MARK 202: Consumer Behaviour

T2 2021
Consumer Profile Assignment Instructions

Parts 1 and 2

Purpose:
This assignment is in two parts, Part 1 and Part 2. Both parts help you apply what you have
learned in this course, including ways to acquire knowledge of a consumer’s behaviour and
what to do with that knowledge.

The assignment requires you to create a profile of a consumer segment that would be useful
for a marketing manager. You will apply this profile and knowledge to the successful
marketing of a product/service.

Worth: SEE BELOW PART 1 AND PART 2

Word limit: The maximum word limit for this assignment is:

Part 1 (worth 35%)

2500 words (excluding references and appendices).
Failure to adhere to this limit will result in 5% deducted from the available grade for every
500 words over the limit.

Part 2 (worth 30%)

1500 words (excluding references and appendices).
Failure to adhere to this limit will result in 5% deducted from the available grade for every
500 words over the limit.

Due: Please carefully note these due dates

Part 1
Due: Week 6, Friday, 13 August, 12 noon

Part 2
Due Week 10, Wednesday, 22 September, 12 noon

Parts 1 and 2 must be submitted electronically to Turnitin on Blackboard by the due

date/time.
Late assignments:
Assignments received after the deadline will have 10% deducted from the available grade,
per day. For example, an assignment that is one day late will lose 10% of the available grade
(i.e. a 78% becomes a 68%), two days late 20% (i.e. a 78% becomes 58%), etc. However,
assignments received seven days after the due date will not be marked. Consequently, this
may jeopardise your ability to pass the course.

Extensions: Extensions need to be arranged before the due date/time through the School of
Marketing and International Business. Tutors are unable to provide extensions.

Plagiarism: Any student caught plagiarising may be penalised under the Statute on Student
Conduct, which can be downloaded from the policy website,
http://www.victoria.ac.nz/home/about/policy/students.aspx . You could fail your course or
even be suspended from the University. You are strongly advised to consult the Academic
Integrity and Plagiarism policy website at: www.vuw.ac.nz/home/studying/plagiarism.html.
Your assignments will be submitted to Turnitin so be sure to correctly cite all your
references.

Assignment Parts 1 and 2 Format:

12-point (font size) Times New Roman,

2.5cm margins all sides,
Justified margins
1 ½ line spacing.

Tables and diagrams may be single spaced, 10-point font. Headings and sub-headings may
use different fonts and font size.

Reference list and in-text citations must follow APA guidelines.

Ensure you do a final check to ensure everything is included before you submit your
assignments.

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Assignment Overview
In order to communicate with our consumers, we need to understand them. This assignment
is all about developing an in-depth understanding of a consumer. In doing this you will
develop a profile, or description of a consumer segment which would be useful to a
Marketing Manager. Your profile will be informed by the knowledge you have gained in this
course, by analyzing your interview of another consumer as well as any other secondary
research you might choose to do. From this profile, you will make recommendations for the
marketing mix of your own “new brand” in a chosen product/service category.

For this assignment you need to do the following:

1. Select a Product Category (Good or Service)

Find someone who is willing to participate in a series of interviews. Select a product category
your consumer has recently purchased from. The product may be a consumer good or
service, but you must have used an extended decision-making approach (and this should be
typical of the decision).

2. Conduct the research as detailed in tutorials

Your tutorial guide takes you through a series of tasks you need to complete.
In order to complete these tasks, you will interview your consumer.

and
you are expected to use secondary sources of information, such as articles, information in
textbooks, reports, etc. as appropriate. Be sure to reference secondary sources appropriately.

* NB. In order to prepare both Part 1 and 2 of the assignment, you can work at your own
pace, or work on the assignments in line with your tutorial programme. Attendance at
tutorials is voluntary, however you are strongly advised to attend tutorials and keep up to
date with the tutorial exercises. This will mean that you can write up your assignment as you
go along. If you decide to “go it alone”, you still need to undertake the tutorial exercise tasks
from your Tutorial Workbook and attach them to your assignment submissions.

3. Develop a profile of your consumer segment

Each task, as noted in your tutorial guide, will lead you to a better understanding of your
consumer segment, and you will need to communicate this knowledge in your assignment.
However, do not feel restricted by the tutorial exercises. You may add additional information
which you feel contributes to the profile. Overall, you should be asking yourself questions:
• What do the findings indicate about consumer behaviour?
• What does this contribute to the overall profile?
• How should I best describe this consumer segment?
• What do I need to know to guide my marketing decisions?

4. Consider recommendations for your own brand and product

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 Now, assume that your findings are representative of a large target market segment.
Based on the profile you have developed consider what this would mean to a
Marketing Manager for the product you have chosen. Ask yourself,
• What are the implications of this profile for the marketing mix within
this product category for this particular market segment?
• In other words, if I am to sell my product, brand X, to this market
segment, what should I do related to the product, price, place and
promotion?

5. Structure and Write the Assignment as Part 1 (due Week 6) and Part 2 (due Week
10)
This assignment is to be written in a report format, as if you are submitting this to an
employer ( See the WSBG Business Report Writing Guide on Blackboard).

