Assessment Type: Individual report submission in either
Word of PDF (PDF is preferred)
Weighting: 40%
Submission Length: 10 pages
Overview: The final assessment task will present you with a brief marketing research scenario. You will be required to critique the planned research in the scenario and make recommendations on how the research should proceed. This is a summative piece of assessment that brings together your learning in the course over the teaching period. You are expected to complete this task individually without conferring with others.
MKTG1395 Marketing Research Consultancy Report Assignment-RMIT University Australia.
Learning Outcomes:
This assessment is related to the following Course Learning Outcomes:
1.Critique and propose how marketing research can be conducted and managed by both clients and suppliers for optimum results for stake holders.
2.Critically analyse the advantages and disadvantages of different types of research designs, data collection, and sampling methods.
3.Design a marketing research plan that will achieve the research objectives of the organisation.
4.Assess the overall quality of a marketing research project and its usefulness in the marketing decision making process
Assessment details:
This assessment is worth 40 marks in total and is focused on a case scenario which needs to be responded to as detailed. You will be required to respond to a series of questions and concerns of the client by critiquing some their current research plan and make a series of recommendations on how to improve and extend the research study. Your response should explore the theory underpinning the questions and should show how the theory has been applied.
The aim of this assessment is the simulate a consultant (i.e., you!) who is providing professional advice to their client, just as you did in Assessment 1. However, in this assessment rather than just critiquing a completed marketing research project you will be evaluating research plans and making recommendations on how to design a marketing research plan that will achieve the research objectives of the client in the scenario.
The case will generally feature a real-life research study and scenario but may be disguised using a hypothetical company to protect the client. Since the brand/company is not the focus of the assessment (the research is), you don’t need to search for information related to brand/company from outside sources.
It is important that you complete the task precisely, with care and consideration of the principles, theories and practices of marketing research. You may be required to make some assumptions in answering the questions and where you do so please be explicit in what you have assumed. These assumptions must be fair and reasonable and reflect the scenario discussed in the brief. They must also be congruent to other questions and your responses.
While the questions are clearly divided to reflect different aspects of the marketing research process and facilitate your answers, you should treat this assessment task holistically. That is, your responses should remain synergistic throughout and you must ensure that recommendations you make in response to one question are taking into consideration when answering all other questions in order to produce a cohesive marketing research plan.
This assessment has a 10-page limit for the body of the report. This 10-page limit does not include a title page, reference list or any appendices. Any excess over 10 pages in the body of the report will not be marked. Figures, images and diagrams are welcome in the body of the report and should be clearly labelled, but remember they are counted in your page limit. Consider how you can effectively use appendices to provide support information that is not crucial. Sub-headings, bullet points where appropriate and similar elements that allow you to remain concise (but clear) are welcome and encouraged. You are welcome to bold, underline, italicize, colour or highlight key points or areas for emphasis. Please number all pages. All referencing must be Harvard-style in-text referencing style.
Please clearly mark which question you are attempting using appropriate and clear subheadings. Please attempt the questions in the order they are presented (there is a logic to this!).
Please note that this final assessment task is to be done individually and without consultation or discussion with others. Any student who is found to have breached this requirement through any form of media or contact will be investigated for academic misconduct. Your instructor will not be providing guidance or advice on how to complete the specific questions and can only provide generic advice on how to approach this type of assessment.
Please ensure you follow the submission process for your work as advised by your instructor.
Scenario:
Your firm has been engaged to conduct a research project for an Australian supermarket. Your client would like to evaluate the ‘Toiletries and health products’ product category to assess the viability of launching a new range of premium private label toothpaste and oral hygiene products.
Your manager and a research assistant, in conjunction with the client, has started to develop the market research project but has now asked you to take control of the day-to-day implementation and leadership of the project. The first task you must complete is a report for the client that addresses
the following questions:
QUESTION 1
Critically evaluate and make recommendations on how to improve the draft questionnaire developed for the research (pages 8-15). Specifically, discuss
a) if the questionnaire will collect the data needed to address the research objectives of Study 1 of the research;
b) the appropriateness of the length, structure, and layout;
c) use of screening and skip questions;
d) phrasing of the questions; and
e) use of different scale levels/types.
QUESTION 2
Given the suggestions you have made to improve the questionnaire in Question 1, what specific data collection (survey) method would you recommend for this survey in Phase 1? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using your recommended method? How do you recommend this is data collection method could be implemented?
QUESTION 3
Considering the specification for the Study 1 research sample given in the research brief (page 7),make a recommendation on the type of sampling method that should be used in Study 1 of this research. Explain the advantages and disadvantages of your recommended method.
QUESTION 4
Explain how you will analyse and report the data collected from your improved version questionnaire developed for Phase 1. In your discussion explain three inferential statistical tests that would be appropriate to address research questions 1 and 2.
QUESTION 5
The client is interested in your recommendations on a research plan for Study 2 of the research program. Specifically, you should:
A.Recommend an appropriate research design and data collection method. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using your recommended method? Describe how the data collection method could be implemented.
B.Recommend an appropriate sampling plan. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using this method?
In your response you should discuss and justify your recommendation using theory, and show how this would address the research questions relevant to Study 2.
MKTG1395 Marketing Research Consultancy Report Assignment-RMIT University Australia.
