North Campus

Final Exam (Take-Home) Spring - 2021

Subject:Marketing Planning and SubmissionDay/Date:Sat 5th June

ApplicationsInstructor:Dr. Munawar Javed Submission Duration: 3 Hours
Program:BBA Max. Marks: 20

Department of Business Administration

Please follow the instructions carefully:

1. Write your answers in a Word file and upload the file before the due time on Blackboard.

2. Write your name and registration ID on the first page of your Word file.

3. Answer scripts can be uploaded onBlackboard within or before its deadline. Therefore,
do not wait for the last hour to avoid any unforeseen problems.

4. Submission of answer copy(ies) will be considered acceptable through Blackboard only.

Therefore, do not submit your document through email or any other medium.

5. Use 12 pt. font size and Times New Roman font style along with 1-inch page margins.

6. Follow the requirements of the word limit and the marking criteria while writing your
answers.

7. Provide relevant, original and conceptual answers, as this exam aims to test your ability to
examine, explain, modify or develop concepts discussed in class.

8. Do not copy answers from the internet or other sources. The plagiarism of your answers may be
checked through Turnitin.

9. Recheck your answers before the submission on BlackBoard to correct any content or language
related errors.

10. Double check your word file before uploading it on BlackBoard to ensure that you have
uploaded the correct file with your answers.

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 Grading Rubric
Word Limit Concept Relevant example Overall structure
150-250 words Your answer should clearly Connection of this To the point answer that
for each connect with the concepts example with the concepts provides a clear answer in an
question taught during the course, you asked inthe question. understandable
can use the book as reference. manner.

Note: Internet sourced and copy past question from other students will be graded as zero.

Question # 1(Maximum Marks 5)

To create the strong brand positioning, marketers typically focus on brand benefits in
choosing the points-of-parity and points-of-difference that make up their brand
positioning. Brand attributes generally play more of a supporting role by providing
“reasons to believe” or “proof points” as to why a brand can credibly claim it offers
certain benefits. For example, Marketers of Dove soap, will talk about how its
attribute of one-quarter cleansing cream uniquely creates the benefit of softer skin.
Singapore Airlines can boast about its superior customer service because of its
better trained flight attendants and strong service culture. If you are brand manager of
CHANGAN ALSVIN, how you compare and communicate the point of differences
and point of parity with other players in the Pakistan auto market?

Question 2 (Maximum Marks 5)

Watch the following TVC adds and explain which segmentation bases these brands
are Using:
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXaeeqfHNHQ
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHGDN9-oFJE
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7CXE2eERKg
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF4g1RWujSI
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfsyX2qew3s

Question 3 (Maximum marks 5+5=10)

Read the IKEA case study presented below and answer the following questions:
 1. What are some of the things IKEA is doing well to reach consumers in
different markets? What else could it be doing?
 2. IKEA has essentially changed the way people shop for furniture. Discuss the
pros and cons of this strategy, especially as the company plans to continue to
expand in places like Asia and India.

IKEA
IKEA was founded in 1943 by a 17-year-old Swede named Ingvar Kamprad who sold pens, Christmas cards,
and seeds out of a shed on his family’s farm. The name IKEA was derived from Kamprad’s initials (IK) and
the first letters of the Elmtaryd farm and the village of Agunnaryd where he grew up (EA). Over the years, the
company grew into a retail titan in home furnishings and a global cultural phenomenon, inspiring
BusinessWeek to call it a “one-stop sanctuary for coolness” and “the quintessential cult brand.” IKEA inspires
remarkable levels of interest and devotion from its customers. Each year more than 650 million visitors walk
through its stores all over the world. Most need to drive 50 miles round-trip but happily make the effort in

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order to experience IKEA’s unique value proposition: leading-edge design and functional home furnishings at
extremely low prices.