Keep in mind that the Consumer Report (Part2) (see below) of your assignment
contains the key interpretation and discussion of your consumer segment profile.

There will be Tutorial Discussion Boards for Q & A regarding Parts 1 and 2.

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Part 1 (worth 35%) Consumer Segment Profile
2,500 words (excluding cover sheet, references and appendices).
Failure to adhere to this limit will result in 5% deducted from the available grade for every
500 words over the limit.

Cover Sheet

Introduction (guideline 1 paragraph)

This section introduces the scope of Part 1: Consumer Segment Profile, including an
introduction to the product and your new brand.

Consumer Profile (guideline 5-7 pages)

This is your consumer information, analysis (including tables where appropriate, but do not
repeat tables that are in the Appendices) and explanation for each of the FIVE topic areas
listed below.
You should provide a thorough description of the consumer behaviour of the target segment
your consumer represents. You may use secondary sources of information to supplement
your description. This section is the basis for justifying your recommendations in Part 2.
You should include answers to the following:
- What do the findings indicate about consumer behaviour of this segment?
- What does this contribute to the overall profile?
- How should I best describe this consumer segment?
- How does this information guide my marketing mix recommendations?
In this section, present your findings according to the following topic areas:
• The consumer segment
• The consumer decision-making process
• Perception and the Senses
• Personality and self
• Attitude formation

References (guideline 1 page, 10 references)

These should be only the references you cite in this part of the assignment. It is not a
bibliography.

Use APA (6th ed.) referencing style. Use correct in-text citation.

Information about referencing and APA guidelines are available online or from the library.

Appendices
You must include the data you gathered in each tutorial exercise sheet which you used to
develop Part 1 of the consumer profile.

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The appendices need to be laid out in a clear and professional manner. Start each Appendix
on a new page.

Appendices for Part 1

Topic Details Corresponds to

Tutorial Exercise
Sheet
Mapping the Provide a transcript of the consumer 2i
Consumer interview.
Decision-making
Process
Perception and the Provide the determinant attribute 2ii
Senses tables (functional and symbolic) and
the perceptual maps
Personality and Provide the completed brand 3i
Self personality and consumer personality
questionnaire. Include the personality
congruence analysis
Attitude formation Provide the completed Learn-Feel-Do 3ii
tables: one for the consumer actions
and one for the marketing strategy.

Please check that your assignment

▪ has the components noted above and the cover page (available on Blackboard).
▪ is consistent with formatting requirements noted above
▪ is free from grammatical and spelling errors
▪ is submitted electronically.

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 MARK 202 – T2 2021 – Part 1 Consumer Segment Profile Marking rubric
Excellent
(A-range)
Overall Impression Excellent execution. Introduction identifies
the subject of the assignment. A professional
tone is used throughout. Findings are carried
through from enquiry, to analysis and to
application.
Appendices are clear and professional; they
are comprehensive, informative, and useful.
The appendices support the analysis.
Consumer Profile & Keen and perceptive understanding of the
Analysis consumer and target market. Provides deep
and critical insights. Identifies key issues. The
data is critically analysed, and the discussion
uses a selection of consumer behaviour
theories and concepts, which have been
utilised appropriately. Excellent use of
sources – well researched. All five sections
completed to a very high standard
Grammar, spelling Extremely professional in terms of
& referencing appearance, appropriate presentation of tables,
tables/diagrams are correctly labelled and
easy to interpret, follows format instructions,
uses APA referencing and citation.
Communication: Easy to read, no (or minor)
grammatical errors. No spelling mistakes
(A/A+ range), pitched accurately to the
reader, good structure, and flow.
Overall Grade:
Good to Very Good
(B-range)
Good execution.
The Introduction lacks some
aspects of content or structure.
Appendices: Not as comprehensive
as they could be. Some information
is missing.
Provides some good insights about
the consumer and target market.
Demonstrates good analytical skills,
although more critical analysis was
required in places. Identifies some
key issues, and the discussion uses
some relevant consumer behaviour
theories and concepts. Very good
overall.
Reasonably well presented,
appropriate presentation of data,
graphs/tables are usually labelled,
looks tidy but it is not as polished
as it could be, contains some
referencing errors.
Communication: Easy to read,
contains some grammatical/
spelling errors.
OK
(C-range)
Lacks clarity. At times, some
sections contain irrelevant
information. The information
is incomplete. Appendices:
Lack some structure. Missing
information and do not
support the analysis very
well.
Demonstrates a limited
understanding of the
consumer. The analysis uses
very few consumer
behaviour theories and
concepts; tendency for
incorrect or inappropriate
use. Most sections
adequately analysed.
The report does not look
professional, sometimes
difficult to follow, does not
follow format instructions.
Inappropriate use of tables,
some tables missing etc.
Communication: noticeable
number of spelling mistakes
and grammatical errors, lacks
cohesion.
Not Good Enough to Poor
(D to E-range)
Poorly executed. Executive
summary and introduction missing
information or lacking structure
Unprofessional-looking. It is
missing a lot of information.
D Poor understanding of the
consumer. Limited analysis and
critical assessment.
E Limited to no understanding of
the consumer, poor or
disorganised use of concepts,
largely descriptive with little-no
critical assessment.
Poor presentation.
Communication: many
grammatical errors / spelling
errors, difficult to read, difficult to
follow.
Part 2 (worth 30%) Marketing Mix Recommendations
1,500 words (excluding cover sheet, references and appendices).

