Admin:
 500-800 words
 APA 7th references
Key terms to use:
 Brand awareness
 Value proposition
 Brand visibility
 Strive for a synergistic approach to marketing
- Create a synergistic marketing mix
PART 1: PROBLEMATISATION (  Heading title)
 Research problem + research question
 Problem = problem of the food co-op
 Research question is based on the food co-op’s research problem
 MUST USE the word ‘problematisation’ as the heading for this part
 Only report on the most pertinent  provide justifications for why this is the most
pertinent problem (what are the implications of this problem for the client
Include:
 A brief overview of the company / unit that the client represents
 What is the research problem
 Why is it a problem
 What are the probable causes and / or symptoms of the problem
 Provide a problem statement
 What is the research objective
 What is the research question
PART 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ( Heading title)
 Label paragraphs with their most important point
Research problem:
 Issues: Brand Awareness and Value Proposition
- Brand awareness = biggest issue (the two go hand in hand, but this is the
overarching issue  once people know about the brand’s existence, the next
step is learning about what it does
 Brand awareness
- Brand awareness refers to the extent to which consumers can recognise or recall
a brand and its products or services. It measures how familiar and well-known a
brand is among its target audience
- Building and increasing brand awareness is a key goal for many marketing
campaigns and strategies
 Value proposition:
- A value proposition is a clear and compelling statement that explains what
benefits a customer can expect to receive from a product or service, and why it is
unique or better than alternatives.
-
When people are unaware of a business’s value proposition, they may not
understand its core offerings or the advantages it brings, leading to confusion and
lack of interest
- Effective communication of a strong value proposition is crucial to addressing this
challenge and engaging potential customers
Research objective:
 Detect the factors contributing to weak brand awareness and identify key strategies
to improve this
Research question:
 How do consumers perceptions of the company’s brand align with its intended brand
image, and what adjustments to messaging and positioning can potentially bridge
this gap and enhance brand recognition?
 What are the primary internal and external contributors to the Food Co-op’s weak
brand awareness within its target market, and what adjustments must be made to
the company’s messaging and positioning to enhance brand recognition.
 What are the main internal and external factors leading to low brand awareness of
the Food Co-op within its target market, and what messaging and positioning
refinements are necessary to strengthen rand recognition
LITERATURE REVIEW – 436 words
Theoretical literature review:
 The theoretical literature review help establish what theories already exist, the
relationship between them, to what degree the existing theories have been
investigated, and to develop new hypotheses to be tested
Things to ensure:
 Sources clearly relate to the research problem
 Take enough time to define and identify the most relevant sources to use in the
review
 Use secondary and primary data sources
 Critically examine all aspects of the research design – don’t just accept other
researcher’s findings are 100% valid
 Describe research procedures
 Include all research (even if it doesn’t validate assumptions) – consider contrary
findings and alternative interpretations
Include:
1. Type of literature review and why it’s necessary
2. Type of search + search engine
To answer this question, a theoretical literature review is necessary to comprehensively and
critically examine the issue from both primary and secondary data sources, whilst
harbouring divergent perspectives on brand awareness and value proposition to best resolve
the problem.
Brand awareness and re-purchases
Three studies aimed to assess how best to market cause-related businesses to increase
brand awareness and re-purchase intentions. This is highly relevant as the Food Co-op is
considered a cause-related business due to the value they place on environmental
sustainability, ethical responsibility, and affordability.
The first study examined the effect of brand awareness on repeat-purchase products, finding
consumers with no knowledge of the product category were more likely to sample brands of
all sizes (CITE A3). The Food Co-op’s target market, however, generally has knowledge and
pre-existing loyalties to larger grocery corporations, accounting for their low market-share.
Therefore, a second study used questionnaires to assess whether the use of CRM strategies
increases repurchase intentions and brand awareness (N=150) (CITE A2). However, CRM
campaigns showed no significant effect on repurchase intentions (correlation=0.035).
However, study 3 examined whether adopting a co-branding strategy affects this, specifically
a not-for-profit business collaborating with a for-profit business, to understand consumers’
willingness to purchase cause-related products once they are aware of the cause (N=156)
(CITE A1). Through an experimental between-subjects design, it was found collaboration has
a statistically significant (p<0.05) impact on ‘willingness to buy’ for both brands, thus
increasing brand awareness. This reveals brand collaboration boosts brand awareness,
especially for cause-related businesses.
Communication and brand positioning
Two studies explored the theoretical framework of message authenticity and brand
positioning. Implementing this framework allows businesses to effectively communicate
their value proposition and increase their messages’ persuasiveness. Given the Food Co-op’s
strong ethical stance, mastering authentic communication is crucial.
