You are required to undertake this assessment as an individual. Each student will work on the new consumer product 'Stan Australia' that is suitable for review of the effectiveness of its product launch and commercialisation.

You need to identify a close competitor to the new product. Your review needs to be undertaken from the perspective of the company introducing the new product and the company producing the 'old' product (a close competitor of Stan).

In conducting the review, you may examine the product in both the on and off-line environment. It is expected that you will undertake both primary research (which will involve observations of retailing of the product and of consumer consumption behaviour), and secondary research to identify any reviews of the products, or past products in the category, in the media.

Aim: The objective of this assignment is: 

• To enable you to understand marketing strategy and the elements of marketing analysis: customer analysis, company analysis and competitor analysis.
• To assist you with evaluating the elements of the marketing mix (product, pricing, promotion, and distribution strategies)
• To enhance your problem solving techniques and decision making skills by learning how to leverage strategic marketing analysis
• To inform tactical marketing mix decisions while allowing you to consider a comprehensive framework to evaluate marketing decisions and to create successful planning initiatives.
• To expand your knowledge in the area of marketing strategy while increasing your awareness of the different strategic and tactical that are available
• To be able to identify and act on sustainable, social and ethical concepts required in planning.

A major and very important requirement is that you strongly link marketing theories and concepts to the issues identified in the organisation. Theory provides the framework from which to look at and understand the assignment question and to provide a perspective for examining the research data. The text and lectures provides the basic theory about marketing and the terms used such as an explanation of the marketing environment. 

Students should aim to start thinking about the marketing theory they have been learning and to begin using that marketing perspective to better understand specific Consumer Products organisations that are operating in the marketplace.