2023 Principles of Marketing Portfolio
Principles of Marketing Portofolio
WRITING YOUR ASSIGNMENT, WHICH IS A PORTFOLIO WITH MANY PICTURES AND PRINT SCREENS
3000 WORDS:
• This assignment must be completed individually.
• You must use the Harvard referencing system.
• Your work must indicate the number of words you have used. Written assignments must
not exceed the specified maximum number of words. When a written assignment is marked, the
excessive use of words beyond the word limit is reflected in the academic judgement of the piece of
work which results in a lower mark being awarded for the piece of work
• Assignment submissions are to be made anonymously. Do not write your name anywhere on
your work.
• Where the assignment comprises more than one task, all tasks must be submitted in a single
document.
• You must number all pages.
SUBMITTING YOUR ASSIGNMENT: In order to achieve full marks, you must submit your work before
the deadline. Work that is submitted late – up to five working days after the published submission
deadline – will be accepted and marked. However, the element of the module’s assessment to which
the work contributes will be capped with a maximum mark of 40%.
ASSIGNMENT QUESTION
Chosen company: Waitrose
If you choose any other company you will be graded 0.
Use a portfolio approach (visuals and written commentary) to demonstrate how four of the seven
marketing mix elements the company has used in the UK since 2019 reflect how it divides the
market (Segmentation), who it is seeking to serve (Targeting), and how it wants to be perceived by
the target market segment (Positioning). (40 marks) Take pictures or use screen shots to evidence
your findings. MAKE SURE THAT ANY SCREENSHOTS ARE WITHIN THE LAST THREE YEARS OR YOU
WILL LOSE MARKS. ALSO ENSURE THEY ARE ONLY UK BASED.
• Write about the Segmentation bases the company uses, the parts of the segment they are
Targeting and their probable Positioning.
• Research any four of the marketing mix elements (P’s) that are visible to the public and
consider how they are used to reinforce/ underpin the company’s STP. Choose four that you will
write about and support with visual evidence.
• Submissions that put the P’s in a table were not as strong as others so this format is not
recommended.
• Here are some questions you can ask yourself under each of the marketing mix categorises
and remember to focus on four:
• Promotional Mix and Activity. This will likely be the most visible marketing mix element, and
it is advised you include it in your assessment. Remember this is the only marketing mix tool with its
own sub group. You only need to include the ones you think are most important to the company,
NOT ALL TEN.
o Advertising (where and how do they advertise? what are the messages/ target
audience/positioning/ brand signals etc.)
o Public Relations and Publicity (what are others saying about the company in the mainstream
and industry press and third party media channels? What press releases has the company issued?)
o Events and experiences- (What activities and programmes does the company sponsor? is the
company undertaking any CSR? / are they sponsoring community groups/ events? why do you think
they do this?)
o Personal Selling (How are staff members used to promote the company)
o Direct Marketing (sign up to their newsletters/ mailing lists- what promotions do they send
you?)
o Packaging- How does the company use its packaging to promote itself?
o Mobile Communications How does the company promote itself using mobile devices such as
tablets, phones and laptops- think about ads/ SMS messages.
o Online Communications what online platforms does the company use to engage existing or
potential customers, raise awareness, improve image or generate sales. Look to owned media such
as websites, blog pages, and apps. Do not include social media here as it has its own category.
o Word of Mouth Marketing (Is there evidence of testimonies? What are others saying about
the company? There is some crossover with earned channels from 2.7, above so avoid duplication)
o Social Media Marketing- (How is the company utilising social media? What types of
messaging/ conversations are taking place and how does this reflect/ reinforce positioning and
brand personality?)
o Consider the theories/ models/ strategies that you have been taught- can you see them
being reflected or applied in your findings?
• Product- What are their products? How are they displayed? How is branding used in the
packaging? Is there evidence of the product life cycle or appeal to Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation
segments?
• Place- Where are the products/ services accessed (i.e. online, brick and mortar, via a third
party)? What delivery options do they have? How does this reflect strategy?
