SAMPLE ANSWER – 02 ARU
Anglia Ruskin UniversityHuman Computer Interaction
Marketing Design and Innovation
MBA Top up / Advanced entry
December 2012
Kindly note that these sample answers have been
developed in lieu of the assessment term mentioned in
the cover page and may not necessarily reflect the
structure that you are required to present in your final
answer. You are advised to use this only for reference
and not as a guideline for structure, content and
presentation.
1
Executive summary
The study aims to explore a critical evaluation of one of the popular mobile handset
‘SamsungGalaxy3’ from the marketing design and innovation perspective. Here it is
important to indicate that marketing designing in terms of 7Ps and bringing innovation by
adding more value added service into the product play a key role in determining the success
of the product and the organization as a whole. The findings also indicate that the Samsung
Galaxy now not only a oral communication device but there are some features that put it into
a unique position for its innovative and stylish design particularly for its multitasking
capacity. On the other hand efficient and proper choose of marketing strategy and distribution
channel made it a global brand while the other especially its main competitors Apple is a
regional brand. Furthermore there are some weak side of its main competitors in term of
‘’call failure’, ‘short battery life’ or ‘weak network connectivity’. But the Samsung brand is
totally free from this kind of problem that is playing a key role in increase the brand appeal.
2
Page No
Table of contents
Front page 5
Executive summary 6
Table of contents 7
1.1 Introduction and background information 8
Task 1
1.2 Rationale of the study 8
1.3 Objective of the study 9
1.4 Discussion and analysis 9
1.5 Significance of marketing design 10
1.6 Significance of innovation 11
1.7 Objective one: Critically assess the value and benefits derived by the customer from the
product Samsung Galaxy S3 12
1.8 Objective two: Critically identify the uniqueness of Samsung Galaxy S3 in term of shape,
colour, design relevance and imagination 13
1.9 Objective three: Critically assess the brand appeal of Samsung Galaxy S3 in relation to
other competitors in the market. 15
1.10 Conclusion 19
Reference and Bibliography
2.1 Reflective essay with respect of learning outcomes of the module Marketing Design and
Innovation 20
Task 2
2.2 Characteristics of product from marketing perspectives 21
2.3 Key characteristics of designing process and the importance of design and innovation in
enhancing competitiveness 21
2.4 Importance of intangible resources 22
3
Task 1
1.1 Introduction and background information: Marketing and designing are two major
interrelated functions performed by every organization to meet their organization objectives
(Pettinger 2007). In one hand marketing can be very difficult if the design fail to meet the
demand of customers, on the other hand if design meet the all demands of customer but
marketing cannot create value for its customer then the organization fall in problem to
achieve organizational objective. Marketing is a continuous process of delivering the value of
product and services to its customer that can meet the customer demands and organizational
goals (Kotler et al. 2007). On the other hand innovation is process of adding more value to
the existing or new products (Jordan 2000). Now it can be concluded that marketing design
and innovation are two major organizational function on which the success of that
organization depends very deeply (Jordan 2000). In the current globalized business
environment the designing the product and choosing appropriate marketing mix put the
organization in a challenging position to win the customer. The mobile telecommunication
sector is one of the very growing sectors in the current corporate environment (Jordan 2000).
The study aims to identify the major benefits and values derived from the Samsung Galaxy
S3 mobile hand set, what are the major characteristics of Samsung Galaxy S3 and its brand
appeal in the present contemporary mobile hand set market.
1.2 Rationale of the study: The According to Portion research till the end of 2012 there
were 6.5 billion mobile customer across the world while annual shipments is increasing 2.15
billion till 2016. It is not too far back when it was assumed that there may not be any
competitors of Nokia which was covering more than 60 percent of total market demand but in
the current smart mobile hand set market their share is very minimum and decreasing day by
day (Ritchie 2012). Here it is mentionable that when the Apple released iPhone in 2007 that
created a new era in the mobile industry and continued to grow in an increasing rate in the
smart mobile phone market which was a completely new product of Apple. But the current
market conditions reveals that in the smart mobile phone market the mobile handset model
Samsung Galaxy S3 produced by Samsung is made the market very competitive and in some
instances it exceeds the success of smart phone leader iPhone of Apple. Therefore one of the
main reason that act as the major reason to select this product is its pleasure ability, usability
and function ability that successfully create competitive advantages over its rival like iPhone,
Blackberry, Nokia and other in the smart phone market.
4
1.3 Objective of the study: The core objectives of the study are

