For the case study Mindful Tourism (fictional company)

• you need to research, as carefully as possible, the situation/business environment that the organization is operating in
• In addition to studying the information given in the case study, you must use at least two academic journal articles to support your discussion.   Academic articles do not have to focus specifically on that type of organization/industry: you could, for example, look at the travel industry in general and refer to articles which might be talking about trends in ‘mindful tourism’.  Changes in travel/ tourism packages available could also be useful.     Some research into specific travel companies who provide such packages might well be relevant, what segments in travel they target, how they position their travel packages, consumer behavior, and especially online developments, digital marketing strategies. You need to read around the topic and identify two (minimum) articles that help build your marketing plan that will increase membership in the UK and internationally.
• Your arguments must be balanced and supported by marketing literature – marketing management, marketing planning, marketing audits, consumer behavior trends, segmentation-targeting-positioning, and services marketing mix.
• You must demonstrate and – specifically – apply your marketing knowledge to your marketing plan
• Your references must reflect a balance between academic and internet sources.   You will, of course, use web sites which relate to your chosen areas of study but be careful that you do not just accept, without question, anything, and everything that you read online!  The fact that it is online does not mean that it is true….and if an organization is talking about itself in their own website, they are going to tell you only what is positive.   A company website may not tell lies, but they may not tell the whole truth and their version of events will certainly be biased!  Remember to view critically everything you read and do not just accept what you read without questioning it.

Structure for your first Assignment

While marking your assignment we will be looking for evidence demonstrating how well you have addressed the marketing plan. The following part explains the structure and key points you should consider in preparing your assignment.

1.       Introduction:  A short introduction outlining what you intend to do in your report.  A brief overview of the case study and industry trends could be included here, with references, but it should be short and to the point, not extensive or overly descriptive.  Section 1 of the Template can be considered here.

·         Main body of your work where key issues are addressed.   Refer to the Marketing Plan Template.   You need to carry out some secondary research on your area of study to understand the company and the environment within which it is operating and having carried out this work you should then be able to produce your:

1-       PESTLE (think about UK and international aspects)

2-      SWOT analysis – and remember that you should complete the PESTLE first, as consideration of this will help you to identify your SWOT.   Competitor analysis could be considered if appropriate, but the focus should be on the external environment, PESTLE and the internal SWOT.

3-       Consider enhancing the points above with more marketing audits frameworks

4-       Discuss market segmentation, what segments to targeting and why, and how to position the offering (STP)

5-      Detail some aspects of Consumer Behavior relating to ‘mindful tourism’

6-      Apply (!) the Marketing Mix (4Ps model or enhance to 7Ps if appropriate), with a particular focus on Promotion/ marketing communication

This part of your discussion may have a number of sub sections. The key criteria here include:

• 1. Research – evidence of systematic research approach, depth of research undertaken; application of conceptual (theoretical/empirical) framework(s).
  2. Analysis – well focused, depth and clarity of argument, organizing and summarizing key and relevant issues stemming from your research, identifying at least two other journal articles, and integrating the discussion. Your understanding will be demonstrated by your ability to provide relevant examples based on the Omani situation.
  3. Scholarly practice – appropriate referencing within the report (citations), employing appropriate International Business vocabulary and the quality of the Reference section. (Harvard style of referencing).
  4. It is essential with the PESTLE and SWOT that you do not present points without evidence or referencing to support them.   Points made without some form of justification are meaningless – they may well be true: that is not the point!  The point is that every point of your discussion should have some form of evidence to support what you are presenting
  5. The SWOT should link clearly to the PESTLE.  It should be apparent to the reader how your SWOT points have been derived via the work you have done on the PESTLE.

·                Conclusion: A clear, concise, and relevant conclusion to the marketing plan. Your conclusion should    contain a summary of the key points that have emerged from the discussion and consideration of the implications.    (Remember: conclusions look back and summarize what you have found out.   Recommendations, which are suggestions for future activity, are NOT to be identified or discussed until Assignment 2

• Presentation: Neat layout, and headings/sub-headings where appropriate. Clarity of expression (appropriate language, grammar, spelling, etc.).     Length of the discussion should be 1,400 words excluding the cover page and reference/bibliography section.    Word-count to be provided at the end of the submission.

Your PESTLE and SWOT matrix should be covered in this assignment as well as the S-T-P and the marketing mix

• Identify, formulate and justify adequately, the constituent elements of your marketing plan and propose acceptable strategic recommendations to take the organization forward.
• Apply an in-depth knowledge of marketing theories to evaluate, to an acceptable level, alternative solutions in solving problems.
• Satisfactorily adapt your strategy, introducing and involving high level activities relating to data collection, analyses, synthesis, and reporting for complex purposes.