Cover sheet

Introduction (guideline 1 paragraph)

Briefly outline the scope of Part 2 of your Consumer Profile Assignment. This should not be
a ‘copy and paste’ of your Introduction to Part 1.

Social and cultural influences on the consumer segment (guideline 1 page)

Discuss your findings from Tutorial Exercise 4. You should include answers to the
following:
- What do the findings indicate about consumer behaviour of this segment?
- What does this contribute to the overall profile?
- How does this information guide my marketing mix recommendations?

Marketing Mix Recommendations (guideline 3 pages)

These are your recommendations for the marketing mix of your new brand. For each element
of the marketing mix, describe what you propose with justification based on your consumer
profile information and consumer behaviour concepts or theories.

References (guideline 1 page, 8-10 references)

These should be only the references you cite in this part of the assignment. It is not a
bibliography.

Use APA (6th ed.) referencing style. Use correct in-text citation

Information about referencing and APA guidelines are available online or from the library.

Appendix:
In the appendix, include the data gathered in Tutorial Exercise 4.

Appendix for Part 2

Topic Details Corresponds to Tutorial

Exercise sheet
Reference group Provide the completed reference 4
group chart for the consumer.

Please check that your assignment

▪ has the components noted above and the cover page (available on Blackboard).
▪ is consistent with formatting requirements noted above
▪ is free from grammatical and spelling errors
▪ is submitted electronically.
Remember
With the necessary revisions to this assignment,

▪ the recommendations in Part 2 must be based on findings from Part 1, and findings
from the single additional section in Part 2.

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 MARK 202 – T2 2021 – Part 2 Marketing Mix Recommendations Marking rubric
Excellent
(A-range)
Overall Impression Excellent execution. Introduction identifies
the subject of the assignment. A professional
tone is used throughout. Findings are carried
through from enquiry, to analysis and to
application.
The appendix supports the analysis.
Social and cultural Perceptive insights of the social and cultural
influences on the influences on the target market. Identifies key
consumer segment issues for the overall profile. The data uses a
relevant consumer behaviour theories and
concepts Excellent use of sources – well
researched.
Marketing Mix This section is logical. Uses the findings for
Recommendations support, Appropriate and consistent
recommendations are identified which are
justified well.
Grammar, spelling Extremely professional in terms of
& referencing appearance, appropriate presentation of tables,
tables/diagrams are correctly labelled and
easy to interpret, follows format instructions,
uses APA referencing and citation.
Communication: Easy to read, no (or minor)
grammatical errors. No spelling mistakes
(A/A+ range), pitched accurately to the
reader, good structure, and flow.
Overall Grade:
Good to Very Good
(B-range)
Good execution.
The Introduction lacks some
aspects of content or structure.
Appendices: Not as
comprehensive as they could be.
Some information is missing.
Provides some good insights
about the consumer and target
market. Good analytical skills, but
more critical analysis required in
places. Identifies some key issues,
and the discussion uses some
relevant consumer behaviour
theories and concepts.
Overall the recommendations are
coherent and consistent with the
target market findings Some
recommendations lack sound
reasoning and justification.
Reasonably well presented,
appropriate presentation of data,
graphs/tables are usually labelled,
looks tidy but it is not as polished
as it could be, contains some
referencing errors.
Communication: Easy to read,
contains some grammatical/
spelling errors.
OK
(C-range)
Lacks clarity. At times, some
sections contain irrelevant
information. The information
is incomplete. Appendices:
Lack some structure. Missing
information and do not
support the analysis very well.
Demonstrates limited
information about the
consumer. Uses few key
concepts; tendency for
incorrect or inappropriate use.
Gaps in understanding. Does
not focus on the most
important findings in
recommendations
Inconsistencies in terms of the
target market, product and
marketing mix.
The report does not look
professional, sometimes
difficult to follow, does not
follow format instructions.
Inappropriate use of tables,
some tables missing etc.
Communication: noticeable
number of spelling mistakes &
grammatical errors
Not Good Enough to Poor
(D to E-range)
Poorly executed. Executive
summary and introduction missing
information or lacking structure
Unprofessional-looking. It is
missing a lot of information.
D Poor understanding of the
consumer. Limited analysis and
critical assessment.
E Limited /no understanding of the
consumer, poor /disorganised use
of concepts, largely descriptive,
little-no critical assessment.
D Poor, many gaps in the
recommendations. The
justifications are weak.
E. Unacceptable,
recommendations do not make
sense in light of the analysis.
Poor presentation.
Communication: many
grammatical errors / spelling
errors, difficult to read, difficult to
follow.