The Business School

University of Wollongong

MARK101/213 Principles of Marketing

Market Analysis and Product Development Report
Semester 3: 2021

Assessment Brief

1. Introduction

Marketing is a combination of science and art! YOU need to display both in this major assignment.
The scientific part relates to the analysis of the market, followed by identifying the appropriate
segment to target. After this has been established (from your thorough research and analysis) you
are then able to be artistic, by creating a product that fits the market position you want to achieve.
This would include the design of a product, its attributes and branding, plus factors like the pricing,
promotion and the distribution of the product. The creativity shown in the development of your 4Ps
(Product, Price, Place, Promotion), will need to reinforce the intended position you are trying to
achieve for your product in the mind of the target market.
The subject does not have an exam, this major report will therefore determine if you have achieved
the learning objectives for this subject, or not! If you fail this major assignment you will get a fail
grade (or technical fail grade) for the subject. Please, please, please work hard on this assignment,
as this is a major piece of work that hopefully you can be proud of and add to your portfolio when
you apply for jobs in the future.

Market Analysis and Product Development Report 1

2. Assignment Details

Assignment A major marketing report.

Type

Weighting 40% - You must pass this assignment to pass the subject.

Length Anywhere between 1,500 to 3,500 words for MARK101 students (and 2,000
to 3,500 words for MARK213 students). A professional report which should
be well presented and edited.

Assignment There is no strict structure for this major assignment. However, you need to
format submit a professional report that is easily understood, clear to read and
professional to look at. You can use any package to create as long as you
convert into PDF before submitting.

You are encouraged to use tables, figures and pictures to help communicate
your findings with the audience that would be reading the report. Please look
at the student examples of possible ways to structure your report

Please reference all sources referred to in your report, this is particularly

important in the first part of your report where you are identifying the
dynamics of the market that you are examining. Make sure that there is a
reference list at the back of your assignment and in-text citations . If you do
not understand how to reference correctly please access the numerous
University resources that can help you; for example:
https://uow.libguides.com/refcite/uowharvard

Due date Your draft is due week 12 in your scheduled tutorial. This will be worth 10%
of your mark.
Your final assignment is due on: 08 Jun 2022 (Wednesday in Study Recess
Week 1)

Return date As this is the final and major assignment for this subject, students will not
receive marks or feedback until after the grades have been released for the
subject.

Market Analysis and Product Development Report 2

3. Context – The Australian Coffee Market

The market that you will be examining in this major assignment is

the Australian Coffee Market. You will need to undertake research
to understand the dynamics, the key players, and the broad
consumer behaviour trends of this market.
By the end of your analysis you should clearly know who the
market leaders are, and what the major products are in the
Australian Coffee market. What segments are there within the
Australian Coffee market? It is also critically important to
understand the consumer behaviour of customers in the Australian
coffee market. Who buys which Coffee? And why do they buy those
coffee? This is all part of understanding the consumer behaviour of the customers within this
market.
Searching the Internet, and the databases at the UOW library would be a very good starting point
for your research. It is important that you gather information from a range of sources for the
Australian coffee market and analyse all of these sources to develop a fuller understanding of the
dynamics of that market, and how the customers act within that market.

4. Sections of the Report

There are three key sections in this marketing report. The external
analysis section is worth 25% of your marks. The segmentation, targeting
and positioning section is worth 25% of your marks; and, the product
development section is worth 40% of your marks. The final 10% is the
draft you show your tutor in week 12. Deductions may be given for a lack
or low level of: style, professionalism, editing and referencing.

1. External analysis - 25%:

In this section you will need to collect, by undertaking secondary research, as much
information as you can find about the Australian coffee market. Questions that you are
trying to answer include:
I. The size of the market (for both dollar and item sold).
II. The market share of the key products (both the market share for companies, and for
individual products).
III. The reasons why consumers purchase the products; their underlying motivations.
IV. Key emerging trends in the market.
V. Macro environmental forces that could lead to opportunities or threats in the market.

2. Market segmentation, targeting and positioning - 25%: From your external analysis of
the market, you will need to identify the different segments that exist. In other words,
segment the market in a way that is practical and insightful (remember to include marketing
theory) (also note here that there is no correct answer to how to segment a market; just more
appropriate and relevant answers). Please profile the segments and clearly identify which

Market Analysis and Product Development Report 3

 segment you are targeting and why. Now that you have identified and justified the segment
that you are targeting, write a clear positioning statement that highlights the position you
hope to achieve in this segment, the position you hope to achieve for your product in the
minds of the customers. Creating a position map will help you determine GAPS in the
market.
Before starting this section make sure you understand each of the elements of the diagram
below:

(
Source: Armstrong, et al. 2021, p. 174)

There are three important areas in this section of the assignment:

I. Market segmentation: How is the Australian coffee market segmented? In other
words, what groupings of customers are there? Is there a luxury coffee segment?
Instant Coffee market? (just examples)? You will need to ask yourself who are the
key customers for each of the segments.
II. Targeting: for this assignment you will need to target one of the segments.
Therefore one of the groupings (or segments) that you identified above will be the
one in which you will launch your new product. Please clearly explain why you
selected this particular market segment to target your new product. This should be
informed by your market research.
III. Positioning: Please read the theory on product differentiation and positioning
as this is the part of marketing which is so important and where students
struggle to understand the meaning. Positioning relates to establishing your new
product in the mind of the customer; where it will be pitched against other similar
products within that segment. In other words, how do you want your target market to
think about your product? Please consider using a perceptual positioning map; and
make sure you present a clear positioning statement for your new product.

3. New product development - 40%: NOW, the creative, artistic part of the assignment!
Create your new product (a packet/bag/pod of your coffee) that will achieve the intended
position in the target markets mind. Have separate sections for Product, Price, Place, and
Promotion (the 4Ps). Please be aware that how you design your product, price, place, and
promotion will need to reinforce (in the mind of the target customers) the intended position
you are trying to achieve. You will lose marks if your creative strategies in this section do
not align to the positioning statement you identified in the previous section.

Market Analysis and Product Development Report 4

 I. Product: You need to actually draw (or design) your packaging for your coffee
product. Please include images of this in your assignment. Please consider the brand
name of your product as well. This part of the assignment will only have limited
writing and explanation attached; with more graphical creative design of your
packaging, the coffee itself and the brand name. GET CREATIVE; GET
DESIGNING! (Please note: You will not be marked down if your artistic abilities
are not that high, we are looking for the effort and creativity that you show).
II. Promotion: How are you going to communicate your value proposition to the target
market? In this section you need to design creative communication strategies for
your new product that establishes your intended product positioning in the mind of
the target market. Are you going to have TV commercials, billboards, Internet ads,
and/or a website? You should show examples of graphical mockups/story boards of
these promotional activities. Try to keep a common theme through all your
promotions; in the industry this is called ‘on message’.
III. Place (or distribution): Where is your product going to be sold? It is not just as
easy as saying that you are going to sell it through Coles or Woolworths. Why would
they want to stock your product? What advantage would it be to them to stock the
product? Is there a better, or more appropriate distribution strategy you could use to
sell your coffee? Think LOCAL! Think online distribution. Make sure this part is in
line with your promotional strategies as well.
IV. Price: What will be your recommended retail price for a bag/box of your coffee
beans/pods/mix? As pricing theory tells you, you will need to consider competitors’
prices, your costs, and what your target market is willing to pay. Please explain these
when identifying the price. Please remember that if you are selling through a retail
outlet, you will be selling the product at a lesser price to the retail outlet than the
recommended retail price. Please include both of these prices. A key part of this
section is to create an Excel spreadsheet forecasting sales over five years (by years).
From that you can determine the revenue that will be generated by the sale of your
product. You will need to include an estimate/guestimate of fixed and variable costs
to give you an estimation of the profitability of the venture and the breakeven point.

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5. Grading criteria
The mark you awarded will be determined by how well you achieve in the following areas:
Market analysis 25%
 Thorough research from a number of sources, including books, journals, industry reports
and internet sources.
 Clearly presented market structure, including market share and total market value.
 An outstanding exploration of the topic with excellent integration of a wide range of
material.
 Critical analysis and presentation of the micro and macro environment for the market.
 Display a clear understanding of the market structure, including competitors and market
share.
 Identify important elements of consumer behaviour for the market.

Segmentation and positioning 25%

 Clearly display the various segments within the market identified.
 Describe and prolife each segment.
 Identify the market your product is going to target.
 Justify why you are targeting this market.
 Design a positioning map (perceptual map) for the target market you are examining; and
identify where your new product will be positioned in this target market compared with
the direct competitors.
 Write a Positioning Statement that highlights where your new product will reside in the
target markets mind when compared with direct competitors in the target market.

Product development 40%

 Present a creative new product to the market. However, the creativity of this new
product will need to fit and reinforce the positioning you are trying to achieve in the
target markets mind.
 Design and present the packaging of your new product.
 Design and present the brand name of a new product.
 Clearly describe the new product itself.
 Display a communication strategy that helps reinforce the intended marketing position in
the mind of the target market.
 Justify your pricing for the product, and present a forecast for revenue.
 Identify a coherent distribution strategy for your new product.

Presentation - 10%
 Present a professional report that would be something you would expect to receive from
a consulting company.
 Undertake intensive editing of the report so that it is clear and easy to read, with no
grammatical or spelling errors.
 Undertake referencing throughout this report.

Market Analysis and Product Development Report 6

 Deductions (up to 10%):
 No draft shown in week 12

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