SECTION A Attempt all FOUR (4) case study questions from Section A for a total of 20 marks. Answer to each question is limited to 350 words, no references required. 'Conscious Hiking: Hiking a value trail of marketing responsibility' Founded in Melbourne, Australia, Conscious Hiking is renowned for designing high-quality outdoor clothing and equipment for sports such as skiing, snowboarding, mountaineering, rock climbing, surfing, hiking and fishing. There are hundreds Conscious Hiking stores in Australia and 36 internationally. In addition to its physical retail stores, Conscious Hiking offers an online store with its full range of products, which can be ordered from anywhere in the world. Conscious Hiking excels at creating value with consumers across the entire consumption experience. From the materials, manufacturing processes, transport and logistics, promotional communication, purchase and disposal of its products, Conscious Hiking provides opportunities for consumers to be involved in the value-creation process. Conscious Hiking's application of value creation in the consumption process stems from a genuine understanding of its target consumers and crafting a value proposition that appeals to their needs and wants. Conscious Hiking understands that much of its consumer base has a desire to know how its products are sourced and produced, along with maintaining a premium quality standard. For example, before a consumer purchases a Conscious Hiking product, he or she can explore what materials the product is made from, how it is made, how it is transported and ultimately made available for him or her to purchase. Conscious Hiking provides consumers with opportunities to gain product knowledge and interact via its website and communication campaigns. Providing this information offers a pathway to create value via educating and sharing knowledge with consumers in the pre-consumption phase. The company uses storytelling and environmental awareness strategies to engage with their consumers. Once a consumer purchases a product, Conscious Hiking's main goal is to deliver a premium quality product for the consumer to experience. Maintaining a level of premium quality allows Conscious Hiking to achieve a high standard of value while consumers use (value-in-use) its products. The craftsmanship of its products is guaranteed. Conscious Hiking believes in the quality of its products so much that it offers consumers the option (and actually prefers they take up that option) to fix products that have simply worn out, rather than having them buy new products. Through its 'Repair Consciously' and 'Worn Consciously' initiatives, Conscious Hiking builds more value with consumers by providing them with instructions on how to maintain, care for and repair their products. To many consumers, this is a sign of a high-quality product and represents value for money in the consumption process. It also marks a transition to the disposal point in the consumption process that makes Conscious Hiking different from many other organisations. Often, when consumers finish using a product it is simply disposed of. Many organisations overlook this opportunity to reconnect or to continue creating value with consumers. For Conscious Hiking, the disposal point in the consumption process is perhaps where it creates the most value with consumers. At the disposal consumption point, consumers are encouraged not to buy new products they do not really need - a testament to Conscious Hiking's focus on designing durable premium products. In addition, opportunities for other consumers to purchase and reuse old, but still useable, products and to facilitate the repair or recycling of worn-out Conscious Hiking gear are provided. Providing opportunities to create value with customers at the disposal point of the consumption process helps build deep and continuous relationships with consumers. Part of how Conscious Hiking has been able to establish its market position is through understanding its marketing environment and target audience. Much of Conscious Hiking's growth over the last seven years occurred during the fall-out of the Global Financial Crisis. Rather than cut back on its marketing visibility or reduce the quality of products to offer cheaper products or to achieve better price margins, Conscious Hiking relied on communicating its philosophy and focusing on the enduring quality and value of its products. In turn, this fulfilled consumer needs linked to larger sociocultural trends, such as frugality, value for money, reusing, repairing and recycling, during this time period. Conscious Hiking understood that many target consumers had a desire to spend their discretionary income more wisely on fewer, but high-quality, products that would last. Consumers appreciated a company that also committed to offering pathways to purchase quality, used products or help them repair products they already owned. From Conscious Hiking's understanding of the marketing environment and consumer trends during a difficult economic period, it was able to build authentic relationships with its consumers and better position itself against competitors. However, some sceptics question Conscious Hiking's approach. Some believe Conscious Hiking's high prices and promotional materials are targeted to affluent consumers who have the luxury of time to pursue adventures in exotic locations, rather than less-affluent budget-conscious consumers looking for value for money in durable products. Several of Conscious Hiking's stores are located in high socioeconomic areas, indicating some potential insight to the latter strategy. Others note that Conscious Hiking's pathways for fixing and purchasing used Conscious Hiking equipment are simply marketing strategies