Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing

Management
Individual Integrated Assignment - June 2021
Marketing Environment and Planning (MEP)

Examination /Assignment Registration 22nd May to 11th June

Period

Examination / Assignment Registration 12th June to 14th June

Grace Period

Assignment Submission Period From 26th June till 27th June

GUIDELINES

• Assignment Submission:
▪ You are required to register for examinations / assignments within the above
given period. Assignments will not be accepted if you have not registered for
the exam/assignment.
▪ Assignments should be submitted to LMS within the Assignment Submission
Periods indicated above.
▪ Assignment should be uploaded to LMS – (Learning Management System) as a
PDF format.
▪ Rename the file: Registration No.- Name with Initials -Programme
Ex. 0000012345 A B Perera SCA

▪ Assignments will not be accepted after the late submission period under any
circumstances.
▪ SLIM will issue an acknowledgement upon the submission of your assignment.

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 • Assignment Cover Page:
▪ Cover page format should use the relevant colour
➢ Diploma in Marketing Management - Blue
➢ Higher Diploma in Marketing Management - Yellow
➢ Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management - Green
➢ Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing Management – White

• Assignment checklist/declaration and Assignment Marking Scheme should follow

the cover page.

IMPORTANT NOTES

• If you have not submitted the assignment, your results for the respective module
will appear as “Fail” in the final grading.
• Refer the student deliverables indicated below for specific details about
assignment submissions and presentations.

ASSIGNMENTS WITH PRESENTATIONS

• Presentation dates and times will be published on the website after the submission
of the assignment.
• Presentation time will be 20 min. and additional 10 min. will be given for questions
and answers.
• The presentation should be saved as a PDF document and saved in a Pen Drive
which does not contain any Viruses.
(Only the relevant presentation should be saved in the pen drive)
• Students should bring two copies of the presentation printed one slide per page.

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Assignment Topic – Building a local brand

BACKGROUND

ORGANIC AGRO (PVT) LTD: Entering into the Local Market

Organic Agro (Private) Limited - a 100% Sri Lankan company, cultivates organic fruits and
vegetables in large scale in their own farms in Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Kurunegala, Jaffna,
Nuwara-Eliya, Bandarawela, Hambantota, Matara and Galle districts. They used to export the
production to US and European markets for the last 10 years. Recently, the management has
decided to enter into the local consumer market with a new brand, from the 1st October, 2021
considering the Sri Lankan society’s increasing demand and growing interest towards organically
grown fruits and vegetables.

Business Development Manager: It is you!

You have been recruited as the Business Development Manager – (Sri Lankan Operations), and
have been assigned the whole marketing operation. The Management expects approximately
Rs.100 Mn sales in the first year, and to maintain 70% GP ratio. The marketing and promotional
budget is Rs.50 Mn.
All operational activities and costs - such as outlet rentals, interior decoration, operations (sales,
administration, staffing and training etc.) will be absorbed and handled by the Administration
Department, and the Marketing Department needs only to focus on the marketing operation
(including all promotional activities*) as per the annual sales estimate. ‘Admin and Finance cost’
is Rs.25Mn.
* Promotional Costs
- Newspaper/ Magazine Ad - Concept & Artwork Rs.20,000/-, Insertion Rs.50,000/- (per ad)
- Hoardings – Artwork & Production Rs.100,000/-; Location Rs.50,000/- (per quarter)
- Social Media & Blogs – Design & Posting Rs.40,000/- per month
- PR Promotions - Rs. 600,000 per event (Launch event, Sponsorship, exhibition, media briefing),
- POSM/ Leaflet/ Brochures - Rs. 3,000 (for 1,000 units)

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TASK ONE
Develop a comprehensive Strategic Marketing Plan (SMP) for the new product. Further you are
required to develop a creative strategy (key visuals, video or audio scripts for social media
promotions) along with a promotional strategy.