1.4 Discussion and analysis: Marketing is a value adding process for its customer which is
highly depends on the marketing mix of that company. Among the 7ps the ‘product’ is
referred as the first and most important element. So it can be said that the success of a
product for any organization depends on its marketing and design option. There are three
major core characteristics of product in terms of the following. The findings indicates that the
life cycle of mobile handset is very is very limited. So to increase the brand appeal and sales
and image it is very important to innovate the product very continuously to meet the
diversified and consumer expectation towards the product (Ritchie 2012). According to
Doole and Lowe (2008) the brand and product appeal along with the marketing strategy plays
a key role in determining the success of the organization. According to Jordan (2000) there
are three key characterises of a product that can be described in the following ways
 Functionality
 Usability
 pleasure
5
Again the product life cycle which is represented by the following diagram it is evident that
the sales of product fluctuate significantly with the passage of time.
The figure 1reveals that during the introduction stage teh sales increases at a decreasing rate
and sales increase at a increasing rate during the growth stage and sales becomes maximum
during its maturity stage and after that the sales starts to decrease. So it is very important to
design marketing elements (7Ps) and innovate the product especially during the maturity
stage so that the duration can be extended. According to Kotler et al. (2009) each and every
product requires a huge investment for the research and development purpose and time, so
continuous innovation process and design the marketing activities effectively can increase the
range of product life cycle and help the organization to get maximum return of their
investment towards the development of that products and services. Here it is very important
to say that the ‘Samsung Galaxy S3’ mobile handset is electronic consumer product which is
to go through a very competitive business and external environment. So successful marketing
design and continuous innovation process are the key elements behind the success of this
product.
1.5 Significance of marketing design: The marketing design process is a combined aspect of
marketing mix in terms of product, price, place or distribution, promotion, people, physical
and process. So the higher the efficiency of the marketing designing the higher the possibility
of becoming success in the market (Wu et al. 2013).

Sales
Time
Figure 1: General product life cycle
Source: Kotler et al. 2009
6
1.6 Significance of innovation: According to Maslow hierarchy of needs human beings are
very demanding and by nature they fall within a hierarchy of need that can be described in
the following figure.
From the above diagram it is evident that at the primary stage people looks for satisfying their
psychological need and when these needs are satisfied then they look for higher mean safety
need. After that they look for belonging needs and in this way they would like to go higher
level of needs day by day. From this perspective it can be said that once it was enough for the
consumer when they can communicate by the mobile handset with one another through
exchanging their conversation. But the current application and feature of mobile hand set is
far developed from that situation. Now the mobile hand set is not only a device of
conversation (Whale et al. 2012). The mobile handsets are now being used as a complete
solution of communication due to its involvement into the internet connection (Whale et al.
2012). Form the above discussion it can be said that marketing design and innovation play a
key role in determining the success of any product manufacturing company.

