Topics
strategy, target market, marketing mix, strategic choices, competition
Teaching Notes
There are multiple teaching variations for this activity, in addition to the questions posed below.
You allocate one of the pizza store designs to which the student group and they design their own marketing mix – and then have a class discussion on how the marketing mix differs between the offerings.
Another approach is to have competing stores (between student groups) and then have other students vote for (or directly interact with the pizza stores) that they consider to be the best. With this approach, you could even convert it into a role-play activity by giving individual students pretend money to purchase pizzas from the various restaurant offerings in the class.
Please see this activity for the role-play version: Pizza Store Design Game
Review the activity below or download the PDF student worksheet
- Student Worksheet: Developing a Marketing Mix
- Instructor Solutions (Members Only): Developing a Marketing Mix = Solutions
Student Discussion Activity
In this exercise you are required to select the most appropriate marketing strategy (from a list of four presented) and then develop a suitable marketing mix to implement that strategy.
This activity will be focused on the strategy and marketing mix for a proposed new chain of Italian and pizza restaurants. The four possible strategies currently being considered by the firm’s investors are listed below.
Possible Strategy A
- Offer a unique range of high quality pizzas
- Use unusual ingredients (with choices such as oysters, kangaroo, avocado)
- Create innovative and unique pizza tastes
- Set new standards for pizza restaurants
Possible Strategy B
- Create a fun and exciting dining experience
- The restaurant should look and feel like a café in Italy
- Employ fun, outgoing and energetic staff
- Probably have a large outdoor dining area as well
Possible Strategy C
- Offer a very convenient service
- Aim to become the “McDonald’s” of pizza by offering very fast service (pizzas ready in 5 minutes and home-delivered inside 20 minutes)
- Mainly take-away and delivery options
Possible Strategy D
- Become the discounters of pizza
- Focus on operating a very lean and efficient business and compete mainly on price and always undercut the competition
- Have a ‘value’ based positioning focus
Student Discussion Questions
- Which of the four strategic options suggested would be the most effective in competing in this market?
- For the strategy that you selected in Q1, develop an appropriate marketing mix (for example, what products should they offer, at what quality, with what ingredient choices, and so on). You should either use the 4Ps or the 7Ps, whichever one you believe is more suitable, (but ensure that your marketing mix will effectively deliver the proposed strategy).
- Do you think that this new pizza chain, as you have constructed it, will be successful? Why?