Guideline note 01

- You need to analyze the situation in detail, and formulate the marketing objectives based on
that.
- Develop the entire SMP to achieve the above objectives for the year 2021/22.
- Your arguments and forecast should be supported by relevant information and you can include
them in the appendix. You may make rational assumptions. (Please mention them, clearly).
- The format provided has to be adhered to. The page length of content stated therein could
change as per the merits of the case.
- The executive summary should be written after completing the SMP, and should describe the
entire SMP in a nutshell.
- Refrain from cutting and pasting information from websites or published reports. Analyze
them, and write in your own words. Make sure to reference your work according to Harvard
Referencing.
1. Executive Summary (Maximum 01 page)

2. Situational Analysis/ Marketing Audit

2.1 Introduction of;

a) Organic Agro (Pvt) Ltd
b) Health-conscious consumers segment in Sri Lanka
c) Market trend for organically grown crops
d) Current market (demand vs. supply) for organically grown crops
e) Opportunities & identified threats
(Maximum 05 pages)

2.2 New Business Concept (Maximum 2 pages)

- What is the offer and purpose (describe it from your customer’s point of view)
- What is the value proposition of new brand
- Profile of the target customers (who are they, what do they need/ Why do they
buy)
- Factors influencing buyer behaviour and buying decision process

2.3 Competitor Analysis (Maximum 02 pages)

- The nature of competition.
- List of competitors and possible new competitors, if any

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 2.4 PESTEEL Analysis (Maximum 02 pages)

2.5 SWOT Analysis (Maximum 01 pages)

3. Sales & Marketing Objectives (Maximum 1 page)

4. Marketing Strategies (Maximum 12 pages)

- Generic Strategies
- Target Marketing Strategies and Marketing Mix Strategies
- Growth Strategies, if any.

5. Action Plans & Budgeting (Maximum 4 pages)

- Sales/ Revenue forecasting
- Action Plan
- Sales & Marketing Budget & Forecasted P & L

6. Monitoring, Evaluation and Control (Maximum 02 pages)

7. Appendix (Relevant data, research questionnaire or any other material that would substantiate
your arguments or information in the assignment)

GENERAL FORMAT TO BE USED

1. The report should be written in the third person format (please do not use word ‘our’ ‘my’ ‘we’
when referring to the company)
2. All pages should be A4 sheets printed on one side
3. Font style: “Times New Roman”, should be “Text justified”
4. Font sizes: The text - 12 pt./ Main headings 14 pt. (Bold)/ Sub headings 12 pt.
5. Margins: Top and bottom 1 inch, on right 1 inch, on left 1.25 inch
6. Beginning of each paragraph, 4 spaces indented
7. Line spacing: 1.5 lines
8. The report should be spiral bound
9. Language should be checked for spelling, grammar and contextual accuracy

(Please read the Program Handbook for general guidelines in writing assignments)

TASK TWO

Present your SMP to the board of directors in order to get the approval (a 20-minute
presentation).

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Guideline Note 02:

-Lecture presentations: The theoretical knowledge and skills required in formulating a SMP
would be imparted through interactive classroom lecture presentations.
- Group Exercise: Active participation of the students will develop their listening, analytical,
presentation and discussion skills.
- Collaborative Learning: Students will be facilitated to draft their marketing plan in
collaboration with their peers within the classroom setting. This will allow students to save time
and complete the marketing plan within the deadlines.

IMPORTANT:

Please refrain from copying-and-pasting information from the Internet or other sources. Add your
reference work according to the Harvard referencing format.

Marks Allocation

Assignment Weightage Final Weightage

Task one- (5000 +/- 10%) 100% 70%

Presentation 100% 30%

Total 100%

Note: Please refer the given assignment marking scheme for the mark’s allocation criteria.

