You have been employed as the new Marketing Manager for a company that wants to produce a new healthy breakfast cereal for the market. The company already makes high quality canned fruit and yoghurt.

The first step to look at is the current products already on the market (i.e. competitors). There are many brands of breakfast cereal on the Australian market.

1. From the cereals listed below by Sharpi (2020) as being the healthiest cereals in Australia, please choose any 3 for comparison for this assessment.

Uncle Toby’s Vita Brits

Jordan’s Low Sugar Granola

Sanitarium Wheetbix

Kelloggs Corn Flakes

Carman’s Original Fruit Free Muesli

2. You are to write a report to the CEO of the new cereal company to serve as a focus for the development of the new breakfast product. Your report format is all in 1.5 line spacing, size 12 Times New Roman, with a word count of 2,000 words and uploaded via Moodle as a word document. The report should follow the following format:

· Title page with student name as per CQU enrolment, student number, campus, name of your tutor, Unit code and name, and word count. Please do not add a CQU logo as the logo is only for official CQU correspondence. This page starts as p. i

· Executive Summary – one page maximum, include all the main findings here for the CEO so he/she does not have to read the entire report – p. ii

· Table of contents – p. iii

· Introduction – starts at page 1 as heading 1. Word count starts at the first word in the introduction.

· Body of the research – use numbered headings and sub-headings (based on the questions below) to make it easier to read and mark.

· Conclusion – word count stops at the last word of the conclusion.

· References.

3. Once you have chosen your 3 cereals, research the chosen cereals, their ingredients, contents, and their price, per 100 grams or one serve or similar, so a comparison can be made between products.

You can make a table to show your combined results and tables do not add to the word count.

Remember to include the references of where you found the information as one of the lines in your table.

Verify your results with at least two websites to eliminate bias.

Highlight any discrepancies that you find.

4. Based on your findings, determine and justify the target market most likely to purchase each breakfast product.

Remember that the purchaser might be different from the actual consumer/user of the product and if so, please give both.

Justify what characteristics, as used in Figure 2-3 on page 78 of your text, will further segment your target market.

5. Based on your research, draw up a positioning graph for all 3 products chosen. The name for each axis will be determined by the most important elements you found in your research.

6. Are there any brand equity management implications for any of the products?

7. Is there a gap in the market your new product can fill?

Explain the gap and what elements/ingredients and so forth your product will contain that fills that gap.

8. Justify who will be in your target market/s or market segment/s.

9. Choose a name for your new cereal product and justify the choice of name.

10. Design a logo (with a maximum of 3 colours to cut printing costs),

explain why the logo colours were chosen, and

explain the significance of the logo for your product and

create a slogan for your new breakfast cereal.

11. How will you package your product based on the needs of your target market?

Will it be individual serves for an on the go breakfast or as a family box and why?

Hint: refer back to your target market segmentation.

12. Justify your new cereal product’s Point Of Difference.

13. Based on your findings, would you recommend to the CEO that manufacturing of the new cereal product is justified? What further steps should be undertaken before manufacturing is commenced?

This is a challenging assessment where you need to include a lot of information but with a limited word count. Therefore you need to edit your work to only include the important elements and delete extra information that does not answer the questions asked, or is not concise in nature.

Reference: Sharpi, S. (2020). Healthiest Cereals In Australian Supermarkets (2020). Retrieved from: https://28bysamwood.com/blog/eating-healthy/healthiest-cereals-australia/

Report format as stated: 2 marks

Comparison of 3 current cereals from the ones stated: 3 marks

Target market, consumer/user identified and characteristics justified: 4 marks

Positioning graph: 1 mark

Brand equity management implications: 1 mark

Gap filler justification: 1 mark

Target market and market segments justified: 2 marks

Name, logo (design, colours, significance, and slogan), packaging, Point of Difference: 3 marks

Recommendations and further steps: 2 marks

References: 1 mark

Total = 20 marks

A more detailed rubric will be avaialble in Moodle.

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. You can choose any two products/brands that you want to work with for both Assessments 2 and 3.

Consider two competing products/brands, for example, Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ versus Google Pixel 4 or Apple iPhone 11; Canon versus Nikon entry-level DSLRs; or Garmin versus Fitbit or Motorola or Samsung Galaxy or Apple smartwatches; Uber versus Ola.

Alternately, you might like to examine new hotels that started in 2019/2020 such as in Perth The Adnate versus the Ritz-Carlton; in the Whitsundays the reopening after repairs due to cyclone damage of Daydream Island versus Intercontinental Hayman Island Resort; in Sydney the Sheraton on the Park versus Novotel Darling Square; in Melbourne Zagame’s House versus Shadow Play by Peppers; in Brisbane Howard Smith Wharves versus the W Hotel Brisbane.

