Classroom Rules
Be on time and be
always prepared for
your class. Bring your
laptop in class.
Keep your mobile
phone switched off
or in a silent mode.
Ask only relevant
questions during
teaching time.
Do not interfere with
the teaching and
learning of your
colleagues.
Be polite and
respectful of the
teacher, yourself,
your classmates and
your institution.
Always do your best.
Foundation Year Project
Week 3 – Day 1: Marketing Mix. Tourism Industry
Analysis. Academic Poster.
Session Overview
By the end of this session students will be able to:
1. Review the concept of Marketing Mix (the Four Ps of
Marketing).
2. Conduct Tourism industry analysis and identify the sources
of information about Tourism industry.
3. Learn about the main requirements for a successful
academic poster.
Assignments
Review
• Using your findings from Assignment One, prepare a poster that
visually presents your business idea.
• Download the template from Moodle.
• Only use this template.
• Feel free to change fonts, colour scheme and the order of subheadings.
• Do not change the size of the slide: it is currently set to the Poster size.
• Use mostly graphic information, bullet points, graphs, tables and maps
on only one slide – to the equivalent of 1,500 words.
• You can use very small fonts and zoom in and out. Everything: graphs,
tables, visuals – to the equivalent of 1,500 words – should fit on one
page.
• Do not use Speaker Notes – posters are supposed to be a one-side
report.
Assignment Two – Business Research
Project – Poster
Template in Moodle
Assignment Two – Business Research
Project – Poster
Some recommendations:
Overview of the Business:
• Briefly outline your business idea. Suggestion: use
bullet points.
Market Trends:
• Bullet points or images of the current market trend that
you think is relevant.
Competitors:
• Use a table to identify your direct and indirect
competitors. Use a map to pinpoint your and their
location.
Suppliers:
• Bullet point or logos/images.
Target clientele:
• Images or key numbers for demographics.
Industry Analysis:
• Use bullet points, images or key figures to describe the
size and the characteristics of your chosen industry.
Assignment Two – Business Research
Project – Poster
Some recommendations:
SWOT analysis:
• Use a 2 by 2 table to identify internal strengths
and weaknesses and external opportunities and
threats.
Marketing Mix:
• Use a table to identify your Four Ps: Product,
Price, Place (Distribution) and Promotion.
Digital Applications/Business software:
• Use logos of the software you are planning to use
for your business: (for example, to create invoices
or to accept payments).
Assignment Two – Business Research
Project – Poster
Some recommendations:
Financial Aspects:
• Present at least one aspect of your choice (even more
if you feel confident). See Assignment Brief for more
details. Use graphs, tables or other visuals to present
numerical information.
Conclusion:
• Use bullet points.
References:
• Use a very small font to put all the references on the
slide. Use at least 10 references. For academic
references only use the recommended reading. For
market information and research: use websites and
statistics. See Assignment Brief for more details.
Marketing Mix (Four
Ps)
• The marketing mix (four P’s
of marketing), refers to the
four key elements of a
marketing strategy:
product, price, place and
promotion.
• Using this simple concept, a
business can maximize its
chances of a product being
recognized and bought by
customers.
(Kotler, 2009)
(Image: Yasar, 2023)
Marketing Mix
Product
• It is the heart of your business,
your starting point.
• What exactly do you sell in
Tourism?
• For example, hotels sell roomnights and experiences. Airlines sell
seats in the aircraft that can take
you form point A to point B.
Concert halls sell tickets to an
entertaining evening with your
friends or families. Tour operators
sell a package of transportation,
experiences and hotel night-stays.
Questions to ask:
The following are some questions to
answer before developing a product for
Tourism Industry:
•What is your product/service mix?
•What does the product do to your
customer?
•Does the product fulfill a need or
provide a unique experience?
•Who are the target customers for the
product?
•What differentiates the product from
the competition?
(Tracy, 2014) (Yasar, 2022)
Price
Questions to ask:
•How much do the competitors charge for
similar products/services?
•What is the affordability and price range of
target consumers? What is their budget?
•What is the lowest price that the product
can sell for? For example, last minute deal?
•What is the highest price that the product
can sell for? For example, when hotels are
full, they can afford to sell their rooms very
expensive. In low season, the same service
is less expensive.