The first study conducted a literature review, finding message authenticity can be integrated
into communication models through 3 domains: Heuristic-systematic Model, Identity-based
brand management model, and Attribution Theory (CITE A6). These adopt psychological
tactics to reduce consumer scepticism, improve source credibility and enhance the
trustworthiness of the message, leading to increased consumer purchases and loyalty.
The second study investigates whether the type of brand positioning environmentally
sustainable businesses adopt, affects their consumers’ evaluation of the brand (CITE A5). The
study found ‘Value-Based Positioning’ had the highest correlation with positive brand
attitudes. Utilising these strategies, the Food Co-op can authentically communicate their
value proposition and correctly position themselves in the market.
Gap
Whilst there is endless research on how to improve brand awareness and value proposition,
there is no research regarding the cause of the issue, leaving this research question
unanswered. Therefore, it is highly important this study be conducted to identify the
contributing factors to low brand awareness, ultimately closing this gap.
Article:
Co-branded cause-related
marketing campaigns: the
importance of linking two
strong brands
Data type
Primary
Findings / about
Impact of co-branding in
increasing brand awareness
Cause-related marketing
campaigns and repurchase
intentions: The mediating role
of brand awareness, consumer
attitude and corporate image
Primary
Effects of Brand Awareness on
Choice for a Common, RepeatPurchase Product
Primary
Impact of brand awareness on
experiment consumer’s purchase choices
 Subjects with no
knowledge of the
product category were
more likely to sample
brands of all sizes
The underlying structure of
brand awareness scores
Primary
Assessed consumers’
willingness to purchase from a
brand for a cause-related
reason
Assessing whether cobranding with not-for-profit
organisations increases
repurchase intentions –
boosting brand awareness
Steps to improving brand
awareness and its importance
Relation to my study
Matching green messages
with brand positioning to
improve brand evaluation
Building a theoretical
framework of message
authenticity in CSR
communication
Primary
Luxury vs mass-market brands
and how to message to best
reach customers
analyses how message
authenticity influences the
persuasiveness of corporate
social responsibility (CSR)
communication.
Food Co-op prides itself on
being very socially responsible
– this assesses how to best
authentically deliver this
message
Article 1 link:
https://www.proquest.com/docview/1318835122?parentSessionId=xfHKJkuywDKi%2BNIuv5
V0z1naB%2BbgYriQQAYRm2m26%2FI%3D&pq-origsite=primo&accountid=8330
Article 2 link:
https://www.growingscience.com/msl/Vol10/msl_2020_193.pdf
Article 3 link:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2626806
Article 4 link:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227442094_The_Underlying_Structure_of_Brand
_Awareness_Scores
Article 5 link:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296320304690
Good article to swap in somewhere:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/CCIJ-04-2018-0051/full/html
(1. For-profit brand awareness: high, low) (2. Not-for-profit brand awareness: high, low),
GAP IDENTIFIED:
 Whilst there is endless amounts of research conducted on how to improve brand
awareness, theoretical frameworks for best reaching consumers and how to best
communicate and position one’s brand, there is no direct research as to the cause of
the issue
 It is highly important this study be conducted, so the root of the problem can be
identified and it can be further understood what the internal and external
contributors are to low brand awareness and value proposition, ultimately closing
this gap.
PROBLEMATISATION
Located on the corner of ANU campus, The Food Co-operative Shop and Café (Food Co-op),
is a cheap, organic, and bulk-cost wholefoods grocer and café. The company promotes
environmental sustainability, inclusivity, and community by offering cheap, vegan, glutenfree meals, limiting single use plastics and waste, fostering a welcoming environment by
providing free wi-fi, books, a piano and community events, such as trivia nights. The Co-op’s
primary target market is university students, yet also targets local families, retirees, and
ethically conscious public servants.
Research Problem:
The Food Co-op significantly struggles with Brand Awareness and Value Proposition. Not
only is majority of their target market unaware it exists, but those that know of it do not
know what the company actually offers. Value Proposition is the process of promoting what
benefits a customer can expect to receive from the company, and why it is unique and better
than alternatives. Through effectively communicating value proposition, members of the
target market with aligning values are more likely to engage with the brand, ultimately
increasing its awareness.