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Presentation Slide Template
Slide 1 Slide 2
Cover Slide (include your Reg. No.) Situation Analysis

Slide 3 Slide 4
Situation Analysis Situation Analysis

Slide 5 Slide 6
Marketing Objective Segmentation/Targeting/ Positioning

Slide 7 Slide 8
Segmentation/Targeting/ Positioning Segmentation/Targeting/ Positioning

Slide 9 Slide 10
Marketing Mix Strategies Marketing Mix Strategies

Slide 11 Slide 12
Marketing Mix Strategies Marketing Mix Strategies

Slide 13 Slide 14
Marketing Mix Strategies Action Plan/ Budgets

Slide 15 Slide 16
Action Plan/ Budgets Evaluation & Controls

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 ASSIGNMENT CHECKLIST & DECLARATION

This document is intended as a guide to check and improve your assignment. Review your
assignment together with the specific guidelines mentioned in the programme handbook and
the assignment marking criteria given in the marking scheme.

You are expected to confirm that your assignment fulfils the below requirements. Please tick
(√) in the cages as necessary.

Student Name

Registration No

Cover page with relevant colour code (Stage 1-Blue/ Stage 2-Yellow /Stage 3-Green)

Assignment checklist, declaration form (This sheet) & lecturer approval for the
assignment

Assignment marking scheme is attached

Table of contents

Body of the assignment

References

Course fee paid in full (coaching/registration/exam and membership)

Exam registration completed

I’m fully aware that any misleading information provided in the above checklist will lead to the
rejection of my assignment.

I, the undersigned, confirm that I have read and understood the statement about plagiarism
which is outlined in the students’ handbook. I confirm that the work that I have submitted
accompanying this report is wholly my own, and that any quotations or sections of text taken
from the published or unpublished work of any other person is duly and fully acknowledged
therein.

Signature: _________________ Date: _________________

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 Assignment Marking Scheme
June 2021

Module Marketing Environment and Planning (MEP)

Student Registration Number

Marks
Criteria
Allocated Awarded
Aligning to the purpose of the assignment 20
Some of the answer addresses to the purpose of the question 1‐5
This has addressed the purpose of the assignment 6‐10
Has addressed the purpose of the assignment coherently 11‐15
This has addressed the purpose of assignment comprehensively 16‐20
Clarity of expression 20
An attempt to organise in a logical manner 1‐5
Satisfactory showing of logical manner and organisation 6‐10
Shows higher level of having carefully and logically organised 11‐15
Shows coherent structure with clearly expressed ideas 16‐20
Using examples/evidences 20
Shows little use of examples 1‐5
Some use of examples. Some evaluation attempted 6‐10
Some use of examples. Well evaluated 11‐15
Shows appropriate examples, fully and reliably evaluated 16‐20
Critical analysis of concepts, theories, conclusions 20
Demonstrates limited evidence of critical analysis 1‐5
Demonstrates some critical analysis of relevant theory 6‐10
Demonstrates application of theory through critical analysis 11‐15
Demonstrates application of critical analysis, well integrated 16‐20
Following assignment guidelines 20
Limited follow‐up of assignment guidelines 1‐5
Some level of follow‐up of assignment guidelines 6‐10
Good display of adherence to assignment guidelines 11‐15
Excellent adherence to assignment guidelines 16‐20

Total
100
Special Remarks

Signature of the Examiner

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COVER PAGE – INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT

REGISTRATION NUMBER:

0 0 0 0 0

MODULE TITLE:

LEVEL:

BUSINESS SCHOOL/ASC:

By submitting this assessment, I confirm that I understand and abide by the examination
rules and regulations of SLIM.

POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MARKETING MANAGEMENT (PGDIP)

SRI LANKA INSTITUTE OF MARKETING (SLIM)

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LECTURER APPROVAL FOR THE ASSIGNMENT

REGISTRATION NUMBER/S:

0 0 0 0 0

MODULE TITLE:

NAME OF THE LECTURER:

APPROVAL

SIGNATURE: ______________________ DATE: ________________________

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