The task

This assessment task requires you to prepare a case for a new product or a service recently launched in Australia. You can also choose a new product for the business/organisation you currently work for or the business/organisation you want to work with.

The case will address the following criteria:

1. a description of why this new product/service is important to customers, society and/or organisation,
2. an explanation of the two most important social challenges and the two most important business challenges of the new product/service you identified, and
3. an explanation of the two most important strengths and the two most important limitations of the development stages of the new product/service you identified.

Notes for your assessment task

• Your assessment task must be uploaded as a .doc or .docx file (word file) through an appropriate assessment submission link located on the unit Moodle site.
• The word limit for this assessment task is 1000 words (maximum).
• The “Turnitin” plagiarism check must be within 20%. Any assessment with a ‘Turnitin’ score of more than 20% will be checked by the marker for plagiarism although it may not necessarily mean that you have plagiarised. If we find a substantial matching rate in the ‘Turnitin’ report, your task will be forwarded to an appropriate office/authority for necessary actions.
• Please familiarise yourself with the University’s assessment policy and procedure, grading policy, assessment extension policy, late submission penalty, plagiarism policies and the like.

• Title page (2 marks): Include your name, student ID, names of the lecturer and tutor, course code and title, date of submission, a table of contents, executive summary, and word count.
• Identification of a new product/service, and a description of its importance to customers, society and organisation (5 marks).
• Identification and explanation of the two most important social challenges and the two most important business challenges that the new product/service is currently facing (5 marks).
• Identification and explanation of the two most important strengths and the two most important limitations of the development stages of the recently launched new product/service (5 marks).
• Citation and reference styles (APA - style) [note: you need to provide 10 scholarly sources of academic journal articles, textbooks, authentic Websites etc.], structure and format of the report, and grammar and sentences (3 marks).

The task

The aim of this assessment task is to provide you with hands-on exercise for a new product/service idea development based on customers' online reviews. Consider two competing products/brands, for example, “Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus VS Apple iPhone XS”, "Canon VS Nikon entry-level DSLRs", or "Garmin VS Fitbit smartwatches" or any products/brands that you want to work with for the assessment task 2. Note: the assessment task 2 and the assessment 3 are related.

As an entry-level new product consultant, you need to develop and present the following tasks to your director:

1. list the product features and related feedback based on customer reviews available on various Websites (e.g. "productreview", "Facebook" etc.). Demonstrate 10 customer reviews for each competing product/brand X 2 competing products/brands = 20 customer reviews,
2. conduct a thematic data analysis procedure for the 20 customers' reviews and prepare two frequency tables for the identified themes and for two competing products/brands,
3. based on the frequency tables and the customers' feedback, prepare two "Importance-Performance frameworks" with its associated tables based on a five-point rating scale for two competing products/brands (see Week 3 discussion), and
4. develop and justify two new product/service concepts for two competing products/brands based on your analysis

Notes for your assessment task

• Prepare your PowerPoint presentation in 15 slides (maximum). You will have 10 minutes (maximum) to present your task.
• For distance, online or flex students: You need to have a voiceover in your PowerPoint slides. For hints on how to convert a PowerPoint slide to a presentation with voiceover, please view the link. Adding a voiceover to PowerPoint presentations in 5 easy steps: http://www.emergingedtech.com/2012/12/add-voice-over-to-powerpoint-presentations-in-5-easy-steps/. You can also watch YouTube videos. Please upload the assessment task by Friday of Week 5 (11.55 PM).
• For face-to-face/metro-campus students: Please upload the assessment task by Friday of Week 5 (11.55 PM). All in-class presentations should be completed between week 6 and week 8. Your local campus lecturer/tutor will schedule your presentation task in a timely manner. You will receive some brief feedback from your campus lecturer/tutor immediately after your presentation. Your campus lecturer/tutor is responsible for marking your assessment tasks; however, the marked tasks could be moderated by the unit coordinator.
• The “Turnitin” plagiarism check must be within 20%. Any assessment with a ‘Turnitin’ score of more than 20% will be checked by the marker for plagiarism although it may not necessarily mean that you have plagiarised. If we find a substantial matching rate in the ‘Turnitin’ report, your task will be forwarded to an appropriate office/authority for necessary actions.
• Please ensure that your presentation includes relevant concepts, theories, tools, and models discussed in the unit.
• Please familiarise yourself with the University’s assessment policy and procedure, grading policy, assessment extension policy, late submission penalty, plagiarism policies and the like.