Note: Assessment 2 and Assessment 3 are related so read Assessment 3 before deciding on your product/service. You should check your chosen products/services with your tutor before starting your research.

As an entry-level new product consultant, you need to develop and present the following report to your Marketing Director (your tutor):

1. Using 10 customer reviews for each competing product/brand, list the product features and related feedback based on 2 competing products/brands x 10 reviews = 20 customer reviews. Reviews may be available on various Websites (e.g. productreview.com.au, Facebook, Tripadvisor, Trivago, Amazon, Ebay and so forth).

2. Conduct a thematic data analysis procedure for the 20 customers' reviews (you decide on which themes are important to the customer) and prepare two frequency tables for the themes identified in Q1 for both competing products/brands;

3. Using the themes you have identified and the customers' feedback, prepare two "Importance-Performance frameworks" – one for each product/service. You will need to include the associated tables for each framework based on a five-point rating scale for the two competing products/brands (a Likert scale from 1= very poor to 5 = excellent). Important: please show all working out so that your calculations can be checked.

4. Develop and justify two new product/service concepts for the two competing products/brands based on your analysis.

Use the information gained above to prepare your PowerPoint presentation in a maximum of 15 slides. You will have 10 minutes (maximum) to present your findings in a face-to-face situation either in-class or via Zoom. Please ensure that your presentation includes relevant concepts, theories, tools, and models discussed in the unit. Please upload your PowerPoint slides via the Unit website in Moodle by the deadline.

For distance or online students: You will present in your Weekly Zoom session timeslot which is Tuesday night from 7 to 7:55PM AEST (Queensland time) at https://cqu.zoom.us/j/5375880343 in Weeks 8 (5^th May, 2020) to 9 (12^th May, 2020).

For face-to-face/metro-campus students: All in-class presentations should be completed between weeks 8 and week 9. Your local campus lecturer/tutor will schedule your presentation time and date. 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.

If academic integrity is suspected to have been breached, your assessment will be forwarded to the 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.

1) Professionalism (2 marks): Demonstrates professional presentation, layout and style, including title slide containing your personal details, an 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.

2) Background (5 marks): Includes the aim of this assessment task, a brief background of the identified and competing brands including current market position analysis, sales and market shares if possible etc.

3) Data Collection Method (secondary sources) (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.

4) Findings (4 x 5 marks = 20 marks):

a) Listed and demonstrated product features based on 20 customer reviews with their sources for two competing products/brands;

b) 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;

c) Prepared two "Importance-Performance frameworks" with its associated tables based on a five-point rating scale and for two competing products/brands showing all working out. Please place the frequency table and I-P framework for each product on the same slide;

d) Formulated two new product/service concepts for two competing brands based on the analyses and justified the two new product/service concepts.

5) Academic quality (3 marks):

a) Provided a brief conclusion of the presentation at the end.

b) Demonstrated breadth and quality of research by using a minimum of 10 relevant academic sources.

c) Correctly used the APA in-text citation and referencing system to cite academic sources.

The full rubric will be available in Moodle.

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

Assessment 3 (report) requires you to consider one of the two new product/service concepts you developed for Assessment 2 and prepare the brand's promotional plan for its first-year entry in the global market. The promotional plan should include:

• 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 2 and develop hypothetical data/figures and construct a BCG portfolio matrix and a product lifecycle curve (PLC), and position against the competing brands. Place your new concept brand, which is about to enter the market, in that BCG matrix and on PLC to demonstrate your intended position and to formulate and analyse relevant strategies.

You need to demonstrate the innovative and effective development of a new product/service concept and brand management strategies.

Where applicable, data related to the BCG matrix, market share (if known), 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 assessment task only”. It is expected that the report will be based on the concepts, theories, tools introduced in this unit and your own research findings. You are encouraged to include recent journal articles, published since 2013, 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 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 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 cite and reference relevant data and information, where applicable. Your examiners expect authentic citations/references using the APA referencing.

Notes for your assessment task

The word limit of this individual report is 2500 words (maximum) between the start of the introduction and the end of conclusion sections. The Executive Summary should be no more than 1 page in length. The assessment must be uploaded as a .doc or .docx file (word file). Use Times New Roman size 12 with a 1.5 line spacing.

If academic integrity is suspected to have been breached, your assessment will be forwarded to the 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.

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, table of contents, tables of figures, use of appropriate numbered headings and subheadings, use and explanations of tables, charts, graphs, English expression and grammar, creativity and, 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 the 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 (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 Assessment 2's findings to provide further support.

Brand promotion (10 marks): Determine the promotional objectives for the first-year entry of the new brand. Prepare a detailed 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, and confirm your arguments.

Academic quality (2 marks): Demonstrated breadth and quality of research by using a minimum of 15 relevant academic sources. Correctly used the APA in-text citation and referencing system to cite academic sources. Provide a conclusion of the report at the end.