Global Consumers and market places

You are required to produce a professional poster providing key information on the national market you have chosen, and the organisation chosen to enter that market. You do not need to print this poster. Instead, an electronic version must be submitted no later than the deadline, which will be advised via Blackboard announcement. You may use any file format which is compatible with university systems (e.g. – Word, Powerpoint).

You are required to produce a 5 minute video which outlines and justifies your proposed market entry strategy. Please use the same organisation, and the same home and destination markets, that you have used in assessed component one (your poster). Your video should be concise, but your choice of strategy should be justified and substantiated by underpinning theory and consideration of the commercial and customer context, referring to academic articles and industry sources wherever necessary. Talk briefly about alternative strategies which you have considered but discarded, and why, being balanced and critical. The video may be filmed using Panopto, smartphone devices, tablets or any other suitable equipment. It must also be submitted in a format which is accessible from university computers, no later than the deadline, which will be advised via Blackboard announcement.

Please note that the default settings of Apple iPhones, and certain other devices, produce videos with very large file sizes which cannot be uploaded through our systems. Therefore, you are advised to use the Video Draft Submission folder to check that your file size is small enough before making your final submission and, if not, to adjust your device settings or use different equipment. This is usually achievable by changing your device setting to record using a lower picture quality, and you will not be penalised for this.

You are required to undertake a 2,000-word analytical business report of your chosen organisation.

This is an individual task, and you should adhere to university regulations regarding avoidance of plagiarism and collusion.

This must be submitted by the deadline, which will be advised via Blackboard announcement.

Section 1 (40% of the Business Report marks): Critical evaluation of an organisation in one or more established markets

Section 1 accounts for 40% of the Business Report marks, and therefore the recommended word count is around 800 words, but at your discretion as long as the total word count for the report is observed.

• Identify an organisation which is strong and established in one or more markets.
• Analyse why it is currently strong, referring to its brand, products and/or services, marketing communications mix, use of media, Relationship Marketing strategies, and any other elements of its identity or operations which you feel relevant to its success.
• In particular, refer to its meaning towards, and relationships with, its customers.
• When analysing the organisation, use theories and academic sources critically.
• Provide commercial context underpinned by industrial sources (i.e. – information which is already in the public domain).
• Do not undertake any primary research.

Section 2 (60% of the Business Report marks): Proposal of strategies to enter a new market

Section 2 accounts for 60% of the Business Report marks, and therefore the recommended word count is around 1,200 words, but at your discretion as long as the total word count for the report is observed.

• Propose strategies for your chosen organisation to use when entering one specific country for the first time.
• Consider the needs and characteristics of the target market – in particular its consumers.
• Explain how these might differ from the needs and characteristics of the consumers it is currently selling to in its established territories.
• Use theory and academic sources critically to underpin your recommendations.
• Wherever possible, compare alternative strategies which you chose to discard with those which you chose to adopt, explaining their relative merits in the context of your organisation.
• When explaining your rationale, say what effects the recommended strategies might have upon the organisation, its brand, its performance, and its commercial sustainability – but also the effects upon the targeted consumers in the new market.