4BUS1082 Principles of Marketing

Assignment Template

Brief description of the assignment:

You have been asked to explore and discuss an organisation’s marketing environment and its
marketing responses to that environment. Choose ONE of the brands below and fill out the template
based on your findings:

a) Nike

b) McDonald's

Reminder:

1. Students should answer a total of four questions – the first three questions are mandatory
that you must answer them all, plus one self-picked question out of three options in your
choice.
2. Students should stay focused on the ONE chosen brand when answering all four questions in
this assignment.
3. The word limit of the whole assignment is 1800 words (+/- 10%). You should include the
word count at the end of each question as well as at the end of the assignment.
4. You are highly recommended to revisit the assignment brief in Canvas before working on
this assignment.

Part A: You MUST answer these three compulsory questions.

Question 1. Macro environment (suggested word count 450)

To be successful, organisations must adapt to ongoing trends of the marketing environment which
needs to be monitored by organisations through an effective mechanism (Camilleri, 2018). Produce an
analysis of the macro-environment for Nike or McDonald’s in the UK market. You should choose 3
Major external factors of the macro-environment (PESTLE framework) and discuss how these factors
are going to affect your chosen business, either positively or negatively and justify your answer.

Political Factors Affecting McDonald’s Business

Government policies and activities affect McDonald's macro-environment and the

economy. Government intervention affects food service industry growth, according to
PESTLE. McDonald's political externalities in the fast-food restaurant chain industry are:

 Growing free trade agreements (an opportunity)

 Stricter government dietary and health guidelines (both a threat and an opportunity)
 Shifting public health policies (threat and opportunity)

Economic Factors Important to McDonald’s Corporation

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McDonald's distant or macroenvironment is analysed using the PESTEL framework, which
looks at how economic conditions and trends influence the company. (Beder, 2021) The
restaurant business is vulnerable to economic fluctuations. Following are some of the
economic external elements that have been highlighted by the PESTLE analysis:

 Affluent nations' moderate but steady expansion (an opportunity)

 The Chinese economy's cooling (a threat)
 The rapid expansion of developing nations (opportunity)

Social/Sociocultural Factors Influencing McDonald’s Business Environment

The PESTEL analysis's socioeconomic conditions affect McDonald's business. Social

trends impact consumer behaviour and the restaurant company's macro-environment and
revenue. McDonald's Corporation's PESTLE analysis considers the following sociocultural
externalities:

 Rising disposable incomes,

 Busy metropolitan lifestyles,
 Cultural variety
 Healthy lifestyles are all opportunities.

Technological Factors in McDonald’s Business

Technology and related trends affect McDonald's business's remote or macro-environment.

This external analysis example requires business adaption to maximise technological trends
and restaurant chain resources. (Beverland, 2010) This PESTLE analysis examines
McDonald's technical externalities:

 Moderate industry R&D,

 Business automation,
 Mobile sales are opportunities (opportunity)

Ecological/Environmental Factors

Trends in McDonald's faraway or macro-environment are affected by the natural

environment factors considered in the PESTEL analysis. This company research looks into
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the effects environmental movements have on businesses and consumers, especially in the
food and drink sector. (Brady, 2022) The following ecological external elements are
highlighted in the PESTLE analysis of McDonald's business environment:

 Because of the increasing ecological and economic impact of sustainable business

practises, as well as the fact that climate change is,
 In some locations,
 A threat, there is a window of opportunity for businesses to take environmental
action (threat)

Legal Factors

Laws and regulations affect McDonald's in this PESTLE analysis. New laws and legal
systems affect the restaurant chain's macroenvironment by imposing new business
requirements. This PESTEL analysis considers McDonald's Corporation's legal
externalities:

 Increasing workplace and school health and animal welfare standards (threats and
opportunities)
 Rising legal minimum pay (threat)

Question 2. Buyer behaviour (suggested word count 450)

There are various factors influencing customers' purchasing process and buying decisions.
Therefore, it is vital for marketers to understand the characteristics affecting consumer
behaviour (Auf et al., 2018). Your chosen brand (Nike or McDonald’s) has launched
sustainable product(s). Explain consumers’ consideration in each step throughout the
buying process of the new sustainable product(s). Research how did the brand interact with
the consumers in each step. Include relevant examples to support your analysis of the
buying process.

