5b.4 Marketing audit report. The task requirements: This assessment requires students to research and examine the marketing mix of a product, or product line, which is

being sold in the Australian market, and present a detailed evaluation of its effectiveness as a response to the Australian target market’s needs and wants.
€¢ You will be allocated a product by the end of week 4. Allocations will be published on Moodle.
In order to present a successful report, you must evaluate the following four topics:
1. The target market in Australia: its composition and segmentation. 2. The marketing mix in Australia: a detailed assessment of each component (the 4Ps).
3. Competitive advantage. How does the firm create a real competitive advantage for the product’s marketing mix? 4. An evaluation of how effectively the marketing mix

offers a solution to the target market’s needs. In order to prepare this section of the report you will need to define the target market clearly in part 1 above. €¢

Note that this is a study of the Australian market. Introduction of extraneous material relating to other markets may result in the loss of marks.
€¢ This work will be done individually. Before you complete your final report you will need to undertake substantial field work, research and preparation. For example,

you will need to visit retail stores to gather pricing information, and you will need to record promotional activities undertaken by the firm such as TV, newspaper and

radio advertising. This may require you to study in public libraries in Canberra if the required information is not available in the UC Library. €¢ Your report must

include, as an appendix, a detailed record of the field work and research that you conducted for the audit, and there must be clear evidence that you have incorporated

that field work and research in the final document. Where there is inadequate, or no local research, the report will automatically fail that component of the marketing

mix section (A.2 below) when marks are allocated. Failure to meet this requirement may result in a significant loss of marks for this assessment item. €¢ The final

report will be no more than 10 pages (excluding Table of Contents and Bibliography). Use Times New Roman font, 11 point, single spacing. (That is, the same as this

Unit Outline uses). If your report exceeds 10 pages, it will not be marked but will be returned for editing to that maximum length before it is marked.
€¢ Note that you are submitting a report, not an essay. The use of headings, sub-headings, graphs, tables and illustrations is encouraged. A report presented as an

essay will receive very low marks for presentation (see below).
To help you prepare the information that is required, the following list sets out the minimum level of research and reporting that is acceptable in your report. You

are always free to add other details.
A.1 The Australian target market. Write a short description of the target market: €¢ Who are the consumers in the target market (described in terms of segmentation

dimensions)? €¢ What are their needs? €¢ Write a detailed market segment profile (textbook p 202) for the customers in your target market. You cannot proceed to the

following sections if you do not do this effectively. You will be asked to report on your target market in the workshop in week 8 .
A.2 The marketing mix.
A.2.1. The product. Report on the following: ? What is the product that you have studied? ? Is it a single product (product item) or a product line? Give details of

all pack sizes, flavours or other different items. ? How does the product meet the needs of the consumers in the target market? Give details: what are all the needs?

Remember that there may be a number of needs that the product meets. ? What type of product are you studying; is it a convenience product, a shopping product, a

specialty product or an unsought product? Why have you chosen that category?
? What are the attributes of the product that are most important to the consumer’s needs? ? Describe the core product, the actual product and the augmented product. ?

Do you think the product has an effective brand? Why? ? Discuss the packaging of the product. ? What marketing functions (if any) does the packaging of this product

deliver? Consider the functions set out in the lecture notes. ? Does the packaging deliver any differentiation? ? What stage of the Product Life Cycle (PLC) is this

product in? Explain your reasons. A.2.2 Promotion Report on the following: ? What forms of impersonal and personal communication does the firm use to promote its

product? Identify all forms of media that are used. You must be explicit in this information. Do not say TV €“ name the TV programmes, and discuss why they have been

chosen by the marketer. Do not say magazines €“ name the magazines. ? Explain why these forms of communication are used. Explain how these forms of communication are

effective in reaching the target market. ? Does the firm use direct or on-line communications? Why: to sell?, to provide information? ? What new media (Facebook,

Twitter etc) does the firm use? Give details and include downloads in your report. ? Describe all the different communication messages such as new product information,

sale information, sponsorships, information about the other 3 Ps of the marketing mix that you have identified. ? Relate promotion to the product’s PLC.
A.2.3 Place (Distribution). Report on the following: ? What is the distribution strategy chosen by the firm? Is there more than one strategy? ? Why do you think this

strategy has been chosen? Explain how the distribution strategy assists in satisfying the needs of consumers in the target market. ? Does the firm distribute the

product using online marketing? (Why, or why not, as the case may be?) ? Use your field research to identify the various retailers used by your firm for the product

you are studying. Ensure that your list of retailers in Canberra is complete. Evaluate the choice of retailers. ? Is this distribution strategy an appropriate one for

the PLC stage of the product?
A.2.4 Price Report on the following: ? What is the firm’s pricing strategy for the product? How does price compare with major competitive products? ? If you are

studying a product that is sold in a number of different sizes (for example litres, or grams) or models based on capacity (for example memory in computers and phones)

or any other form of variation you must discuss the pricing of all the different variations €“ how do the different prices relate to one another. ? If there are

additional parts (such as games for a PS3 or ink cartridges for an inkjet printer), discuss the pricing strategy for both the additional parts and the original

product. How do all these prices relate to each other? ? What pricing tactics (Table 8.3, p 295-297) are used? Relate your answer to your field work. ? Is the pricing

strategy consistent with the PLC stage of the product? Is the price consistent with the company’s strategy for the other 3 Ps?
A.3 Competitive Advantage. This section of your report should be approximately one page in length. Competitive advantage has been defined as an advantage over

competitors gained by offering greater customer value, either by having lower prices or by providing more benefits that justify higher prices by Kotler, P. And G.

Armstrong, 2014, Principles of Marketing. That is, the firm will succeed in achieving a competitive advantage if it offers the consumer a better’ marketing mix. The

consumer decides whether the offer is better than the competitors’ offers. This decision will be based on quality or price. How has the firm differentiated the

marketing mix so that consumers in the target market will perceive it as better’? This is the most important question you must answer €“ remember that there must be

some obvious characteristic in the marketing mix that makes the product better’. If you cannot find one, then there is no reason for a consumer to buy the product.
A.4 Your assessment of the success of the marketing mix as a solution to the target consumers’ needs. This section of your report should be approximately one page in

length. Do you think the firm has been successful in developing a competitively differentiated marketing mix for the consumers in its target market? Does the marketing

mix meet the consumers’ needs? Explain your answer in detail (one page).