Self actualization
needs

Source: Jordan 2000
Figure 2: People’s hierarchy of needs
7
1.7 Objective one: Critically assess the value and benefits derived by the customer from
the product Samsung Galaxy S3
The value and benefits derived by the Samsung Galaxy S3: According to Doole and Lowe
(2010) there are three basic elements of a product from the global perspective that can be
described in the following diagram.
From the above diagram 3 it is evident that there are three key elements of any product these
are follows
Product benefits: The consumer perceives in meeting the demand and gets satisfied by
product performance and image.
Product attributes: The range of elements that are deeply associated with the product
specification, features, packaging and branding
Marketing support
service
Attributes
Benefits
Product benefits and service
Performance
Quality
Size and colour variants
After sales service
Delivery
Figure 3: Three elements of product
Standardisation Adaption
Image Perceived value
Brand name
Design
Features
Packaging
Guarantee Installation
Adaption
Source: Doole and Lowe 2010
8
Marketing support: It is highly associated with the after sales service in term of guarantee,
warrantee.
Now the question is what are the benefits and values derived by the consumer of Samsung
Galaxy S3. According to Whale (2012) the benefits derived from a product is represented by
its features, specification. The major benefits derived from Samsung Galaxy S3 can be
described in different ways. The findings indicates that passing information from one media
to another media, transferring data from one media to another media and storage or capacity,
access to the internet, scheduling and making appointment, keep in touch of personal online
profile and update on the go, video conference, multitasking, update social and professional
status on the go are the key major benefits and values derived by the product Samsung
Galaxy S3.
1.8 Objective two: Critically identify the uniqueness of Samsung Galaxy S3 in term of
shape, colour, design relevance and imagination
Table 1: A comparative aspect of three popular mobile hand set brand

9

From the above table the key features and specification of three popular brands reveals that
the htc and Samsung are aloes related brands and they are using and featured their product
more or less similar specification and same operating system. But there are a number of
differences in different areas. Say for example in their design and looking area.
Beside the physical layout the uniqueness of Samsung from its main competitors can be
evident from the features of long lasted battery life, wireless charging facilities, stronger front
camera, the size of RAM and the Samsung product is designed in flexible storage system
which allow the user to install extra or additional SD card which is not match with the
product features of iPhone. In addition to the above the longer battery life and keeping free
from ‘call failure’ that still push the Apple Brand into a deep trouble and they are still
surviving to resolve this problem.
Figure 4: Differences in designing layout
10
Global and efficient distribution channel: According to marketing theories each and every
market reach in its saturation point therefore it is very important to extend the business
internationally and different emerging economies to reap the benefit of higher purchasing
capacity of people (Ren et al. 2010). In this case the Samsung brand is far advance than its
main competitor’s apple. Say for example the Apple has only 14 own managed retail store
and they are still going through the policy of ‘grey marketing’ to keep control over their
product and increasing brand image. But in this regard the Samsung is following the policy of
global marketing through applying the competitive marketing tools of ‘product
differentiation’ and depending on the market situation ‘cost leadership’ and niche marketing.
So in fine it can be said that the competitive business strategy of ‘Samsung’ is stronger than
the other competitive brand in the present market.
1.9 Objective three: Critically assess the brand appeal of Samsung Galaxy S3 in relation
to other competitors in the market.
Brand appeal is one of the very important intangible resources on which the survive of a
brand depends largely (Hsu 2011). As people does not live without the company of other
people, so any brand cannot live or survive without the strong relationship with its consumers
(Hsu 2011). There are two types of brand appeal which can be described in the following
ways
I. Emotional brand appeal
II. Rational brand appeal
There are different factors that determine the brand appeal along with the associated with
product and services. In couple of years back when iPhone and some other Android operated
mobile hand set dominates the smart phone market (Mothe et al. 2010). But now the situation
change a lot. While the competitive pricing, effective and global distribution channel,
innovative features, sleek design have made Samsung Galaxy series a unique brand in the
smart mobile hand set market.
11
Table 2: Key statistics about the Samsung brand

The following diagram represents the major factors that lead the Samsung a strong strategic
position in the worldwide smart mobile market.
Figure 5: The influencing factor for strong brand appeal of Samsung
Increasing trend of market share: How strong the brand appeal of a product or brand is
closely associated with its market share and people attitudes towards the brand. The
following table show a comparative aspect of different mobile hand set brand in the global
smart phone market.
Samsung
Copetitive
pricing
Innovative
distribution
channel
Sleek design
Representati
on of
consumer
expectation
Innovative
features
12
Table 3: Smartphone market share in quarter 2012

