. Be sure to reference these appropriately.

 

 Develop a profile or description of your consumer

 

Each interview session, as noted in your tutorial workbook, will lead you to a better understanding of your consumer, and you will need to communicate this knowledge in your assignment. However, do not feel restricted by the tutorial exercises. You may add additional information which you feel contributes to the profile. Overall, you should be asking yourself questions:

• What do the findings indicate about consumer behaviour?
• What does this contribute to the overall profile?
• How should I best describe this consumer?

 

 Consider recommendations for your brand

 

Now, assume that your consumer is representative of a target market segment. Based on the profile you have developed, consider what this would mean to a Marketing Manager for the product you have chosen. Ask yourself,

• What are the implications of this profile for the marketing mix within this product category for this particular market segment?
• In other words, if I am to sell my product, brand X, to this market segment, what should I do related to the product, price, place and promotion?

 

 

6. Structure and Write Report

 

This assignment is to be written in a report format, as if you are submitting this to an employer. Further instructions will be provided to you during this course.

 

Keep in mind that the report part of your document is meant to contain the key discussion and bring forward important elements.

 

 

Format for Submission (what you should turn in)

 

The sections of the report (with page guidelines) should be noted as follows:

 

1)      Title page (1 page – see report writing information)

 

2)      Executive Summary (1 page)

 

3)      Table of Contents (1 page)

 

4)      Consumer Report (approximately 10 pages, 1.5 spacing)

a)      Introduction: (roughly ½ page) Note overall scope and objectives of your report, including an introduction to the product and your new brand.

For example: This company is charged with introducing a new food processor into the marketplace, which will be called “Foodimax.” In order to ensure our marketing is successful for this new brand, it is essential to understand our market. This report will therefore provide a detailed profile of the consumer within our selected target market. As a result of this profile, recommendations have been made for the successful marketing mix for Foodimax.

b)      Recommendations: (roughly 1-2 pages) Note the main recommendations for the marketing mix of your new brand.

c)      Consumer Profile: (roughly 7-8 pages) This section should include your analysis (including tables) and explanation for each of the topic areas listed below. On the basis of these findings it should give the reader a thorough and effective description of your consumer and therefore your target market. You may also use additional secondary sources of information to supplement your description. This section should also be considered to form the justification of your recommendations and form the bulk of your report.

In your profile, a minimum requirement is that you incorporate findings from the following topic areas:

• Decision-making
• Motivations
• Personality and lifestyles/psychographics
• Attitudes
• Reference groups
• ONE OF: Family, social class or culture/subculture

 

 

5)      References: (up to one page if needed)

Using APA referencing style, list any references you have used.

 

6)      Appendices: (required)

In the appendices include the data gathered in each tutorial session which was used to develop the consumer profile. The appendices need to be laid out in a clear and professional manner.

Topic	Details	Corresponds to Tutorial #
Decision-making	Provide a transcript of the interview or the interview notes, summarizing the consumer’s decision-making process.	2
Motivations & Means-end Analysis	Provide a transcript of the laddering interview.	4
Personality and Lifestyles	Provide data you have gathered related to lifestyles / psychographics and personality.	5
Attitudes	Provide the completed questionnaire.	6
Reference group	Provide a transcript or summary of your interview and/or any information relating to these concepts that you obtained.	7
One of: Family, Social Class or Culture or subculture	The appendix is optional for this section but you might provide a transcript or summary of an extra interview and/or any additional information relating to these concepts that you obtained	7

 

Note: 4 points will be deducted for each element missing from the Appendices.

 

Notes on the Presentation of the Report:

 

Please refer to the SMIB report writing handbook, and FCA writing booklet. Please ensure your report meets the requirements noted there. In addition your report should be:

• complete – with all components noted above and the cover page (available on Blackboard) attached.
• consistent with formatting requirements noted above
• free from grammatical and spelling errors
• submitted electronically and in hard copy.

 

Note that 10% of your grade is based on the presentation of the assignment. This includes grammar, spelling, formatting, etc. It is possible to lose all 10% if there are many grammatical and spelling errors. Clear and concise writing will also assist you in communicating your ideas more effectively. If the writing is so unclear that we cannot interpret your idea, or it does not communicate your understanding of the subject, you will not benefit from the points relative to that part of the assignment.

 

 

MARK 202 (2014/1) – Consumer Profile Assignment

 

 

STUDENT ID:……………………………………………………………………

 

 

Marker: ________________________________              Date ……………………..

 

	Not Acceptable	Poor	OK	Good	Excellent	SCORE
CONSUMER PROFILE:						/60
Overall Consumer Profile: A picture is painted of the consumer which would be useful to a Marketing Manager. The profile captures important characteristics of the consumer and demonstrates an understanding of the related Consumer Behaviour concepts.   Discussion is consistent with the findings, and leads to greater, more informed knowledge of this consumer.   – Decision-making – Motivations – Lifestyles/psychographics – Attitudes – Reference Groups – Family/Social Class/Subculture/Culture Appendices present for each area (-4 for each section not represented)	0-20	21-29	30-36	37-47	48-60
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BRAND:						/20
Specific recommendations for the brand are clearly justified in the consumer profile and reflect an understanding of the concepts and an ability to apply the findings.	0-2	3-7	8-13	14-17	18-20
OVERALL IMPRESSION AND INTERNAL CONSISTENCY:						/10
The paper demonstrates a command of the concepts and an ability to work with them. Findings are carried through from enquiry, to analysis and finally to application.	0-1	2-3	4-6	7-8	9-10

 

 

STYLE/PRESENTATION: Document is professionally presented according to SMIB writing requirements and the assignment requirements		/10
Title Page Executive Summary Table of Contents Body of Report References (APA) Layout/font/spacing Grammar & spelling

.

COMMENTS

 

Total Mark ……………./100

Electronic Submissions for MARK 202

 

Your assignments in MARK 202 are due in paper and electronic form. Note that the hard copy is the document which will be marked. However if electronic submissions are late, the assignment will be considered late.

 

Please ensure you:

• only submit one file
• save your file somewhere first!

 

Other points to consider:

• If you run into problems, and have tried unsuccessfully to resubmit, then you may e-mail the assignment to the lecturer directly (as a last resort only and contact me first please).

 

The process:

1)      Ensure you attach the final version!

2)      Go to blackboard and choose the course – MARK 202

3)      Go to the “Assignment Info” menu item

4)      Click on “View/Complete” under the Consumer Profile titlewith the “Turn it in” logo to the left.

5)      You will then be in the Turn-it-in page which should list your relevant classes. To submit, click on submit.

6)      You will then go to a screen in which your first and last name are indicated. You will need to give your submission a title, then click on browse and search for your assignment on your computer.

Please name your file: Tutorial #_ Name

For example: Tutorial 1_ Mandy Smith

7)      Once you press upload you will be taken to a new page. This page allows you to check that this is the assignment you wish to submit. Note that the formatting does not appear here, but it will appear on your final assignment. Press submit to continue.

8)      You will then get a “digital receipt” saying “Your submission has been successful.”

 

TO CHECK: If you go into gradebook / “my grades” and look for your assignment, there should be an exclamation mark “ ! ” in a green box.

 

After the deadline … submit it anyhow. The system stores the date submitted.

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