Assessment Task 4: NPD Brand Strategy Business Report (including

Individual Team Reflection)

This is a ‘Be Ready’ Assessment item designed to reflect the research and production of a similar report
students would be required to produce for industry when faced with launching a new product line.
Please note that there are two components to this assessment item:
1. NPD Brand Strategy Business Report (completed as a team of 3) [Worth 35 marks]
2. Individual Team Reflection (completed individual) [5 marks will be deducted from the individual
student’s mark for the NPD Brand Strategy Business Report if not submitted]

1. ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS FOR NPD BRAND STRATEGY BUSINESS REPORT

Description: In Assessment 3, you were a marketing consultant recruited to identify an avenue for a new
brand extension product line for your selected organisation. In that assessment you developed a greater
understanding of the current Australian marketplace for ‘fast food’ items and identified potential opportunities
and threats for brands in this industry to explore in the future. In this assessment (Assessment 4) you are
tasked with working as a team to create a brand strategy for a new menu item product launch.

Scenario: You are the marketing team working for one of the following quick service restaurants (QSR)
companies. This industry is notable for a specific type of restaurant that serves ‘fast food’ cuisine and has
minimal table service. Please note: you can select from Oporto, The Coffee Club, Mad Mex Fresh Mexican
Grill and Noodle Box and you are looking to launch a brand extension via a new menu item product into the
Australian marketplace. The new menu item product you are launching into Australia must be a new product
line for the company – for example, Kellogg’s currently has Baked Twists in its snack product line – so you
could not add to this existing product line but instead need to create a new product line for Australian
consumers. The new product could be currently internationally based or new to the global/Australian market.
[Please note: your new menu item brand extension cannot simply be a new flavour of a popular product. For
instance, KFC introducing a peri-peri flavour to complement its hot and spicy product offering. Students should
discuss any product concerns with their tutor prior to progressing further with the assessment].
Task: As a team of three, you will be required to work together to complete a comprehensive NPD Brand
Strategy Business report for your new menu item product offering that will be entering the Australian
marketplace. Your report should address the following:

a. The marketplace background and key take-aways: Drawing upon the learnings from Assessment 3 –
PESTELE/SWOT analysis, provide a detailed background overview of the Australian ‘fast food’/QSR
marketplace and emphasise the key takeaways that are critical for consideration in respect to the new
brand extension product line. HINT: Make sure you emphasise the market potential for the new menu
item and the key aspects of the PESTELE/SWOT the product will address and help the organisation
to achieve growth in this category.

b. Stakeholders: Identify who are the key stakeholders of the business and what their expectations are
in respect to this new product line launch.

c. Strategy and objectives: What is your business strategy, goals and objectives for the new menu item
product? Consider both the marketing and financial objectives and present SMART objectives.

d. Product description: Describe the new menu item product you are introducing into the Australian
marketplace. Please ensure you are specific with your description. Consider features and benefits,
product attributes/characteristics, the need(s) it fulfils, etc.

e. Competitive environment: Here you will outline the competitive environment of your market. It should
include who your direct and indirect competitors are. What market share do your competitors currently
have and how cluttered is the marketplace? This should be a narrowed focus on the competitive
environment presented in Assessment 3 – i.e. at the product line and not the organisation level.
 f. Target market(s): Explain your market segmentation and targeting approach. Who will you target and
why? How does this current target market view competitive offerings in the market? This section will
define in detail the target market in which you will be marketing your new menu item product towards
and should outline why you believe that this is the right target market for your product (think about how
you will attract, retain and enhance relationships via the product offering). You should also state why
this target market is going to use your product, and show what research has been conducted for you
to form this conclusion… e.g. the consumer decision-making process, insights and research
implications. Do not rely on personal opinions as this will result in marks being deducted.

g. Positioning strategy: Explain and justify what your positioning strategy will be.

h. Pricing strategy: what is your pricing strategy for your new menu item product launch and ongoing
presence in the marketplace? The pricing strategy is where you will describe your key pricing issues.
It is a good idea to state whether you are taking a price penetration or skimming approach. If you think
your key selling point is going to be the price, then explain that here. Be sure to include rough estimates
of profit-margins, manufacturing costs and end consumer prices.

i. Future Directions: Thinking about the longevity of your new product, what future services and/or CRM
opportunities should your brand consider implementing next. Please consider the content of week’s
11 and 12 in coming up with your suggestions.