Buyer behaviour
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There are two primary actors in a market economy, the buyer and the seller. A market
exchange describes the relationship between the two participants. They discuss the costs
and benefits of various options for satisfying their desires and requirements (Warner 2006).
Salespeople and businesses alike follow predetermined directives and goals. A business
might, for instance, determine that a product is only worth offering if it generates a profit
margin of 10%. (Kincheloe 2011).

However, customers and purchasers also have their own policies and goals that shape their
responses during the transaction. But consumers lack a set of codified guidelines to help
them decide whether or not to purchase a given item. Customers' actions during the
purchasing process can be influenced by their level of ignorance (Brady, 2022).

Because of this "black box," the purchasing process is unpredictable and challenging for
marketers to foresee or comprehend (Kincheloe 2011). Despite the volatility of consumer
preferences, marketers are indispensable to the market and can't be ignored. That's why
there are so many business studies and theories aimed at clarifying and making sense of
consumer behaviour.

Question 3. The target customer (suggested word count 450)

To echo the challenge of meeting and satisfying the needs and wants of each customer,
marketers are increasingly targeting just one or a few segments with customised marketing
programmes (Camilleri, 2018). Based on your secondary research, show evidence of how
your chosen brand (Nike or McDonald’s) segmented the market for their sustainable
product(s). Describe what a typical target customer looks like referencing - demographic,
geographic, psychographic, and behavioural segmentation.

Target customer
McDonald's is popular among people of all ages, from kids to grandparents. Research from
the year 2020 shows that the typical McDonald's customer is a married woman between the
ages of 41 and 56 who is particularly fond of the breakfast options.

McDonald's main clientele are middle-class families living in cities and towns. They are
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loyal customers, averaging 44 trips each year (Cohen, 2017). In 2015, McDonald's
surveyed its customers and discovered that they were becoming more health conscious
regarding fast food selections. So, they've cut back on the amount of salt and oil in their
food and introduced some new, healthier options. The increasing need for more nutritious
menu items is something McDonald's has made a point to highlight.
McDonald's has been around for a long time, and as a result, it has a large and varied client
base all around the world. The best way to learn about McDonald's target age group and
the efficacy of McDonald's advertising is to conduct a segmentation analysis of
McDonald's that takes into consideration demographic, geographic, behavioural, and
psychographic data. The question is, "What are we waiting for?" (Cohen, 2017)
McDonald's aims to attract families with children of varying ages by providing amenities
like playgrounds and Happy Meals for young children, McCafé coffee and breakfast for
parents, and combination meals for large gatherings. McDonald’s target demographic
consists of working adults and students who are drawn to the fast food restaurant by its low
prices and free Wi-Fi. The McDonald's drive-thru was always a popular spot, but it became
very essential when the epidemic hit. In 2020, the typical customer wait time at a drive-
thru was 349 seconds. McDonald's has put in a lot of work to become a better brand in
recent years, as the health consciousness of its main consumer base has been on the rise.
For instance, McDonald's switched from using artificial preservatives in their Chicken
McNuggets in 2016 to utilising butter in their English muffins, biscuits, and bagels in
2015.

Part B: Choose only ONE from A, B or C in question 4.

We have decided to offer students a choice for question 4 so that you can draw upon your
own backgrounds and interests to develop work which you may apply in a context with
which you are familiar.

Question 4. Applications of 7Ps (suggested word count 450)

All the following three questions are related to the 7Ps. You MUST choose JUST ONE to
answer. If you choose more than one question to answer, please be advised that only the
first response will be marked.
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4a). Having just a product today cannot satisfy the customers' needs and wants anymore.
Faced with the dramatic shrinkage of the product life cycle, the increasing demands for
innovation and customization challenge marketers (Danciu, 2013). Please identify how the
sustainable product(s) development fits with ONE of Ansoff’s growth matrix and justify
your answer. Then identify and outline how the brand utilised TWO relevant marketing
mix for your macdoln’s growth strategy to support the business.