• Professionalism (2 marks): Demonstrates professional presentation, layout and style, including title slides and personal details, outline of the presentation, use of appropriate headings and subheadings, English expression and grammar, creativity, use and explanations of tables, charts, graphs; overall analytical and communication skills.
• Background (5 marks): Includes an aim of this assessment task, a brief background of the identified and competing brands including current market position analysis, sales and market shares etc.
• Data Collection Method (secondary source) (10 marks): Includes a brief outline of the sources of 20 customer reviews and at least two justifications of why the source(s) is relevant to this assessment task, data analysis procedure and justification of the data analysis techniques with relevant citations.
• Findings (4X5=20 marks): Listed and demonstrated product features based on 20 customer reviews with their sources for two competing products/brands; Conducted a thematic data analysis procedure for the 20 customers' reviews and prepared two frequency tables for the identified themes for two competing products/brands; Prepared two "Importance-Performance frameworks" with its associated tables based on a five-point rating scale and for two competing products/brands; and Formulated two new product/service concepts for two competing brands based on the analyses, and justified the two new product/service concepts.
• Academic quality (3 marks): Demonstrated breadth and quality of research by using a minimum of 10 relevant academic sources. Correctly used the APA in-text citation and referencing system to cite academic sources. Provided a brief conclusion of the presentation at the end.
  

The task

The assessments task–2 (practical assessment) and task–3 (report) are related. The assessment task 2 was the development and presentation of the two new product/service concepts for two competing brands based on customers' reviews.

The assessment task 3 (report) requires you to consider one of the two new product/service concepts you developed for task 2 and give a brand name and prepare the brand's promotional plan for its first-year entry in the global market. The promotional plan should include, among others, competitive strategies based on Porter's competitive theory/framework, importance-performance framework, BCG portfolio matrix analysis and product lifecycle theory/strategy analysis.

N.B.: You can use the importance-performance framework you developed for assessment task 2 and can develop hypothetical data/figure and construct a BCG portfolio matrix and a product lifecycle curve (PLC), and position the competing brands. Place your new concept brand, which is about to enter in the market, in that BCG matrix and on PLC to demonstrate your intended position and to formulate and analyse relevant strategies.

Notes for your assessment task

• The word limit of this individual report is 2000 words (maximum) between the introduction and conclusion sections.
• The assessment must be uploaded as a .doc or .docx file (word file).
• The assessment task must be uploaded through an appropriate Moodle link by the end of week 12.
• It is expected that the report will be based on the concepts, theories, tools introduced in this unit and use your own research findings. You are encouraged to include recent journal articles and relevant theories and research findings, where appropriate. Use of data and information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Austrade, relevant and authentic Web sites, textbooks etc. will enrich your report.
• You need to demonstrate the innovative and effective development of a new product/service concept and brand management strategies.
• The “Turnitin” plagiarism check must be within 20%. Any assessment with a ‘Turnitin’ score of more than 20% will be checked by the marker for plagiarism although it may not necessarily mean that you have plagiarised. If we find a substantial matching rate in the ‘Turnitin’ report, your task will be forwarded to an appropriate office/authority for necessary actions.
• You are strongly suggested to attend the lecture, tutorial, and discussion sessions. Please also follow the study resources available on the Moodle site and/or on the Web.
• Please cite and reference relevant data and information, where applicable. Your examiners expect authentic citations/references by using the APA referencing and citation styles.
• Where applicable, data related to BCG matrix, market share, product life cycle (PLC), importance-performance framework etc. can be hypothetically developed. This is applicable if you do not find relevant data in various secondary sources. In these cases, simply write “source: assumed and prepared for this assignment task only”. Please remember that the data/information that is readily available on the Web or in other published resources cannot be 'assumed' for this assessment task.
• Please familiarise yourself with the University’s assessment policy and procedure, grading policy, assessment extension policy, late submission penalty, plagiarism policies and the like.
• If you have any difficulty, please discuss this with your lecturer/tutor and unit coordinator.

• Professionalism (2 marks): Professional report layout and style, including title page, executive summary, use of appropriate headings and subheadings, table of contents, tables of figures, English expression and grammar, creativity, use and explanations of tables, charts, graphs; overall analytical and communication skills.
• Executive summary (2 marks): Demonstrates the complete brand promotional plan’s findings and recommendations, including, but not limited to the promotional objectives, main strategies and key budget and time-related implications for management.
• Background (4 marks): Includes an aim of this assessment task, a brief justification of the new brand including current market position analysis against competitors' brands and their sales and market shares, customer feedback etc. Where appropriate, introduce and place relevant marketing analytics tools, such as market share calculation, expected profitability calculation etc. A brief description of the new brand's market segmentation and target markets, and the aim(s) of the new brand's promotional plan.
• Competitive strategy (4 concepts/theories/strategies X 5 = 20 marks): Following the aims/objective of the new brand's promotional plan, briefly explain the concepts of Porter's competitive theory/framework, Importance–Performance framework, BCG portfolio matrix and product lifecycle theory, and formulate relevant and consistent strategies. You can use hypothetical data/figure and task 2's findings to get further support.
• Brand promotion (10 marks): Determine the promotional objectives for the first-year entry of the new brand. Prepare a detail and consistent promotional plan with media and budget details and provide brief justifications for brand equity management strategies. The discussion should include relevant literature to address a concept, argument and confirm your arguments.
• Academic quality (2 marks): Demonstrated breadth and quality of research by using a minimum of 10 relevant academic sources. Correctly used the APA in-text citation and referencing system to cite academic sources. Provided a conclusion of the report at the end.