Presentation layout format of the written report:

• Your written report must be professionally presented and visually appealing. Use of visuals is
mandatory. Be creative. Please no essays – essay formats will attract deductions in marks.

Referencing specifications:
The ECU referencing format must be adhered to and it is necessary to fully reference ALL your research
sources both in-text and end-text. That is, if you look at a book or website and decide to use some of the
information from it then you must cite it as a reference in-text where you use that information AND cite the full
source of the reference in the end-text reference list. If you are unsure about the correct referencing procedure,
then you must seek advice from your lecturer. You can download the ECU Referencing Guide from:
https://www.ecu.edu.au/centres/library-services/how-to-guides/referencing

Writing Style:
• Use formal business English that is clear and easy for the reader to follow.
• Use new vocabulary introduced in the unit.
• Check your work for expression, grammar, spelling, and punctuation before submitting.

WARNING: This assessment will require significant effort to complete it by the team. Do not discount the
amount of time required for meeting, discussing, ‘brainstorming’ as well as the time to write, edit and
proof-read the report. Students are strongly encouraged to commence this assessment item early, from
Week 6 onwards. This assessment must be analytical and not purely descriptive. Thus, you must show
evidence of analysis of the information provided, how it relates to your target market and great depth of thought
throughout. Copying and pasting of material is not acceptable and descriptive work will see a loss of marks.

Selection of Team Members:

On-campus students will select their own team members (three members) in tutorial sessions during week 6
and teams will be finalised by the tutor no later than week 7. Please ensure you attend the tutorial classes
during these weeks. It is the student’s responsibility to form a team, however, the tutor will be there to assist.
Online students can facilitate their team via the Blackboard discussion board forum called Assignment Team
selection [Online]. If required, the lecturer and/or tutor can assist to place you in a team. Please let the lecturer
know if you need their assistance prior to week 7.
Expectations of team members:
All team members are expected to contribute equally. Occasionally, there may be the odd team that has a
member who does not attend class, show up to meetings, fails to meet deadlines and/or does not contribute
to the team’s efforts. Should this be the case with your team, please notify the tutor as soon as possible (no
later than week 10) so this can be promptly resolved. Remember team work means shared effort and shared
rewards. It is vital in business that you learn to work as a team member to ensure suitability in this field.
Should it be needed, there is a Peer Evaluation form available on Blackboard under Assessment 4 to reflect
the contribution of each team member. Only use this form if the contribution to the assessment of each team
member was not equal. Completed forms should be emailed or handed to the lecturer by the end of Week 13.

Roles of the team:

Students will need to determine what role they perform in the assessment with each team consisting of one
Editor and the remaining positions being held by team members. A list of the allocated sections completed by
each student in the team must be attached to your final report via the Appendix when you submit it via Turnitin.
Editor – the editor’s role is to edit and proof-read the report, but it is not to write, nor re-write, sections belonging
to other team members. We strongly recommend getting a draft to the editor one week prior to the due date.
Team member(s) – each team member needs to write their own sections in detail. Everyone is required to
learn and develop the important academic skills of paraphrasing and referencing.

Allocation of marks:
As stated above, effective teams will work together, and contribute equally, whereby shared effort results in
shared rewards, i.e. the final grade. However, should it become clear that all members have not participated
in this outcome, the following marking schema may be adopted at the discretion of the Unit Coordinator.

This assessment is worth 35 marks (35%) and marks will be allocated as follows:
Individual team member’s sections [individual mark] 21 marks (60%)
Entire team report [group mark] 14 marks (40%)
Total 35 marks (100%)
Given this is a team effort, students are expected to work together on sections to ensure consistency and flow.