McDonald's uses the Ansoff Matrix to strategize on what to sell and where to sell it. The
four possible business approaches are displayed in the Ansoff Matrix. Penetration of the
market, creation of new products, expansion into other markets, and diversification

McDonald's implements three interconnected growth strategies within the framework of

Ansoff's matrix:

1 - Breaking into new markets. The term "market penetration" is used to describe the
practise of selling current products to already established markets. In order to expand, the
fast food business uses an integrated marketing approach. (Dickson, 2021)

2. Development. Create new products to fill existing niches. McDonald's regularly alters
its offerings to reflect customer feedback. New items on the menu include the Hash Brown
McMuffin, Crunchy Double, Land, Air & Sea, and Surf, Turf.
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3. Market growth. Market development involves expanding product marketplaces. Since

Ray Krock bought the firm from Richard and Maurice McDonald, McDonald's has grown
through franchising. This plan resulted in 40,031 McDonald's outlets in 119 countries.

4. Diversity. The riskiest strategy is diversification, or the development of new products

for untapped markets. McDonald's has never directly sold meals to customers, instead
relying only on franchising and company-owned outlets, while also leasing out its locations
to independent business owners. McDonald’s Ansoff Matrix is analysed in the McDonald's
Corporation Report. In this study, we analyse McDonald's using the SWOT, PESTEL,
Porter's Five Forces, Value Chain, and McKinsey 7S models. The report also delves into
the management, strategy, organisational structure, and company culture of McDonald's.
The paper delves at the environmental impact, marketing strategy, and CSR initiatives of
McDonald's. (Dickson, 2021).

Marketing mix

1. Product: Menu changes to suit clients' tastes

2. Price: Customers value the goods.

3. Promotions: TV, radio, movie theatres, online, airports, billboards, newspapers,

and magazines. Children-focused happy lunches Location: cities, malls, airports.

4. Product: McDonalds is universally acknowledged as the best-known brand.

McDonald's advertising is always fresh, funny, and original. Big Macs, French
fries, the Golden Arches, Ronald McDonald, and Happy Meals are globally beloved
because they contain elements that consistently surprise and delight customers.
McDonald's has earned a reliable reputation. Consumers' recall of the McDonald's
icon is strong, according to surveys. Fast service is McDonald's top priority. Kids
grow up to be teenagers and adults, and with that comes a shift in target
demographic from the young to the mature.

4b). In the early 21st century, with the improvements in technology and the way of dual
interaction between customers and technology, there is an increasing number of media
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available for marketers to reach their customers (Winer, 2009). Please research the
PROMOTION of the new sustainable product and/or service. Analyse how the promotion
mix supports the sustainable product launch. Specific examples of the selected promotion
mix should be included to support your argument.

Technology has made marketing more individualised and immersive for consumers and
more integrated and targeted for marketers. Brand-consumer interactions have changed too.
Marketing technology has entered company infrastructure and systems, boosting
procurement and profits.

Creative approach drove 47% of US marketers in 2013. 29% last year. 56% of marketers
will use technology and creativity equally to engage customers in 2022. 30% prefer
technology over creativity.To understand why blockchain and chatbots are gaining
popularity, we can examine what marketers desire from firms. Thus, technology improves
communication rather than transmits.

• Scaled Personalization: Monetate and WBR Research found that 93% of organisations
with advanced personalization strategies increased revenue in 2018.

• Experiential Marketing: Customer loyalty may be quantified and the return on

investment (ROI) can be multiplied by ten with the help of experiential marketing
activities that forge personal connections between customers and brands.