Table: Number of smart phone shipped

Figure 6: Comparative aspect of mobile brands with respect of market shipment
From the above tables and graphical presentation it is evident that the brand appeal of
Samsung is increasing day by day which is represented by its increasing trend of covering
market share and market coverage.
27.8
17.1
16.08
36.5 37
29.6
44.5
35.1
11.9
5 0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Samsung Apple Nokia
Quarter 3 2012
Quarter 4 2012
Quarter1 2013
13
Image, identity and status: The brand appeal is not a single issue which combined a number
of aspect associated closely with the it’s product and services that takes long time to grow
(Ngo et al. 2011). As the brand appeal is highly associated with the association of consumers
and media coverage. The marketing strategy plays a key role in building and maximizing
brand appeal. Although the main competitors of Samsung named Apple is placed themselves
ahead of all other competitive brands due to their marketing management in term of
segmentation of market, continuous product innovation, stylish designs and so on. In addition
to above the brand identity social involvement or giving back to the community plays a key
role in developing strong brand appeal.
Say for example the brand ‘Samsung’ is one of the proud sponsor of English Premier league
qualifying team ‘Chelsea’ current UEAFA champions that actually strengthen the identity
and place a key position
Figure 7: Samsung Sponsorship deal with English Football giant Chelsea
In a report of BBC on 7september 2012 it is revealed that Chelsea and Samsung sign a new
shirt sponsor deal for £18 million a session until 2015. The product range or market coverage
playa key role in building product identity, status of the brand and image of the brand (Wu et
al. 2011). The findings indicate that the product range of Samsung is much greater than the
other competitors currently operative in market. The widely used product that creating and
placing the brand in a unique position can be described as mobile handset, computer,
television, home appliance. Camera etc. But in case of other competitors like apple which is
only producing computer and mobile hand set or accessories that actually confined it behind
the Samsung in creating and developing strong brand image.
Source: BBC news
14
1.10 Conclusion: From the discussion and analysis it can be said that the success of any
organization of product depends significantly on its marketing design and product innovation.
The marketing design is important to identify the customer, identify their demand and needs,
delivering the product through proper channel and create customer perceived value that in
one hand increase the customer base and increase the loyalty level of customer toward the
organization and products. Here it is also mentionable that producing body or the
organization must make sure that the features and innovation brought by the organization
meeting the customer expectation otherwise the product fail to capture the market and satisfy
the customer otherwise the customer switch from it and put the brand into a very tough
challenging and struggle position in the present very competitive and globalized business
environment.
Reference and Bibliography
Books
Doole, I., Lowe, R. (2010). International Marketing Strategy; analysis, development and
Implementation: 5th ed. United Kingdom: South Western Cengage Learning.
Jordan, P.W. (2000). Designing pleasurable products: An introduction to the new human
factors. United Kingdom: Taylor & Francis.
Grant, R.M. (2013). Contemporary strategy analysis. 8th edition. John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
Kotler, P. (1997). Marketing management. 3rd edition. United Kingdom: Sage Publication ltd.
Pettinger, R. (2007). Introduction to Management. 4th edition. United Kingdom: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Slack, N. Chambers, S., Johnston, R. (2007). Operations management. Fth edition. United
Kingdom: FT Prentice Hall
Whale, P., Nahe, A. (2012). Essential of Mobile Handset design. 1st edition. United
Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
Journals/Articles
Ren, L., Xie, G., Krabbendam, K. (2010). Sustainable competitive advantage and marketing
innovation within firm. Management Research review. Vol. 33, Iss:1, pp. 17-26.
15
Hsu, Y. (2011). Design innovation and Marketing strategy in successful product competition.
Journal of Business and Industrial marketing. Vol. 26, Iss:4, pp. 47-58.
Mothe, C.,, Thi, U.N. (2010). The Link between non-technological innovation and
technological innovation. European Journal of innovation management. VOl. 13, Iss.3, pp.
114-121.
Ngo, L.V., O’Cass, A. (2011). The relationship between business orientation and brand
performance: A cross national perspective. Asia pacific Journal of Marketing and logistics.
Vol 23, Iss:5, pp. 56-69.
Wu, P., Wang, Y. (2011). The influence of electronic word-of-mouth message appeal and
message source credibility on brand attitude. Asia pacific Journal of Marketing and logistics.
Vol. 23, Iss:4, pp. 53-64.
Wu, P., Wang, Y. (2013). Brand counter extension for fight back and appeal strategies.
Management decision. Vol 51, Iss; 4, pp. 17-31.
Online reference
Ritchie, R. (2012). iPhone 5Vs Samsung Galaxy S3: which phone should you buy. Available
