MMK101 - Segmentation, Targeting, Differentiation and Positioning Strategy

Tutoring Background: Purpose and Objectives

The focal brand for the MMK101 Marketing Fundamentals Tutoring is Montecoppe. Your task is to develop a marketing plan for Montecoppe’s Parmigiano Reggiano DOP only.  Do not include the other foods that Montecope makes in Italy, only the cheese. The marketing plan is split across Tutoring 1 and Tutoring 2.

Your task:

The Management of Smeg Australia are proposing to enter the Australian market with their Montecoppe Parmigiano Reggiano. You have been approached as a paid marketing consultant to develop a Marketing plan to determine how best to make the entry of the Montecoppe cheese to the Australian market a success.  The first shipment of cheese will arrive in Australia at the start of March 2024.

The assumed audience for the marketing plan is the management of Smeg Australia, therefore it is expected that your marketing plan is written and presented in a professional manner.

1. While this is a live case, under no circumstance are you to contact Smeg or any person or business associated with Smeg or the sale or provision of Montecoppe cheese. Note that the best reports will, only with the students’ permission, be shared with Smeg management. Please state on your report title page if you give permission for your report to be shared with Smeg.

Smeg is wholly family-owned Italian company.  It was started in 1948 in Guastalla, near Reggio Emilia in Italy.  SMEG stands for Smalterie Metalluriche Emiliane Guastalla.  Smeg has become synonymous with stylish appliances and is distributed around the world.  As a hobby, the family purchased the Montecoppe cheese operation several years ago and has been using the outstanding cheese produced as premiums for staff and distributor rewards around the world.  As the news of the cheese spread through the company, one local Australian manager asked if it were possible to start selling the cheese given how popular it is with everyone who has received it.

Selling cheese in Australia requires appropriate governmental approvals and licensing and Smeg does not have these, so they are using an importer in Preston, VIC to handle the importing and distribution of the cheese.  This means that the supply of cheese into the market has an established inlet, therefore there is no need to address importing issues, but instead the focus should be on how best to make Montecoppe cheese a success in the market in Australia given it is available for distribution here.

The focus of the report must be on the best method of succeeding in Australia for the Montecoppe offering.  Your goal will be to first understand the market and then (in assessment 2) write a complete marketing plan for the cheese in Australia.

Tutoring 1 Objectives

1. Analyse the consumer cheese industry in Australia. The purpose is to provide Smeg with an overview of the key industry indicators and relevant macro/micro factors which will play a role in assisting the Smeg management team in making a more informed decision on the best way of succeeding the Australian
2. Identify a potential target market and develop a consumer persona/profile using relevant segmentation and profiling variables for the Montecoppe brand in the Australian market.
3. Determine the Montecoppe brand’s potential competitive advantage (differentiation) in the Australian market and develop a positioning statement to reflect Montecoppe’s competitive advantage.
4. Graphically depict the differentiation strategy in the Australian market using a positioning/perceptual map. The positioning map format is provided in the Tutoring 1

The textbook provides an overview of the role of a marketing plan and provides a sample case study. This is for insights only as this assessment task addresses specific Deakin graduate learning outcomes and unit content.

Tutoring 1 Specifics: Segmentation, Targeting, Differentiation & Positioning Strategy

Word Limit: Up to 750 words (maximum word limit, no +10% leeway)
Weighting: 20%

Note the word count included in brackets in the following guidelines are a suggestion only. Definitions and direct quotations are NOT required in this Tutoring. Relevant images, tables and graphs are required throughout your discussion to support your narrative. These images must be placed within the discussion, not at the end of the paragraph. This is the norm for business reports. Appendices are NOT required.

To complete this Tutoring, please use the Tutoring template provided and the follow the guidelines below. You should not deviate from the template structure.

1. Background

(25 marks = 5 marks for 1.1. and 20 marks 1.2., 300 words overall for section 1)

• Company Overview - Provide a brief overview of the cheese brand, Montecoppe, and its cheese product
• Industry Analysis - The industry in which Montecoppe will operate is the food industry (called Dairy Products and Alternatives in Passport). Provide an overview (discussion) of the current industry situation - key industry indicators and relevant macro/micro factors and industry trends. Key industry data and the inclusion of tables, images and/or graphs are mandatory in this section.

2.Consumer Market Segmentation

(15 marks for section 2, table not included in word count) Segmentation - In a segmentation table, provide three (3) appropriate consumer market segments for Montecoppe to consider targeting. You must include all four (4) bases (Demographic, Geographic, Psychographic and Behavioural) and a minimum of two (2) variables within each base (except Geographic where you may include one (1) variable). Key words only should appear in the table e.g., 18–34-year-old. Do not provide a discussion, as this appears in section 3.

3. Target Market and Consumer Profile

(20 marks = 10 marks each for 3.1 and 3.2, approximately 250 words for section 3 – the consumer profile is not included in the word count.

• Target Market – Select ONE consumer market segment from your segmentation table in section 2 which you believe is the most attractive for Montecoppe to target and justify your choice. In your justification, provide a rationale for your choice of segmentation variables and an approximate target market size and demand, supported with evidence from credible references e.g., industry reports, journal articles, population statistics.
• Consumer Profile/Persona – A consumer persona/profile is a semi-fictional customer description of your ideal customer. Based on your findings from sections 2, 3.1 and from your own research e.g., demographics, psychographs, lifestyle, motivations and behaviour, develop a persona for the ideal consumer for Montecoppe. A consumer persona template has been provided.

4. Differentiation and Positioning

(30 marks = 10 marks each for 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, approximately 200 words overall for section 4)

4. • Differentiation Strategy – Using the most appropriate of the five bases of differentiation (product, image, service, people, channel), explain and justify how you would differentiate Montecoppe i.e., what is their potential point of difference (competitive advantage) in the Australian marketplace.
   • Positioning Statement - Provide a positioning statement for Montecoppe.
   • Positioning Map - Depict your differentiation strategies using a perceptual/positioning map diagram which demonstrates Montecoppe potential competitive advantage relative to the competition in the Australian cheese industry and justify your choice.

The positioning map format is provided in the Tutoring 1 template. Please do not use the version from the textbook

Standard of communication in plan

(10 marks - 5 marks for presentation and language and 5 marks for research and supporting evidence from secondary sources)

• Business report format
• Concise, clear and professional business language
• Appropriate use of digital resources – skills that you will have developed from completion of the compulsory Essential Digital Literacy module
• Use of credible and relevant sources (minimum of five different/unique sources, with at least two of these being peer reviewed journal articles)
• You must justify your choice of strategies using secondary sources g., books, magazines, journal articles, webpages. Websites allowing individual contributions should not be used e.g., Wikipedia, marketing.com
• All sources/references taken from a secondary source should be acknowledged using the APA7 style of referencing https://www.deakin.edu.au/ data/assets/pdf_file/0009/2236752/Deakin- guide-to-APA7.pdf