 Honesty and responsibility: In 2017, working media received only 27% of the
US$63.4 billion spent on programmatic by companies. The "tech tax" accounted for
55% of the total loss (12% was due to ad fraud). The marketing team can't implement
cutting-edge tech for a product or brand without input from IT, IR, and legal. The
challenge will be in how marketers make use of their data. A lack of marketing
intelligence that incorporates data insights can render even the most cutting-edge
technologies useless.

 More budget to grow revenue: Even while the total cost is expected to decrease as
economies of scale and competition among service and platform providers increase, the
initial investment in new technology is still a major source of anxiety for marketers. It’s
likely that as marketing budgets expand, more money will be allocated to marketing
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technologies. Spending on advertising in the United States is expected to grow by 24%
between 2018 and 2022, from $220.96 billion to $274.44 billion, with the share of total
spending going to marketing technology remaining stable at 30% throughout that time
period.

The nature of the business and the required degree of implementation determine which tech
area will receive the most funding. While the integration of some technologies into existing
infrastructure is very straightforward, other technologies may require more work. The
amount of money these technologies are expected to make for businesses, however, makes
the expense worthwhile. More digital interactions mean more data sets, which in turn
means more opportunities for businesses to tailor offers, prices, and stock to each
individual client in real time.

4c). With increasingly fierce marketing competition, to achieve competitive differentiation,

a coherent and effective brand positioning strategy becomes significantly important to
position the brand from its competitors (Keller, 2008). Please produce one perceptual map
focusing on ‘Quality’ and ‘Price’ to show the positioning of your chosen brand (Nike or
McDonald’s) and at least FOUR other competitors. First, define each axis of the map
clearly. Then, focus on only ONE direct competitor from above perceptual map and
conduct research on its marketing strategy, explain your chosen brand's positioning on the
map by analysing the key components of the marketing mix when comparing with your
selected competitor.

Marketers utilise perceptual mapping diagrams to visualise customer perceptions. Products,

product lines, brands, and McDonald's are usually compared to their competitors. Some
perceptual maps employ different-sized circles to show sales volume or market share of
competing products.
Comparative Product Map
Despite their multidimensionality, perceptual mappings are usually two-dimensional. In
this perceptual map, consumers rate cars on sportiness/conservative and classy/affordable.
This study's consumers said Porsche automobiles were the sportiest and classiest.
Plymouths were the most practical and traditional. The consumer thought nearby cars were
identical. Consumers compared Buick, Chrysler, and Oldsmobile. They are rivals. A
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corporation considering a new model will look for an uncontested space on the map.
Consumer's Ideal Perception
Many perceptual maps show consumers' preferred points. These points represent consumer
ideals of the two product attributes. This figure depicts consumers' preferred alcohol
product points. Each dot represents a respondent's preferred two-dimensional combination.
Market segments are clusters of ideal points like A. Demand voids are areas without
optimum points.
Combining Competing Products with Ideal Points Maps
McDonald's will hunt for high-density optimum sites to launch a new product. They'll also
want uncontested territories. Put the ideal spots and competitive products on the same map.
This map compares aspirin medications by efficacy and gentleness. Two perfect vectors
appear. This study shows that one section values efficacy over harshness while another
values gentleness over strength.

Total word count: ______

Reference List
Hint:
- Does your reference list align with the Harvard referencing style? You can find help with
this on the CASE website here.
- A good rule of thumb is to have at least 3-4 references per question. The more the better.

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Beverland, M.B. (2010). The Quest for Authenticity in Consumption: Consumers’

Purposive Choice of Authentic Cues to Shape Experienced Outcomes. Journal of
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Brady, A. (2022). How to generate sustainable brand value from responsibility. Journal of
Brand Management, 10(4), pp.279–289. doi:10.1057/palgrave.bm.2540124.

Cohen, B. (2017). Entering Conscious Consumer Markets: Toward a New Generation of

Sustainability Strategies. California Management Review, [online] 59(4), pp.23–48.
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Dickson, P.R. (2021). Person-Situation: Segmentation’s Missing Link. Journal of

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