Lacking brand awareness poses a significant challenge for businesses as it hinders their
ability to connect with potential customers and establish a distinctive presence in the
market. This problem arises when a company has limited/ineffective marketing efforts,
inconsistent branding, an insufficient online presence, a dichotomous relationship between
branding and target market, and ineffective communication, all of which the Co-op struggles
with. This lack of recognition hinders customer acquisition, reduces competitiveness, and
impedes growth. Overall, the company’s inability to effectively communicate its value
proposition and establish a recognisable presence among the target audience is resulting in
low brand awareness, negatively impacting customer engagement and market share.
Research objective and question
The research objective for the Food Co-op is to detect the exact factors contributing to its
weak brand awareness and identify strategies to improve this. This is answered through the
research question: “What are the main contributors leading to low brand awareness of the
Food Co-op within its target market, and what messaging and positioning refinements are
necessary to strengthen brand recognition”.
LITERATURE REVIEW:
To answer this question, a theoretical literature review is necessary to comprehensively and
critically examine the issue from both primary and secondary data sources, and gain
divergent perspectives on brand awareness and value proposition to best resolve the
problem.
Brand awareness and re-purchases
Three studies assessed how best to market cause-related businesses to increase brand
awareness and re-purchase intentions. This is relevant as the Food Co-op is considered a
cause-related business due to the value they place on environmental sustainability, ethical
responsibility, and affordability.
The first study examined the effect of brand awareness on repeat-purchase products, finding
consumers with no knowledge of the product category were more likely to sample brands of
all sizes (Hoyer & Brown, 1990). The Food Co-op’s target market, however, generally has
knowledge and pre-existing loyalties to larger grocery corporations, accounting for their low
market-share. Therefore, a second study used questionnaires to assess whether the use of
CRM strategies increases repurchase intentions and brand awareness (Surianto et al., 2020).
However, CRM campaigns showed no significant effect on repurchase intentions
(correlation=0.035).
However, study 3 examined whether adopting a co-branding strategy affects this, specifically
a not-for-profit business collaborating with a for-profit business, to understand consumers’
willingness to purchase cause-related products once they are aware of the cause (Baghi &
Gabrielli, 2012). Through an experimental between-subjects design, it was found
collaboration has a statistically significant (p<0.05) impact on ‘willingness to buy’ for both
brands, thus increasing brand awareness. This reveals brand collaboration boosts brand
awareness, especially for cause-related businesses.
Communication and brand positioning
Two studies explored the theoretical framework of message authenticity and brand
positioning. Implementing this framework allows businesses to effectively communicate
their value proposition and increase their messages’ persuasiveness. Given the Food Co-op’s
strong ethical stance, mastering authentic communication is crucial.
The first study conducted a literature review, finding message authenticity can be integrated
into communication models through 3 domains: Heuristic-systematic Model, Identity-based
brand management model, and Attribution Theory (Pérez, 2019). These adopt psychological
tactics to reduce consumer scepticism, improve source credibility and enhance the
trustworthiness of the message, leading to increased consumer purchases and loyalty.
The second study investigates whether the type of brand positioning that environmentally
sustainable businesses adopt, affects their consumers’ evaluation of the brand (Vilasanti da
Luz et al., 2020). The study found ‘Value-Based Positioning’ had the highest correlation with
positive brand attitudes. Utilising these strategies, the Food Co-op can authentically
communicate their value proposition and correctly position themselves in the market.
Gap
Whilst there is endless research on improving brand awareness and value proposition, there
is none regarding the cause of the issue. Therefore, this study must be conducted to answer
the research question, identify the factors contributing to low brand awareness, and close
this gap.
References:
Baghi, I., & Gabrielli, V. (2012). Co-branded cause-related marketing campaigns: The
importance of linking two strong brands. International Review on Public and Nonprofit
Marketing, 10(1), 13–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-012-0086-0
Hoyer, W. D., & Brown, S. P. (1990). Effects of brand awareness on choice for a common,
repeat-purchase product. Journal of Consumer Research, 17(2), 141–148.
https://doi.org/10.1086/208544
Pérez, A. (2019). Building a theoretical framework of message authenticity in CSR
Communication. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 24(2), 334–
350. https://doi.org/10.1108/ccij-04-2018-0051
Surianto, Moh. A., Setiawan, M., Sumiati, S., & Sudjatno, S. (2020). Cause-related marketing
campaigns and repurchase intentions: The mediating role of Brand Awareness,
consumer attitude and corporate image. Management Science Letters, 3235–3242.
https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2020.6.015
Vilasanti da Luz, V., Mantovani, D., & Nepomuceno, M. V. (2020). Matching green
messages with brand positioning to improve brand evaluation. Journal of Business
Research, 119, 25–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.07.024