QUESTION ONE (1200 words maximum)

Identifying the optimal target audience for the upcoming Food Truck and Home Wares amalgamation campaign is going to be critical for success.

1. a) Demographically, the target audience for Amahles Food Trucks are young people aged 25- 34, mostly consuming snacks and fast foods. Her other target market, which has been rapidly growing the last four years, are retirees, aged 68 and over, mostly buying full meals and paying extra for contactless scooter delivery. Which of these would you recommend Amahle identify as her primary target audience for the upcoming Food Truck and Home Wares amalgamation, and why? Explain what other key bases for segmentation you would also apply to further understand the primary audience? (8 marks)

2. b) A clear positioning strategy is vital for this next phase of Amahles Food Truck business. Explain why positioning is important for Amahle and outline your recommended positioning strategy for her brand, including a positioning statement in your response. (6 marks)

You are a strong supporter of integrated marketing communications (IMC) and believe in an overriding IMC approach.

c) One of the five key features of the philosophy and practice of IMC is speaking with a single voice. Clearly explain and describe with examples - what speaking with a single voice will mean in the context of the launch campaign for Food Truck and Home Wares amalgamation campaign. (4 marks)

(8 + 6 + 4 = 18 marks)

Marketing Communication Authentic Assessment Case Amahle Ndlovu was only 11 when she had the idea of bringing genuine South African food to her adopted state of Colorado in the Western United States. Amahle had always been passionate about South African food and culture and decided to realise her dream of owning her own business and showcasing family recipes in 2015, when at the age of 25 she bought her first food truck. Amahle had studied food economics and small business entrepreneurship in her business degree at Colorado College. Starting with just herself and one staff member, Amahle renovated the food truck and launched her business, named after herself. Amahle's Food Truck became a success, she cleverly used social media to engage with her customers, ensured the best ingredients and provided recipe cards on demand which customers loved, although many said they preferred Amahle's versions of food better than when they tried to recreate them at home. In her second year of business Amahle added three more trucks to her business and launched a YouTube channel which showcased her growing staff, the suppliers she bought her ingredients from and South African cooking and lifestyle information. The combination of Amahle's passion for South Africa and Colorado and her keen business acumen were a hit. Today, Amahle has 27 food trucks operating across multiple states in the western US. Amahle realised early on, that in order to grow her business she would need to consider the use of technology in her food trucks. For example, point of sale systems were critical, as were location apps and GPS to track her growing fleet. On the delivery side, Amahle needed to ensure some uniformity in the products she offered, no matter which truck a customer visited, they had to be reassured that no matter what they ordered, including Biltong, Boerewors or Bobotie, it would taste wonderfully delicious every single time. She began working with local farmers and suppliers and developed import relationships with South African suppliers. While still young, Amahle is looking to expand nationally and possibly globally. Amahle was responsive to the changes brought by COVID-19, developing contactless food delivery options (by linking a staff member on a scooter to every truck) and increasing the content on her YouTube channel to provide customers with an active community. The delivery scooters have proven very popular. Potential customers are updated with a truck's arrival in their neighbourhood and the scooters deliver locally. Trucks are moved regularly thereby covering vast distances weekly. Today, Amahle employs 95 casual staff to work the trucks and scooters, three onsite mechanics and engineers, a business analyst, two accountants and a marketing team of four. Her marketing team is great at developing one-off campaigns for the food trucks and developing content for the YouTube channel but lack overall strategic planning skills. Amahle has set her sights on generating growth through innovation, and longer term, wants the Amahle Food brand to become a top 10 national food brand. To achieve this goal, Amahle began looking for a marketing communications expert to analyse the brand, with the view to launching two new products in early 2024. As part of RMIT's LinkedIn involvement, Amahle became aware of the significant positive impact that Marketing Communications students were having on the product development and marketing communications environments in Singapore and Australia and she was impressed by your resume. Congratulations, you are the newly appointed Marketing Communications Manager" for Amahle's Food Truck. In your first meeting with Amahle, she tells you she has been working directly with several South African farmers and producers and is thinking of expanding the range of items sold in the trucks to include home wares and kitchen items. Such a move would capitalise on the growing popularity of home cooking generally and the popularity of her YouTube channel and recipe cards specifically. Amahle also has plans to make further use of social media including regular customer reviews. However, Amahle is also worried about increased competition. When she bought her first truck, there were only 5 other food trucks in operation, and they were mostly showcasing more traditional American food items. Now there are over 40 competitors with at least half showcasing the food of another country/culture including Asian, European and African. The food truck industry has grown in size and even owners of conventional restaurants are entering the market. The biggest buyers from food trucks are aged 25-34, mostly consuming snacks and fast foods and spending an average of $44 per month. Amahle's secondary market are retirees, aged 68 and over, mostly buying full meals and paying extra for contactless scooter delivery and spending an average of $62 per month You realise that Amahle needs to move fast if she is to stay competitive and achieve her growth plans. As the newly appointed marketing communications manager, Amahle has sought your help to ready the business for the launch of the new home wares and kitchen items. As part of this process, you must clarify the thinking that will form the foundation of the work