Student Name/ID Number

Unit Number and Title

Unit 2: Marketing Processes and Planning Issue 5

Academic Year

2025-2026

Assignment Title

The Marketing Processes and Planning Assignment

Issue Date

23/02/2026

Submission Date

08/05/2026

Resubmission Date: 15/06/2026

IV Name

Dennis Smith

IV Date: 1st to 5th June 2026

Submission Format

Part A

The assignment submission is in the form:

• a report that covers the explanation required. This should comprise up to 800 words.

Your work must be submitted with research and referenced correctly using the Harvard referencing system (or an alternative referencing system) and should be written using comprehensive holistic writing that summarises and highlights key information and data..

You will also need to provide a bibliography using the Harvard referencing system (or alternative referencing system). Inaccurate use of referencing may lead to issues of plagiarism if not applied correctly.

Part B

The assignment submission is in the form of:

• a briefing paper that can be presented in the format of your choice. The briefing paper must be clear and concise, stating what the problem/issue is, and include a

summary of analysis and recommendations. The recommended word limit is 1000

to 1500 words, although you will not be penalised for going under or exceeding the total word limit.

A briefing paper is a concise document about a specific issue, providing essential information and recommendations for action. It is usual to present relevant facts, background information and potential solutions. The format usually contains a conclusion in which best options/alternatives and recommendations are made.

All your work must be submitted with research and referenced correctly using the Harvard referencing system (or an alternative referencing system). You will also need to provide a bibliography using the Harvard referencing system (or alternative referencing system).

Inaccurate use of referencing may lead to issues of plagiarism if not applied correctly.

Part C

The assignment submission is in the form of:

• a marketing plan that addresses a set brief. This should be written in a structured format, making use of headings and sub-headings and using business language.

A bibliography should be provided using the Harvard referencing system (or an alternative system). Inaccurate use of referencing may lead to issues of plagiarism if not applied correctly.

• a detailed media plan that needs to be fully integrated into the overall marketing plan.

The recommended word limit covering both the marketing and the media plans is up to 1500 words, although you will not be penalised for exceeding the total word limit.

Please ensure that all sources of information are appropriately cited. This includes acknowledging any AI-supported tools (ChatGPT or Grammarly, for example) that contributed to content generation, editing, or research assistance.

Unit Learning Outcomes

LO1 Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other business units of an organisation.

LO2 Compare ways in which organisations use elements of the marketing mix to achieve overall business objectives.

LO3 Produce a marketing plan for an organisation that meets marketing objectives. LO4 Develop a media plan to support a marketing campaign for an organisation.

Transferable skills and competencies developed

• Articulating and effectively explaining information.
• Communication and listening, including the ability to produce clear, structured business communications in a variety of media.
• Able to communicate effectively (verbal, non-verbal, written, digital) and be flexible in communication style.
• Conceptual and critical thinking, analysis, synthesis and evaluation.
• Use market research effectively to deliver marketing outcomes efficiently, for example to analyse data, produce reports, deliver copy.
• Produce a wide range of creative and effective communications and give confident presentations.
• Assimilate and analyse data and information from a range of sources to support marketing activities.
• Ability to analyse and evaluate a range of business data.
• Commercial acumen based on an awareness of the key drivers for business success.
• Able to plan and deliver tactical campaigns against SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-bound) objectives.
• Able to translate business strategy into actionable plans.
• Able to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns by choosing the appropriate digital and offline data sources.
• Be creative, innovative and enterprising when seeking solutions to business needs.
• Understand development of sales and marketing plans, setting targets and monitoring performance.
• Understand operational management approaches and models, including creating plans to deliver objectives and setting key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Able to input into strategic planning and create plans in line with organizational objectives.
• Market research skills for evidence-based decision making.

Vocational scenario

Organisation

Westshire Stores (which is fictitious) opened its first store in England in 1987, with only 15 employees and around 500 products, but has grown considerably since then.

It has expanded rapidly into a supermarket chain. Since 2016, the business has developed an impressive presence in England and Wales and is one of the main ‘good value’ food supermarkets in the UK, with a branch network stretching to 600 stores. The UK holding company reported revenues totalling £3.5 billion and it has an objective of increasing to 900 UK stores by 2026, on revenues of £5.5 billion.

Westshire Stores also opened its online division in the UK in 2019.

It markets its products via social media, and it also has a high profile through TV advertising. It has a very high reputation for excellent customer service and its products are marketed as enabling its customers to be able “to live better and more healthy lives at no extra cost”.

