29 Jun Assignment 1 D046 version 2 –
Question
Microsoft Word – Assignment 1 D046 version 2 – 2016.docx
Overview
Microsoft Word – Assignment 1 D046 version 2 – 2016.docx
The Assignment_1 of the module D046 will account for the 50% of the total module mark and it is structured as a Group Presentation to be presented through either Power point slides or video/s. Students should work in groups of 5 (maximum). For this assignment you are responsible for the creation of your own group.
This assignment is designed to provide you with practical experience in applying Marketing concepts and tools and it has been carefully designed on the basis of the learning objectives as set in the module handbook and the skills which you are expected to acquire during the programme.
In sum, you are asked to present a Marketing Plan for a start-up company which has developed a state-of-the-art new product. The Marketing plan will detail the impact of the actual Marketing Environment on the Business. Then, you should propose a coherent Strategy to help the company to match the identified market opportunities and to overcome any threats as identified during the situational analysis of the Marketing Environment. Your report will serve as an advisory resource since will help the company to choose the right marketing strategy to implement in their new market for their new product.
Microsoft Word – Assignment 1 D046 version 2 – 2016.docx
Presentation Format
You should present your Marketing Plan by using either PowerPoint slides or a video.
Presentation Scenario
Polytech, an UK start-up company founded 36 months ago by four well-know entrepreneurs with large experience in nanotechnology, wants to enter the industry of laptop. After three years of huge investments in R&D the company has developed a state of the art product, the “Bendtop”, a new laptop which principal innovative feature is that it can be bent and
even folded or rolled up allowing people to save lot of space in their bags (or even not to bring a bag at all and put the laptop away in their pockets). In order to achieve such result PolyTech has employed a synthetic flexible rubber as framework of the new laptop and a display of 15.6 inch based on “OLED” technology (organic light-emitting diode), which does not need lighting back-panels, allowing the company to make a thinner, lighter and more power efficient product. Such power efficiency can explain the performance of the Li-On battery that can last till 60 hours when in full operation and 8 days when actively used on an average of 4 hours per day. However, the battery is not flexible. Hence, all the laptop must be folded around it. But according to the R&D department this should not represent a problem since the battery is 3cm wide and 4cm length.
Other features are:
a) Facial/Optical scan for security recognition.
c) Processor Intel Xeon E3.
e) Processor cores 4.
g) Operating system Microsoft Windows 10
i) OLED Screen.
k) Screen resolution 3840 x 2160. m) Ethernet.
o) Bluetooth.
q) Width 37.5 cm
s) Weight 0,8 kg
b) Anti-theft microchip integrated trough GPS.
d) Processor Speed 2.8 GHz. f) RAM 4 GB.
h) Webcam.
j) Screen size 15.6 inch. l) 3 USB port 3.0.
n) Wireless 802.11 ac. p) Height 1.2 cm
r) Depth 25.5 cm
The management of Polytech for the launch of the new product would like to highlight and rely on the innovative features which the R&D department has developed. However, such high technological content forces the company to introduce the product at a 1800.00 £ retail price per unit, just to cover part of the production costs, thus without any positive returns. This is partly due to the lack of economies of scale and to the new technology employed. The wholesale price is instead set at 1.700.00 £ per unit.
Negative returns is a possibility that the management has carefully taken into consideration and even anticipated especially for the first year since, based on reports provided by the Finance Department, break-even calculations indicate that the BENDTOP will become profitable during the third year from its launch and PolyTech will be able to cover those losses thanks to the huge amount of capital invested by the four co-founders.
In fact, the management main concern for the first year is not about profitability, rather how to establish and develop brand and image, in a fast changing market where competitors are continually adding features and sharpening price points.
The management have decided to launch the product for the first year only in UK but do not have excluded the possibility to enter in other geographical markets whether profitable in the second year.
Your task, as an external consultant, on the basis of the information provided so far and on your further personal research, is to present a business report to assist the CEO in defining the correct strategy which may help PolyTech to achieve a competitive advantage in the long term within the UK laptop industry.
Strengths and Weaknesses of the company. You should carefully read the text so that you can identify them: e.g., “the company has developed a state of the art product, the Bendtop which principal innovative feature is….”; what is this? A strength or a weakness? Also, when keep reading we find “In fact, the management main concern for the first year is not about profitability, rather how to establish and develop brand and image”: what is this? If you carefully read between the lines you may be able to spot other strengths and weaknesses.
Opportunities and Threats of the market. When looking for opportunities and threats you should identify both, actual and future trends in the market of laptops, through the use of secondary data. For instance, try to determine whether in the future it is expected to be an increasing demand for state-of-the- art multimedia devices linked to flexibility and convenience of use and transport (Opportunity, since our products is highly technological in this sense).
Presentation Tips
Before choosing which strategy (among those suggested by Porter) to recommend you should analyse in a logical sequence:
3. Analyse the Macro environment through the STEEPLE Analysis. Using the STEEPLE model, briefly analyse the variables of the macro environment that in your opinion are important for the aim of your report, explaining why. Remember that the STEEPLE analysis should be bounded to the market the company has chosen to enter (in this case the UK market). You can either build a table to show all your consideration or you can discuss about each single section of the STEEPLE analysis. Remember that when carrying out an environmental analysis you should gather information from secondary sources on the market/industry/country the company would like to stay/enter (i.e., Internet, Journal Articles, governments’ reports, etc.) You should provide actual figures for each force of the environment you analyse and
cite the source from which those data come from. For instance, analysing the economic environment of a country you should report inflation rate (e.g. 4%) or future trends of consuming demand or whether that country is in recession or not, cost of living, exchange rate etc.. When discussing the Political factors some general questions that you may wish to answer might be whether there are any regulations that affect your particular industry or whether there are any government policies on training, research and development that might affect the company or still whether there are any areas of political risk associated with the UK.
4. Analyse the Micro Environment through the five forces that shape the competitiveness of the industry (Porter’s Five Forces). You may also decide to analyse only the forces that in your opinion are relevant to the aim of the report. However you should provide your reasons for this.
Once completed the above, you should recommend which of Porter’s competitive strategies your company must follow to achieve/maintain a competitive advantage. Why? What segments should they target? What about positioning strategy? What about distribution channels, pricing, product, promotion, and/or branding? (remember: coherence among all these aspects and the previous environmental analysis in required)
You should justify your strategic decision on the basis of data and information on market, industry and competitors of your chosen company coming from any available sources to you (books, official data on the internet, national statistics and so forth).
Remember you are only responsible for marketing mix, which means that you must address this question only to marketing mix, as this is a group work other people are doing other parts. Bear in mind that I won’t accept low quality and plagiarism. Plus I need bibliography and references. References should be Harvard.
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