Assessment instructions:
Students must log into Blackboard and click on the Assessment link on the left-hand side bar and then select
“Assessment 4: NPD Brand Strategy Report” where you will the link to submit your assignment. Before
submission, be sure to study the ‘check it before you submit it’ academic integrity information discussed earlier.

Value: 35% of the unit [3,000 words (+/- 10%)].

Format: 1. MSWord document*

2. Title page with the names and student numbers of all team members.
3. List of team members with the allocated sections they completed, schedule of weekly
catch-ups (appendix).

Due date Friday 27 May at 9pm WST/6:30pm SLST [end of Week 13].
and time:

How to submit: Electronically via Blackboard>Assessment folder > Assessment 4>Turnitin link – no
hardcopies are required.
Emailed reports will not be marked – you MUST submit your report via Turnitin.
Only one member of the team needs to submit the assignment via Turnitin.
 Unit learning This assessment will assess the following unit learning outcomes.
outcomes:
1. Analyse the general business environment including the political, economic, social,
technological, environmental and legal aspects that impact on a business.
2. Explain the steps involved in analysing an existing business's strengths/weaknesses,
opportunities/threats and competitor analysis.
3. Explain the importance of developing business strategies to attract, retain and
enhance customer relationships.
4. Evaluate brands and their relationships with society including the new product/service
development process.

PREPARATION
Before starting this assignment, you should have formed a team of 3 students and completed your team norms
and team contract. You also need to allocate “team roles” to each other which helps allocate the sections of
the report to a team member and that student will then be responsible for its delivery (in consultation with the
other two team members of the team). It is the responsibility of all students in the team to ensure the quality
and flow of the report is consistent. Thus, teams are encouraged to allocate deadlines for each section of the
report and also to meet frequently to discuss the progress of the report. Please don’t leave this assessment
to the last minute; you won’t have time to complete it. Teams must actively work on this assessment
throughout the semester. Please also ensure you do a thorough review of the current product market so you
have a solid understanding of the market, the competitive structure and the consumer needs/wants in this
category. Do not restrict yourself to researching the local market, but consider national/international as well.

RESOURCES
Students should consult the unit resources (e.g. textbook, module materials on Blackboard, etc.) but don’t
restrict yourself to just these resources. In order to do well, students will need to look locally, nationally and
internationally. Students should conduct a thorough review of the product category in the marketplace and look
to existing research findings, reports and statistics to support and justify their decisions in their report.

MARKING CRITERIA

SBL1300 Business Environments and Markets

Assessment 4: Written Report (35 points)
Task - Prepare an NPD Brand strategy report business for your new menu item product offering
that will be entering into the Australian marketplace. 3,000 words
Section Weights (points) Team member
section (team
members are to
insert allocated team
member’s name into
this column)
Formatting - Word-processed Times New Roman 12 0 points – but points will
point, 1.5 spacing, headings and subheadings, be deducted for poor
expression, grammar, spelling, punctuation and a formatting
professional and visually appealing report. MSWord
document submissions only.
Title - you must include a title that should tell the 0 points – but points will
reader what the report is all about. be deducted if it is not
addressed
Executive summary - provide a comprehensive and 2 points
accurate summary of your report [excluded in the
word limit].
 Table/list of contents – include a list of the main 0 points – but points will
sections/headings of the report and include the page be deducted if it is not
numbers on which they appear. addressed
List of tables and illustrations – include a list of 0 points – but points will
any illustrations, graphs, charts, maps and the page be deducted if it is not
number in which they appear. addressed
The marketplace background and key take-aways 6 points
Stakeholders 2 points
Strategy and Objectives 3 points
Product description 4 points
Competitive environment 4 points
Target market(s) 4 points
Positioning strategy 2 points
Pricing strategy 2 points
Future Directions 2 points
Conclusion 2 points
Overall consistency and flow of the report – how 2 points
well each section of the report flows well and does
not reflect an individual’s contribution but rather a
team approach, where there is clear evidence of
team members discussing each section to ensure
consistency throughout the report.
Appendix – schedule of weekly catch-ups including 0 points – but points will
dates, times and method of catch-up from at least be deducted if these items
week 8 onwards (e.g. online, face-to-face meetings, are missing
etc.) and a list of the allocated sections completed by
each team member.
Spelling, grammar and evidence (in-text + end- Be aware that points will
text references) [end-text references are excluded be deducted for poor
in the word limit]. execution
Overall grade N C CR D HD 35 points

