UNIVERSITY OF MALTA
THE MATRICULATION EXAMINATION
ADVANCED LEVEL
MARKETING
MAY 2015
EXAMINERS’ REPORT
AM EXAMINERS’ REPORT MAY 2015
AM MARKETING
MAY 2015 SESSION
EXAMINERS’ REPORT
Part 1: Statistical Information
Table 1 shows the distribution of grades for the May 2015 session of the examination.
GRADE
A
B
C
D
E
F
abs
TOTAL
NUMBER
21
57
110
66
47
81
61
443
% OF TOTAL
4.7
12.9
24.8
14.9
10.6
18.3
13.8
100
Part 2: Comments regarding candidate’s performance
Paper 1
Question 1
Part a) of this question was generally answered satisfactorily, with many candidates correctly
identifying the four general types of consumer products.
Part b) proved to be more challenging and quite a few selected this question on the basis that part a)
was relatively easy without considering the marketing considerations with respect to pricing and
distribution related to the four types of consumer goods. This was particularly true with respect to
‘Unsought’ products.
Question 2
Most candidates who answered part a) were familiar with the three main types of pricing strategies.
The quality of the answers for part b) varied due to the level of knowledge about the different pricing
strategies, and also due to the applied aspect of this question. Some managed to list the different
elements correctly without applying them to the example indicated, thus losing considerable marks.
Question 3
This was one of the least popular questions. Some replies were out of point as candidates mentioned
the items of the promotional mix, rather than the communication process per se. Many lost marks
because they were prepared for a question about the promotional mix, and were thus insufficiently
knowledgeable about the communication process. Others neglected to mention some of the elements
– e.g. noise – in their essay.
Question 4
Although not many candidates chose this question, most of those who did defined consumerism
correctly. The traditional and additional consumer rights were generally well incorporated in the
replies and applied to the tobacco industry.
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AM EXAMINERS’ REPORT MAY 2015
Question 5
This was one of the most selected questions by the cohort. The main shortcoming in the replies was
that although many had a good understanding of the difference between exploratory, descriptive and
causal research, some confused primary with secondary research, or else gave replies to primary
research in general rather than focus on exploratory research as requested in the question.
Question 6
This was also a popular question among candidates, and one in which they managed to obtain a
higher than average mark. The weakest point in the replies was in the evaluation of alternatives
stage, where it should have been mentioned that consumers give different attributes different
weightings and this contributes to the different choice of brands by consumers.
Question 7
Some candidates were confused between the concept of the VMS and the types of VMS available.
They understood what a VMS is, but the difference between Corporate, Contractual, Franchise and
Administered VMS was not that clear to them.
Question 8
Most candidates were able to explain the steps involved in the marketing process in detail, citing
many relevant examples. Some omitted the final step – that of capturing value from customers. The
concepts of needs, wants and demands were also well explained by most candidates who selected
this question.
Paper 2
Section A Response Analysis Case Study Questions
Although many candidates understood the case study, some replies seemed more suited to a
comprehension test than marketing. The case study seems to distinguish between candidates who
would have had formal training on how to address such questions as against those who might not
have had any. Some candidates who were familiar with the components of the micro-environment still
failed to associate these elements with the case study.
This was even more pronounced in the second question about product levels. Candidates knew about
the difference between Core, Actual and Augmented products but were not always clear about their
application to Chobani Yoghurt.
It is also important for candidates to gauge their answers to the marks allotted. Question 4 was
allotted 14 marks, which was an indication that more was required than a simple list. The list had to
be accompanied with valid argumentation about the impact of the different media on the recall
exercise.
Section B
Question 1
Almost all candidates who replied to this question managed to mention the main characteristics of a
service. The general weakness of the answers was in part b) which required them to link the
characteristics to the extended marketing mix.
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AM EXAMINERS’ REPORT MAY 2015
Question 2
This was a favourite question with candidates. Many who selected question 2 went into appropriate
detail about the types of consumer market segmentation.
Question 3
Although the first part of this question was answered properly by most candidates, in part b)
candidates tended to confuse the consumer buying process with the organisational buying process.
Question 4
There were some good replies to link the stages of the product life cycle to the items of the marketing
mix. Some aspects of the marketing mix were explained more accurately than others. In particular,
candidates were better able to explain the promotional strategies across the PLC stages than the
distribution strategies. The main challenge of this question was that it integrated different chapters of
the syllabus with each other.
Chairperson
Board of Examiners
2015
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