•What price is too high or too low for the
target audience?
• Price is the cost of the
product/service that the
consumer pays.
• It is important to set a price that
reflects the current market trends
and is affordable for consumers,
yet at the same time is profitable
for the business.
• To determine the most profitable
price for a touristic product, it is
important to study the target
audience and what they are
willing to pay for that experience.
(Yasar, 2022)
Promotion
Questions to ask:
•When is the right time to reach the target
audience?
•Which channels or mediums will the target
audience get their information from? For
example: TV, Twitter or Tiktok?
•Which channels are the most cost-effective
and efficient for product promotion? For
example, Tripadvisor or company’s website
to sell hotel rooms.
•Can social media be used? Which ones?
• Promotion refers to reaching the target
audience with the right message at the right
time. It gets the word out and is an effective
way to conduct a sales promotion and
connect with consumers.
• A promotional strategy aims to show
consumers why they would need a certain
product and the reasons for buying it over
other products.
• For a product to be successful, setting the
best price or being a great product offering
is not enough.
• Promotion is the main ingredient in the
marketing mix that can distribute the
product to the masses.
(Adapted from Yasar, 2022)
Place
Questions to ask:
•How and where do customers acquire your
product or service once they have decided to
purchase it?
•Do they get it from you directly, from your
office or store?
•Is it sent by mail or by e-mail?
•How can you make it more convenient and
attractive to your customers, and thereby
increase your business and repeat business?
(Yasar, 2022; Tracy, 2014)
• This is where and how the product or
service is purchased by the customers.
• It also entails where the product is stored
and manufactured.
• Products (hotel rooms, tours and tickets)
can now be purchased online, locally or
globally.
• Changing the place where you sell your
product can dramatically change the volume
of sales that you enjoy and the profitability
that you generate.
• For example, some hotels sell their rooms
using OTA (online travel agencies):
TripAdvisor, Booking.com and others.
• Premier Inn only sells its rooms on their
website.
Tourism Industry
Analysis
Your market consists of the people who
will buy your product or service.
Your industry consists of the other
organizations with whom you compete.
Your business does not operate in a
vacuum; your company is subject to
the same conditions that affect your
overall industry.
For example, if transportation is
grounded because of the pandemic,
there is a good chance that your B&B
business will also experience poor
sales.
Tourism Industry Analysis
(Colwell, 2019; Abrams & Kleiner, 2003)
As you develop your plan, you need
to respond to the industry-wide
factors affecting your own company
performance.
Investors and lenders are
particularly sensitive to issues of
industry health. It is much harder
to raise money to start or expand
businesses in troubled industries.
Even though opportunities exits in
such fields, investors and bankers
are more receptive to businesses in
healthy and expanding industries.
Questions:
• What direction is tourism industry
going?
• What are the major trends that will
influence tourism industry health in the
future as well as in current conditions?
• Is the tourism industry consolidating as
big companies merge into huge
businesses?
• Do you think tourism industry is growing
or declining?
Your business plan must
reassure investors or
bankers that you
understand the tourism
industry factors affecting
your company’s health
and that you have taken
those factors into
consideration when
developing your business
strategy.
Industry Analysis
(Abrams & Kleiner, 2003)
Academic Poster
Typically, a professional poster
involves showing your work to
numerous researchers at a
conference or seminar.
As viewers walk by, your poster
should quickly and efficiently
communicate your research.
Note: you only need to submit
your poster electronically, no
need to present it.
The most important things go
first: The title is top centre, the
key position.
What is Academic Poster
(Image: Kiefer et al., 1999)
Kiefer et al., 1999; PSU; 2005
• Use a column format: the title
usually goes across the top of
the entire poster. The content
should be arranged under it in
columns: 3, 4, or 5 depending
on the width of your poster.
• People expect to read from the
upper left corner down each
successive column till they
reach the lower right corner.
• Your layout should guide the
viewer’s eye.
What is Academic Poster
(PSU, 2005)
• Limit your use of boxes and lines.
The lines stop the views eyes from
scanning smoothly, and it becomes
difficult to scan the entire poster.
• Use white space to create contrast
and create an orderly poster.
• A font should be readable. Use
common serif fonts for body text.