PLEASE NOTE: These points reflect the focus and content that should be devoted to each section.
• As a minimum standard, students should follow the above format (there is more detail provided on the
areas via points a – i listed above) when completing their written report.
• Students will be rewarded for including over and above concepts/items (covered in the unit materials
throughout the semester), which they feel would be relevant, or important to consider, when planning and/or
evaluating their campaign.
• Academic integrity is very important and students must understand how to avoid academic misconduct.
There are videos that discuss how to use in-text and end-text references in the Assessment folder.
• The executive summary and in-text/end-text references are excluded from the word limit.

MARKING RUBRIC
Please visit the unit’s Blackboard site for the Marking Rubric for Assessment 4 which is located under
Assessments>Assessment 4: NPD Brand Strategy Report> Marking Rubric.

FEEDBACK
Overall feedback and result for the assessment item will be available via Blackboard>My Grades two weeks
after the due date for submission.
2. INSTRUCTIONS FOR BRAND REPORT (TEAM): INDIVIDUAL REFLECTION

Task: All students are required to complete an Individual Reflection on their team experience for the Brand
Report. This reflection must be completed after the brand report has been submitted and the reflection must
be submitted via Turnitin, no later than Sunday 29 May by 9:00 pm WST/6:30pm SLST. The reflection is to be
completed by each student as an individual piece (not as a team) and should be based on the student’s
experience working in the team for the completion of the brand report.

A copy of the Individual Reflection form is located below and also available under the Assessment 4 link on
Blackboard. Assessments>Assessment 4: NPD Brand Strategy Report> Students must use this form to
complete their Individual Reflection. There is no right or wrong answer for this reflection; instead students
are encouraged to reflect back on their team experience completing the brand strategy report and address the
sections on the individual reflection as accurately and honestly as possible.

Assessment instructions:
Students must log into Blackboard and click on the Assessment link on the left-hand side bar and then select
“Assessment 4: NPD Brand Strategy Report” where you will the link to submit your individual reflection.

Value: 0% of the unit, however, 5 marks will be deducted from the student’s mark for
Assessment 4 if it is not submitted.

Format: MSWord Document.*

Due date Sunday 29 May at 9pm WST/6:30 SLST [end of Week 13].
and time:

How to submit: Electronically via Blackboard>Assessment folder > Assessment 4>Turnitin link – no
hardcopies are required.
Emailed reports will not be marked – you MUST submit your report via Turnitin.
Each student must submit their own individual reflection into Turnitin.

* Note: Select units use CADMUS academic integrity software in addition to Turnitin

SBL1300 Assessment 4 – Brand Report (Team): Individual reflection

Students need to critically reflect on their contribution to their team’s ultimate success or failure re: Assessment 4 – Brand Report.
Try to take an objective view of your role in the team dynamic and what contribution you (and others) made towards the team’s report.
Students should reflect on the teamwork process used in producing the report and their overall impressions of the experience.
Your evaluation will be strictly confidential and must be submitted under the Reflection Turnitin link located under the Assessment 4 –
Brand Report folder. The due date of this reflection is two days after your submission of the Brand Report (Assessment 4).

Question 1: Reflecting back on your teamwork experience, explain whether you felt the teamwork process was what you
thought it would be prior to commencing this assessment? (Be specific here, for instance, you might want to refer to how
you initially felt before participating in the team brand report to how you feel now having completed the team brand report):
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Question 2: What aspects did you most like about working in a team? (Be specific here):
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Question 3: What did you learn from the experience that you can take with you for your next teamwork assignment? (Be
specific here):

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