The business has a zero-waste policy, and two-thirds of its products are UK sourced. Its business model centres on offering high-quality continental style products, combined with a no-frills ‘pass-the-savings-onto-the-customer’ approach that includes, among other things, allowing customers to pick products in-store directly from their original delivery cartons.

Role

You are a Junior Marketing Analyst working in the Marketing Department of Westshire Stores. Your role encompasses new product development, from initial research through to test trials with selected existing customers prior to full roll out.

Your duties include:

• gathering information on competitors in order to conduct analysis on their sales, prices

and methods of distribution and marketing to thoroughly learn about the competition

• conducting research on marketing strategies and consumer opinions
• tracking and forecasting trends in sales and marketing, producing reports on the results

for management to inform their decision making

• collecting and analysing data on customer preferences, demographics, buying habits and needs, to better identify market potential and the factors that influence product demand. You report into a Regional Marketing Manager who, in turn, is line managed by the Marketing Director.

One of your key roles as a junior marketing analyst at the supermarket company, Westshire Stores, is to gather information on competitors to conduct analysis on their sales, prices and methods of distribution and marketing to thoroughly learn about the competition. By conducting benchmarking analysis your organisation can identify where changes could be made to improve performance.

The supermarket company is keen to explore new and distinctive market segments where there is potential for rapid growth, and as part of this you are planning the launch of a new ‘luxurious’ line of food products. The marketing challenge is to reach out to existing

and new customer segments, avoid product ‘cannibalisation’ (reducing sales of its other products) and ensure that existing and similar product lines are not consequentially perceived as being of lesser quality.

In your role as a Junior Marketing Analyst at the supermarket chain, Westshire Stores, you have been working hard on preparing the roll out for the new luxurious range of own- branded food products. This product line will be positioned in a distinctive and inviting way that combines luxury, superior taste and value for money. Equally, the product line must sit comfortably with other regular and similar food products.

Marketing and media plans

You need to develop a compelling and creative marketing plan and an effective media plan for the new product line. It must clearly articulate a bold marketing strategy and a relevant media strategy that include tactical actions that are clearly aligned to the overall organisational objectives. You can incorporate your media plan as part of the marketing plan that is aligned to an overall marketing campaign.

Assignment activity and guidance

Part A Report

You have been approached by the British Retail Consortium, which has invited you to be part of a team that is introducing its younger audience to marketing as an exciting career pathway and is preparing materials to be used to inform the audience. As part of the team you have been asked to prepare a written report that explains, discusses and analyses the concept and role of marketing in the 21st century, presenting different career roles and responsibilities and the competencies required to succeed. This is to be contextualised in terms of how the marketing function works and interacts with other departments in the supermarket and how it supports the wider organisational context in terms of vision, mission and purpose. You should provide critical reflection on, and insight into, the internal and external factors that influence your role.

Part B

Benchmarking analysis and the Briefing Paper

You have been asked to carry out a benchmarking analysis that will help inform and create a compelling proposition for the new food line in the minds of customers. You and your manager have been discussing this and have decided that there would be value gained by

critically evaluating marketing mix strategies across different businesses that offer

branded ‘luxury’ products and product lines by comparing the extended marketing mix for

two selected luxury food products/product lines.

These luxury products are usually priced higher than others but have superior features giving them greater appeal to those who can afford them. In terms of food businesses luxury products may be difficult to source, be in high demand, have a superior taste or nutritional value. Sometimes both luxury non-food and food products may last longer and have more appealing packaging and presentation features.

This will provide creative insight into how you develop and launch your product. Your

manager has referred to this as ‘process benchmarking’.

On completion of the benchmarking analysis, you are required to prepare your findings as a briefing paper for the senior management team. The briefing paper evaluates the marketing strategies and tactical approaches adopted by each business and how they contribute to the organisation’s success in meeting its overall business objectives. This will inform conclusions and a set of justified recommendations on what your company can learn and deploy as it plans out its marketing strategy for the new luxury product line.

Part C

In producing the marketing plan, you will need to address the following areas.

• how the strategic marketing plan links with the overall organisational mission, corporate strategy and objectives
  • market research to support the new product line launch
    • clear and SMART marketing objectives
    • a situational analysis, including:

o marketing audit, making use of appropriate analytical tools including SWOT, PESTLE and 5C (company, collaborators, customers, competitors and context/climate) analysis

o a competitor analysis including the market segments and subsegments covered

o articulation of the new product value proposition in the eyes of the customer.