• Price – What pricing strategies are they applying? How does this reflect their generic
strategy?
• People- How are staff used in the business? What efforts do they make to create a
community amongst customers?
• Physical evidence- How does the company demonstrate its existence? This is more relevant
to service based companies so bear that in mind. Areas such as logo, website, branding will be key
here.
• Process- How many steps to contact/ purchase/ complaints are there? Is the process more
complex than competitors, or less so?
• Within your findings you should include analysis on how the company has applied business
and marketing strategies, theories and models that you have been taught in this module. (30 marks)
• This is not a separate task so you must include theory in your research findings of each of
the chosen four P’s. Your findings of the four selected P’s must not merely rely on description. To
increase marks you need to include how they reflect taught theory, strategy, and models.
• The best way to do this is to:
a) Describe what you find.
b) Analyse your findings (why have they done this and/ or what is the likely impact?).
c) Link your findings to taught theory/ strategy/ models.
• To conclude your portfolio, identify and/or suggest metrics the company has available to
measure the success of its marketing activities. (20 marks)
• How does/ can the company measure effectiveness? (i.e. company KPI data/ social media
comments, likes, shares).
•
The content of your portfolio must display academic skill and integrity, appropriate to level five
studies. (10 marks)
• Here you need to apply robust referencing, good grammar and good layout.
• This will include labelling images with numbers that are referenced in your written content
(i.e. “Fig. 1 shows X”), creative layout of images, no watermarks on images, Harvard referencing of
images and written content, a good array of reference sources.
You must make reference to taught theories/ models/ strategies throughout your work
See above and remember to:
a) Describe what you find
b) Analyse your findings (why have they done this and/ or what is the likely impact?)
c) Link your findings to taught theory/ strategy/ models
ASSESSMENT CRITERIA
• Knowledge of relevant literature that would permit an understanding of affective marketing
mix solutions. This will take the form of strategies and tactical plans that are supported by a sound
information base.
• Depth of research and analysis skills that consistently draw on taught theory, models and
strategy.
• The ability to identify creative marketing skills and knowledge in a practical and applied
situation. The work should demonstrate intellectual originality and imagination.
• Academic skills appropriate to level five studies. This will include grammar, layout and
referencing.
READING REQUIREMENT
Your work must be fully supported with references (cited in the Harvard style). You must use all of
the following:
• Kotler, P., Keller, K., Goodman, M., Brady, M., and Hansen, T., 2019. Marketing
Management. 4th European Edition. 4th edition. Harlow: Pearson.
• Chaffey, D., Ellis- Chadwick, F., 2019. Digital Marketing, Strategy, Implementation and
Practice. 7th edition. Harlow: Pearson
• Andrews, J., and Shimp, T., 2017. Advertising, Promotion, and other Aspects of Integrated
Marketing Communications. 10th edition. South West- Cengage Learning.
• At least three other academic sources (e.g. publications/ journals).
Here is a suggestion as to how you can structure your portfolio
- Contents page with word count breakdown.
- Introduction.
Brief company introduction and purpose of the portfolio. - Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning of company X
Which segmentation base/s is used (Demographic/ Geographic/ psychographic/ Behavioural)
Which specific segment are they targeting? Could it be families, females of a certain age group,
Those with a passion for the environment?
What is the company positioning? ( i.e. to provide products/ services at a lower price, better quality,
better customer experience, industry experts etc.)
Include visual evidence to support what you write. - How four of the marketing mix P’s reflect segmentation, targeting and positioning
4.1 First P (i.e. promotion)
4.2 Second P (i.e. Product)
4.3 Third P (i.e. Place)
4.4 Fourth P (i.e. People) - Metrics company X uses to evaluate the effectiveness of its marketing efforts?
Give evidence and make suggestions for the use of of KPI’s/ website and social media analytics/ use
of technology (i.e. sensors which count customers who enter stores, to monitor sales conversions).