IKEA’s Scandinavian-designed products are well made and appeal to the masses. To stay relevant
andfashionable, the company replaces approximately one third of its product lines each year. Most have
Swedish names, such as HEKTAR lamps, BILLY bookcases, and LACK side tables. Kamprad, who was
dyslexic, believed it was easier to remember product names rather than codes or numbers. Besides featuring
fashionable and good-quality products, IKEA stands out in the industry because of its bargain prices. The
company’s vision is and always has been “to create a better everyday life for the many people.” As Kamprad
said, “People have very thin wallets. We should take care of their interests.” A high percentage of its
customers are college students and families with children.

IKEA continuously seeks out new ways to run its businesses more efficiently and pass those cost savings
on to the customer. In fact, it reduces prices across its products by 1 percent to 3 percent annually. How can it
do so? For starters, IKEA engages the consumer on many levels, including having the customer do all the
shopping, shipping, and assembly. IKEA’s floor plan is designed in a winding, one-way format featuring
different inspirational room settings, so consumers experience the entire store. Next, they can grab a shopping
cart, pay for the items, visit the warehouse, and pick up their purchases in flat boxes. Consumers load the
items in their car, take them home, and completely assemble the products themselves. This strategy makes
storage and transportation easier and cheaper for the store.

IKEA has also implemented several company-wide strategies to keep operational costs low. The company
buys in bulk, controls the supply chain, uses lighter packaging materials, and saves on electricity through solar
panels, low-wattage light bulbs, and energy from its own wind farms in six different countries. Its stores are
located a good distance from most city centers, which helpskeep land costs down and taxes low. When IKEA
develops new products, its designers and product developers start with a low-price tag first and then work
with one of their 1,350 suppliers around the world to develop the product within that price range. Designs are
efficient, and waste is kept to a minimum. Most stores resemble a large box with few windows and doors and
are painted bright yellow and blue—Sweden’s national colors. Many of IKEA’s products are sold uniformly
throughout the world, but the company also caters to local and regional tastes. For example, stores in China
stock specific items for each New Year. During the Chinese Year of the Rooster, IKEA stocked 250,000
plastic placemats with rooster themes, which quickly sold out. When employees realized U.S., shoppers were
buying vases as drinking glasses because they considered IKEA’s regular glasses too small, the company
developed larger glasses for the U.S. market. After IKEA managers visited European and U.S. consumers in
their homes, they learned that Europeans generally hang their clothes, whereas U.S. shoppers prefer to store
them folded. As a result, IKEA designed wardrobes for the U.S. market with deeper drawers.

Showrooms in each country or region vary as well. For example, managers learned that many U.S. consumers
thought IKEA sold only European-size beds. Beds are very important to U.S. consumers, so IKEA quickly
changed its U.S. showrooms to feature king beds and a wide range of styles. After visiting Hispanic
households in California, IKEA added more seating and dining space to its California stores, as well as
brighter color palettes and more picture frames on the showroom walls. In China, IKEA set up its showrooms
in small spaces to accurately reflect the small size of apartments in that country. As the company expands
globally, it is learning that attitudes towards its core DIY (do it yourself) deliveryand assembly business
model vary. In China, for example, consumers do not want to assemble productsthemselves and will pay a
significant amount for home delivery and assembly. As a result, IKEA has added these services, and sales in
Asia have taken off. The company plans to implement the same strategy in India, where DIY is also less
common.

IKEA is known for its quirky marketing campaigns, which help generate excitement and awareness of its
stores and brand. It ran a campaign inviting customers to be the “Ambassador of Kul” (Swedish for “fun”),
but in order to collect the prize, the contestants had to live in an IKEA store for three full days before it
opened, which they happily did. Thousands of people will line up for a chance to win prizes and IKEA
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furniture. In Sweden, IKEA launched a Facebook page for the manager of a new store. Anyone who could tag
his or her name to an IKEA product on the profile page won that item. The promotion generated thousands of
tags. IKEA has evolved into the largest furniture retailer in the world, with approximately 350 stores in 43
countries and revenues topping €27.9 billion, or $36 billion, in 2013. The majority of sales still come from
Europe, but the company has aggressive plans to expand the $11 billion brand further into Asia, India, and the
United States.

Best of Luck

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