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Marketing Communication Strategy(Mktg 541) Question Paper
Marketing Communication Strategy(Mktg 541)
Course:Business Administration
Institution: Kenya Methodist University question papers
Exam Year:2011
TIME : 3 HOURS
INSTRUCTIONS Answer question ONE and THREE other Questions
Question 1
NEW DIRECTIONS PLC
New directions are a high secret fashion chain founded in the late 1950s. After twenty years of slow and generally unspectacular growth, a new managing director, Thomas Oakley, was appointed in 1081. Under his very different and aggressively entrepreneurial management style, the company underwent a decade of explosive growth. Many of the old staff left during this period and a far younger team was recruited. The staff was given considerable operating freedom and high salaries, but was expected to achieve performance levels well above the industry average. By 1988, the company had 400 stores and had become one of the major players in the young (15 – 20), C1/C2 male and female fashion sectors. Its reputation in the city was that of an ambitious, design-oriented company led by an unconventional, abrasive and maverick figure who inspired considerable loyalty among his employees.
At the beginning of 1990, the company was bought out by a large and cash-rich conglomerate whose financial performance over the decade had proved to be consistently strong. Despite this, the group’s senior management was viewed by the city as being generally staid and imaginative. The group overall was viewed as having a strong financial orientation with an emphasis upon systems and control. Strategy at the group level was perceived as being risk-aversive. New Directions managing director and small senior management team quickly found that operating within a group in which they were accountable to the group’s main board constrained their entrepreneurial style and traditional freedom. Not only were they faced with a need to make out a strong written case for anything other than a minor change in strategy but, as they saw it, many restrictions were made on their ability to capitalize upon short-term opportunities. Profits were remitted to the centre, and division’s managing director was then required to bid for sums for capital expenditure on an annual basis.
He also pointed to the research evidence which suggested that buyers wanted better quality, something for which New Directions had never had a particularly strong reputation. Instead, the company had concentrated on developing a strong fashion element at popular prices. While this strategy had undoubtedly been successful, there was now a need to begin the process of making a series of fundamental changes. Oakley also argued for the need for the need for a rethink in the approach to store design. Competition from other retail chains had become ever more aggressive during the early 1990s, and evidence existed to suggest that the buyers were looking for new and more exciting shopping experiences. An essential element in this was the retail concept, something which had taken a significant step forward in the early 1990s in the repositioning and renaming of one of the company’s major competitors. Oakley also pointed out the need to begin looking towards opportunities overseas. “The British market”, he suggested, “offers only limited scope for growth. We need to get into some of the other European markets particularly Spain”. He went on to point out that the Spanish market was growing at a faster rate than any other. Indeed, without telling the main board or getting its agreement, he had already gone ahead with plans to begin selling into one of the largest Spanish chain stores.
Each of these arguments was rejected by the main board on the grounds of cost and perceived risk.
Following Oakley’s resignation, the group appointed as his replacement one of their fast-track corporate finance staff. With little direct retailing experience, he set about reorganizing the company. In doing this, he slashed Oakley’s plans for development. Largely because of this, a significant number of the team who had worked with Oakley and who very largely saw themselves as his protégés left. In most cases, they were snapped up by competitors who had placed considerable value on the training and experience to which they had been exposed. As the recession of the mid-1990s continued to bite, turnover dropped. The new managing director’s almost desperate response was to pursue an aggressive price-cutting policy and to reduce overheads as far as possible. The annual strategic review at the end of 1994 (two years after Oakley’s replacement had taken over) painted a dismal picture. Sales were down, market share was slipping, staffs were demoralized and, as a market research report highlighted, the image of the chain in the 15-25, 25-30 and 30-40 age groups was confused. In short, New Directions was no longer a leader or even a serious player in the young fashion market.
a) Prepare a SWOT analysis of the firm both for the period before the takeover and for the period reached at the end of the case study. Having done that, discuss briefly the implications of situation analysis of the environments to the management of the firm. (15marks)
b) As a marketing communication consultant of the firm, and in light of the findings of the strategic review, what course (s) of action would you recommend to be taken? (5marks)
c) How would Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) strategy be utilized effectively in the organization. (5marks)
Question 2
a) What is Marketing Communication? (2marks)
b) Briefly state the tools of Marketing Communication. (5marks)
c) Discuss the “Golden Rule” that ensure organizations become integrated and stay integrated. (18marks)
Question 3
You have been employed as a marketing manager of a medium sized fast moving consumer good enterprise because you have successfully completed your MBA – Marketing option. The firm products portfolio is quite large. Pick any (hypothetical) brand of your choice and:
a) Discuss the contents of an integrated advertising plan that can help to achieve your objectives. (15marks)
b) Critically discuss the various objectives which advertising should achieve. (10marks)
Question 4
a) Discuss the role of promotion under Extended Problem Solving (EPS) situations. (7marks)
b) Discuss the sales promotion devices that reach the consumers effectively at home. Choose the type of product you use as reference. (8marks)
c) Compare and contrast personal and non-personal communication channels. (10marks)
Question 5
Every Marketing Communicator must be in a position to develop an effective communication strategy. Discuss in details the steps that should be following in developing such a strategy. Use local examples where applicable. (25marks)
Question 6
a) Discuss briefly the evolution of marketing communication with reference to local environment. (5marks)
b) Compare and contrast competitive parity and objective – and – task methods for setting a promotion budget. (10marks)
c) There are different options available t marketers interested in getting their product into the hands of customers. Discuss any two strategies and show their differences. (10marks)
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