Market Research Client Brief
Background:
Category management is a retail management process that aims at improving a retailer’s overall performance in a product category through more coordinated buying, merchandising, and pricing of the brands in the category in order to maximise the total performance of that category. Part of the on going category management process is Category Review. Reviews are scheduled at established intervals to evaluate the overall performance of the product category and includes reviewing the brands stocked in the category.
Current Situation
The Toiletries and Health Products category includes non-prescribed pain medications, vitamins, sunscreen, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soaps, deodorants, feminine hygiene products, shampoos and conditioners. Toiletries are generally purchased from supermarkets and grocery stores, and private-label products have increased as a share of toiletry products over recent years. As part of their on going category management and product development strategies, the client is looking to gain a deeper understanding of the Toothpastes and Oral Hygiene product sub-category.
MKTG1395 Marketing Research Consultancy Report Assignment-RMIT University Australia.
Demand for private-label products has been increasing and private-label products now account for between twenty-five and thirty-two per cent of all supermarket sales. However, private-label Toothpaste and Oral Hygiene products has struggled with little success against the category leading brands. Historically, supermarkets have faced difficulties in overcoming consumer’s perceptions that private-label brands are of a lower quality than the national brand equivalent with have a limited range with bland packaging. To counteract this, in many categories supermarkets have introduced a second ‘premium’ private-label brand, focusing on quality and selectivity in order to compete with the national brands while still producing a value-for-money range (the ‘traditional’ private-label brand).
Your client would like to learn more about this product sub-category and the viability of launching premium private-label products into this sub-category. Specifically, the research project should address the following objectives/questions:
1.To understand the consumer segments in the Toothpastes and Oral Hygiene product sub-category.
2.To determine brand preferences and brand associations for the Toothpastes and Oral Hygiene product sub-category by consumer segments.
3.Would consumers purchase premium private-label Toothpastes and Oral Hygiene products?
4.What brand positioning would the premium private-label range need in order to succeed in the Toothpastes and Oral Hygiene product sub-category?
MKTG1395 Marketing Research Consultancy Report Assignment-RMIT University Australia.
Market Research Requirements
The client has requested that your company perform the research in two phases:
Phase 1: A usage and brand preference study for the Toothpastes and Oral Hygiene product sub-category. (Research Objectives 1 & 2)
Phase 2: A qualitative study to evaluate the potential for a range of private-label Toothpastes and Oral Hygiene products. (Research Questions 3 & 4)
The client has also defined a target population and a number of sampling requirements for Phase 1.
They have requested that the sample size should be a minimum 3000 consumers and consist of:
− Consumers aged 18+ years
− Users of toothpastes and oral hygiene products:
o Toothpaste
o Mouthwash and dental floss
The research assistant has developed a draft questionnaire for you to review and provide feedback.The draft questionnaire is provided on pages 8 to 15.
DRAFT QUESTIONNAIRE
DEMOGRAPHICS/SEGMENT IDENTIFIER
Are you:
Which of these best describes the level of education you have achieved?
Which of these best describes your work status?
MKTG1395 Marketing Research Consultancy Report Assignment-RMIT University Australia.
INCOME:
ASK ALL FULL TIME WORKERS: What is your personal annual income before tax?
ASK ALL OTHERS: What is the annual before tax income of the main income earner in your household?
And which of these best describes the type of work you do?
CATEGORY USAGE/SEGMENT IDENTIFIER
CATEGORY USAGE
Q1 a. Thinking now about your oral hygiene routine, which of the following do you do daily?
Q1 b. And which ways have you used in the last 3 months?
ASK Q2 ONLY IF CODED 1 AT Q1a ABOVE, ALL OTHERS SKIP TO Q3
Q2. How often would you use toothpaste each day?
Q3. What time/s of the day would you use toothpaste?
Q4. How often do you purchase the following products?
Q5 a. ASK ALL – Which of the following best describes you in relation to grocery shopping for your household?
Q5 b. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements…?
Q5 c. What would you normally expect to pay for a 100 g pack of toothpaste?
ASK ALL:
Q6. Which one of the following statements best describes your dental care regime:
Q7. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about toothpaste?
BRAND HEALTH – Toothpaste
UNPROMPTED BRAND AWARENESS
Q8. Which brands of toothpaste are you aware of? Write in as many as you can think of…
PROMPTED BRAND AWARENESS
Q9 a. And which of the following brands of toothpaste have you seen before?
BRANDS EVER BOUGHT
Q9 b. Which have you ever bought?
BRANDS BOUGHT IN LAST 3 MONTHS
Q9 c And which have you bought in the last 3 months?
MKTG1395 Marketing Research Consultancy Report Assignment-RMIT University Australia.
BRAND PREFERENCE
Q10 a) How do you feel about the toothpaste brands…please rate each brand on the following:
BRAND ASSOCIATIONS
Q10 b) Please select AS MANY OR AS FEW toothpaste brands you feel are described by each of the following statements?
BRAND HEALTH – Mouthwash
UNPROMPTED BRAND AWARENESS
Q11. Which brands of mouthwash are you aware of? Write in as many as you can think of…
BRANDS BOUGHT IN LAST 3 MONTHS
Q12 c. And which have you bought in the last 3 months?
MKTG1395 Marketing Research Consultancy Report Assignment-RMIT University Australia.
BRAND PREFERENCE
Q13 a) How do you feel about the mouthwash brands…please rate each brand on the following:
BRAND ASSOCIATIONS
Q13 b) Please select AS MANY OR AS FEW mouthwash brands you feel are described by each of the following statements?
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