• development of the marketing strategies applied to the extended marketing mix
• setting an overall marketing budget, including allocation of planned spend
• tactical actions, such as identifying appropriate control and monitoring measures to ensure achievement of objectives, including metrics to measure success such as return on investment (ROI) and mechanisms for capturing customer lifetime value (CLV)
  • a comprehensive media plan that supports the planned marketing campaign, including:

o a media budget

o justified recommendations and rationale for selected and integrated multimedia activities within the set budget that meet the marketing objectives

o a choice of appropriate digital, offline and social media channels for communication.

Recommended Resources

Please note that the resources listed are examples for you to use as a starting point in your research – the list is not definitive.

Textbooks

GROUCUTT, J. and HOPKINS, C. (2017) Marketing (Macmillan Business Briefings). 2nd Edition. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

JOBBER, D. and CHADWICK, F. (2023) Principles and Practice of Marketing. 10th Ed. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill.

KOTLER, P. and ARMSTRONG, G. and Balasubramanian, S. (2023) Principles of Marketing.19th Ed London: Pearson.

MCDONALD, M. and WILSON, H. (2016) Marketing Plans: How to Prepare Them, How to Use Them. 8th Ed. Chichester: John Riley and Sons.

Websites

www.cim.co.uk Chartered Institute of Marketing (General reference) www.marketingdonut.co.uk Marketing Donut. Marketing blog. (General reference) www.marketingteacher.com Marketing Teacher. All sections (General reference) www.marketingweek.com Marketing Week New and industry articles (General reference) www.wordstream.com WordStream. How to do a webinar your audience will love (Article) https://blog.hubspot.com

HubSpot “How to develop a successful marketing mix strategy [+ templates]” (Article)

https://blog.hubspot.com

HubSpot “The ultimate guide to marketing strategies & how to improve your digital presence”

(Article) www.liveabout.com

Live About “The elements of a marketing mix and how to use them effectively” (Article)

www.mindtools.com

MindTools “The marketing mix and the 4Ps of marketing: Understanding how to position your market offering” (Article)

www.smartinsights.com

Smart Insights “Marketing strategy vs tactics – why the difference matters” (Article)

www.yourdictionary.com

Your Dictionary “Tips for writing a briefing document” (Article)

https://get2growth.com

Get2Growth “2023 marketing plan example: Starbucks marketing plan” (Article)

https://blog.hubspot.com

HubSpot “Media planning: The ultimate guide” (Article)

www.marketingevolution.com

Marketing Evolution “Media planning: A complete guide for marketers” (Article)

www.marketingweek.com

Marketing Week “Planning for marketing planning: 14 steps to an effective presentation” (Article)

www.teamgantt.com

Team Gannt “Strategic marketing plan template & examples” (Resources)

HN Global

HN Global Reading Lists. Available at: https://hnglobal.highernationals.com/learning-zone/reading-lists HN Global Student Resource Library. Available at: https://hnglobal.highernationals.com/subjects/resource-libraries HN Global Textbooks. Available at: https://hnglobal.highernationals.com/textbooks

Pass

Merit

Distinction

LO1 Explain the role of marketing and how it interrelates with other business units of an organisation.

LO1 D1

Critically analyse the external and internal environment in which the marketing function operates.

P1 Explain the concept of marketing and marketing operations, including the different areas and role of marketing.

P2 Explain how the marketing function relates to the wider organisational context.

M1 Analyse the role of marketing in the context of the marketing environment.

M2 Analyse the significance of interrelationships between marketing and other functional units of an organisation.

Pass

Merit

Distinction

LO2 Compare ways in which organisations use elements of the marketing mix to achieve overall business objectives.

LO2

D2 Evaluate strategies and tactical approaches to the marketing mix in achieving overall business objectives.

P3 Compare the ways in which different organisations apply the marketing mix to the marketing planning process to achieve business objectives.

M3 Review strategies and tactical approaches applied by organisations to demonstrate how business objectives can be achieved successfully.

Pass

Merit

Distinction

LO3 Produce a marketing plan for an organisation that meets marketing objectives.

LO3

P4 Develop a marketing plan that includes key elements of marketing planning for an organisation to achieve marketing objectives.

M4 Produce a detailed tactical marketing plan that integrates the extended marketing mix to achieve marketing objectives.

D3

Produce a strategic marketing plan for an organisation that measures achievement of marketing objectives within key performance metrics.