• Serif fonts are easiest to read and
provide quick comprehension: the
small finishing strokes guide the eye
and the variation in stroke width aids
character recognition.
Using Fonts
(PSU, 2005)
• Sans serif fonts work well for titles and
labels because of the clarity and simplicity
of the letter forms. Without the distinctive
serif strokes, however, sans serif fonts can
be difficult and tiring to read.
• Sans serif fonts for headlines and titles can
mix well with serif fonts in the body.
• Try to use no more than three fonts in your
document.
• Combine uppercase and lowercase letters:
in short phrases, all capitals can add
impact. However, if you use all capital
letters, the shape of every word is a
rectangle; reading becomes difficult.
Using Fonts
(PSU, 2005)
• Maintain a colour scheme: two or three
related colours will give your poster a
cohesive look.
• The colours need to go together well enough
that they don’t conflict with your message.
• Colours that have something in common
usually go well together: blue and green have
blue in common.
• Any three neighbouring colours will work
well together. For contrast in small
quantities, the colour directly across the
colour wheel can add impact.
• Keep backgrounds subtle: grays and muted
colours help foreground information
standout.
Choosing and Using Colour
(PSU, 2005)
(Image: DecoArt, 2023)
• Large amounts of red, yellow or
orange can overpower your message.
• Use bright, saturated colours
sparingly.
• Crop or edit images so that the
important information is obvious.
• Give photos short titles or captions.
• Don’t place all of your images on one
side of the poster. Images should be
spread evenly over the surface,
pulling the viewers eyes to all areas.
Choosing and Using Colour
(PSU, 2005)
(Image: Behance, 2023)
• Graphs, charts, and illustrations
are visually appealing: they catch
the reader’s attention, forcefully
explain concepts, and break up
the monotony of the text.
• As you do your research, look for
items that can have a strong
impact if presented in a more
visual form, such as positive
statistics on the growth or size of
market.
Using Visuals
Abrams and Kleiner, 2003
(Image: Sheninger, 2018)
• Photographs can be extremely effective,
especially if a product you produce is
unusual or difficult to understand.
• You can include pictures of your
location, specialized equipment, or
packaging.
• Illustrations help present information
about products or marketing materials
still in development.
• Only use images of good quality.
Photographs and Illustrations
Image: Prodigi, 2020.
Abrams and Kleiner, 2003
• Graphs and charts are excellent
tools for communicating
important or impressive
information.
• For even more impact, produce
and reproduce some of your
charts in colour.
• Bar charts work especially well
when making comparisons.
• Line charts are useful when
demonstrating trends or drawing
comparisons.
Graphs and Charts
Abrams and Kleiner, 2003
Abrams and Kleiner, 2003
Graphs and Charts
• Brian T.(2014) Marketing. New York: AMACOM (Brian Tracy Success Library). Available at:
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=nlebk&AN=686833&site
=eds-live (Accessed: 13 January 2023).
• Yasar, K. (2022) 4 P’s Marketing Mix. Available at:
https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Four-Ps. (Accessed: 13 January 2023).
• Abrams, R.M. and Kleiner, E. (2003) The successful business plan: secrets & strategies. 4th
ed. Palo Alto: The Planning Shop.
• Colwell, K. (2019) Starting a Business QuickStart Guide : The Simplified Beginner’s Guide to Launching
a Successful Small Business, Turning Your Vision Into Reality, and Achieving Your Entrepreneurial
Dream. Albany, NY: ClydeBank Media LLC. Available at:
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=nlebk&AN=2176181&site
=eds-live (Accessed: 15 January 2023).
• Sheninger, E. (2018). A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words. Available at:
https://esheninger.blogspot.com/2018/08/a-picture-is-worth-thousandwords.html?m=1. (Accessed: 15 January 2023).
References
• Kiefer, K., Palmquist, M., Barnes, L., Levine, M. & Zimmerman, D. (1999) Poster Sessions.
Writing@CSU. Colorado State University. Available at:
https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=78. (Accessed: 15 January
2023).
• Pennsylvania State University (2005) Designing Communications for a Poster Fair.
Available at: http://www.personal.psu.edu/drs18/postershow/. (Accessed: 15 January
2023).
References