on < http://www.imore.com/iphone-5-vs-samsung-galaxy-s3 >. Accessed on 2nd May 2013
7193
Task 2:
Course Relevance
Learning Outcomes
The course, “Marketing design and innovation” was a very relevant course in respect to the
current scenario of the market around the world. The world is changing and becoming global
village. Globalization is taking place while consumption patterns are rapidly changing. Markets
are being more open to competition as information is being transparent day by day. Competitors
are easily coming into markets where profitability is sensed. Customers are being allowed with
more and more choices and so, businesses have to improve on their operations, marketing, and
every possible controllable factor in order to gain the customer’s attention.
Learning from the Assignment
Companies that are more inclined towards innovation targeting the customer needs are being
successful. It is true in every aspect, in the final assignment for this course a lot was also learned
on how cellphone companies had to keep up on innovation in order to survive. Right now, the
top cellphone companies- Samsung and iPhone are competing based on the level of innovation
they bring in their devices. Nokia has recently been able to catch up due to its massive switch in
strategy towards innovation. It previously focused its expenses towards the environment and
corporate social responsibility which led it to ignore research and development costs leading to a
huge loss of market share to Samsung and Apple. Similarly, innovation isn’t only on the
consumer product level but also has to be there with businesses dealing in industrial products
7193
such as Corning which collaborates with its business partners to develop new products and
improve itself.
Innovation- a Challenge
This course can easily challenge one’s mind with the word innovation. Before studying the
course, innovation seemed to be only coming up with new products. But there is so much more
to it. Innovation can come in the form of business processes, advertising products, and
convincing customers in addition to developing new products. The course brought out challenges
like thinking of examples about the different innovations of large companies like Nokia,
Samsung, Toyota and Wal-mart. It became more challenging when it was learned that innovation
and marketing design is made up of different concepts especially communication,
commoditization, consumerism and patents.
A Deeper Look into Innovation
A whole new perspective was put forward after learning about these concepts. It was learned
that communication is very important in designing new innovative products. A flaw in the
communication process will delay the process and lead to problems like errors and faults in the
prototype and delays in the product release and this is not good in a rapidly changing market
where if a competitor releases something before the company, then all efforts are wasted- time
and money included. One can relate to the importance of communication in college assigned
group work. If one person fails to share information about his part, then different team members
will work based on the limited information and risk chances of duplication and lack of coherence
in the final work.
7193
The concept of consumerism also puts one into thought about what has been happening in the
past without even realizing that it has a name for it. One cup of coffee a day leads to another cup
of coffee and then suddenly it becomes a necessary part of one’s life. An unhealthy choice and
an unneeded expense is slowly and unconsciously made and built into one’s lifestyle. This type
of learning leads one to think twice before purchasing and be more conscious when buying
products , freeing oneself from the bounds of corporate advertising, attaining the power to reject
what corporations throw at them.
The importance of patenting has also explained a lot about why the world is not able to produce
certain items that seem to be easy to manufacture. Companies put in a lot of money into
developing products and processes that need to be protected though it seems to be an unfair
practice to exploit customers who have to pay excessive amounts. Companies should develop
ways to recover this research and development costs innovatively for example how Apple’s
itunes has been able to make copyrighted music easily available and affordable to music
listeners.
Concluding Words
There is not much that can be said against the lectures in the course. Everything learned is
practical and applicable in the real life. It is all seen happening in the real world. There is no
denying it. This course will be very useful in future and will be much more useful compared to
now since by then, demands will be too high and changing much faster than now, innovation will
be heavily required for companies to succeed and using this knowledge, the different concepts
involved in creating a marketing design- the importance of information transparency, the
different steps in designing process, the importance of patenting etc, all will be used in future
whether one will be working for a company or starting one’s own company in order to avoid
7193
failures and mistakes that many companies make and to succeed like top innovative companies
and personalities like Steve Jobs.