that steer consumers towards trading up and purchasing additional products they might be interested in. Despite some scepticism on the authenticity of altruism embedded in Conscious Hiking's initiatives, the company continues to maintain double-digit growth. Using the information provided in the case study answer the following questions. Question 1 Identify the FIVE (5) marketing management orientations that guide the company's marketing strategy. What marketing management orientation does Conscious Hiking utilise? Justify your answer. (5 marks] Question 2 Describe the environmental forces that affect the company's ability to serve its customers. Explain how changes in the macroenvironment affect marketing decisions. Identify at least two macro-environmental forces and discuss how these trends have shaped opportunities for Conscious Hiking's success in the outdoor-clothing market. (5 marks] Question 3 List and discuss the main bases for segmenting consumer market. Describe the profile of a typical Conscious Hiking customer. Discuss how Conscious Hiking segments its target audience by identifying relevant market segmentation variables. (5 marks] Question 4 Describe the elements of a marketing mix, and explain how integrated marketing mix creates customer value. Discuss how Conscious Hiking creates value for consumers by identifying the four Ps of their marketing mix strategy. Justify your answer. [5 marks] (Section A Total: 20 marks] SECTION A Attempt all FOUR (4) case study questions from Section A for a total of 20 marks. Answer to each question is limited to 350 words, no references required. 'Conscious Hiking: Hiking a value trail of marketing responsibility' Founded in Melbourne, Australia, Conscious Hiking is renowned for designing high-quality outdoor clothing and equipment for sports such as skiing, snowboarding, mountaineering, rock climbing, surfing, hiking and fishing. There are hundreds Conscious Hiking stores in Australia and 36 internationally. In addition to its physical retail stores, Conscious Hiking offers an online store with its full range of products, which can be ordered from anywhere in the world. Conscious Hiking excels at creating value with consumers across the entire consumption experience. From the materials, manufacturing processes, transport and logistics, promotional communication, purchase and disposal of its products, Conscious Hiking provides opportunities for consumers to be involved in the value-creation process. Conscious Hiking's application of value creation in the consumption process stems from a genuine understanding of its target consumers and crafting a value proposition that appeals to their needs and wants. Conscious Hiking understands that much of its consumer base has a desire to know how its products are sourced and produced, along with maintaining a premium quality standard. For example, before a consumer purchases a Conscious Hiking product, he or she can explore what materials the product is made from, how it is made, how it is transported and ultimately made available for him or her to purchase. Conscious Hiking provides consumers with opportunities to gain product knowledge and interact via its website and communication campaigns. Providing this information offers a pathway to create value via educating and sharing knowledge with consumers in the pre-consumption phase. The company uses storytelling and environmental awareness strategies to engage with their consumers. Once a consumer purchases a product, Conscious Hiking's main goal is to deliver a premium quality product for the consumer to experience. Maintaining a level of premium quality allows Conscious Hiking to achieve a high standard of value while consumers use (value-in-use) its products. The craftsmanship of its products is guaranteed. Conscious Hiking believes in the quality of its products so much that it offers consumers the option (and actually prefers they take up that option) to fix products that have simply worn out, rather than having them buy new products. Through its 'Repair Consciously' and 'Worn Consciously' initiatives, Conscious Hiking builds more value with consumers by providing them with instructions on how to maintain, care for and repair their products. To many consumers, this is a sign of a high-quality product and represents value for money in the consumption process. It also marks a transition to the disposal point in the consumption process that makes Conscious Hiking different from many other organisations. Often, when consumers finish using a product it is simply disposed of. Many organisations overlook this opportunity to reconnect or to continue creating value with consumers. For Conscious Hiking, the disposal point in the consumption process is perhaps where it creates the most value with consumers. At the disposal consumption point, consumers are encouraged not to buy new products they do not really need - a testament to Conscious Hiking's focus on designing durable premium products. In addition, opportunities for other consumers to purchase and reuse old, but still useable, products and to facilitate the repair or recycling of worn-out Conscious Hiking gear are provided. Providing opportunities to create value with customers at the disposal point of the consumption process helps build deep and continuous relationships with consumers. Part of how Conscious Hiking has been able to establish its market position is through understanding its marketing environment and target audience. Much of Conscious Hiking's growth over the last seven years occurred during the fall-out of the Global Financial Crisis. Rather than cut back on its marketing visibility or reduce the quality of products to offer cheaper products or to achieve better price margins, Conscious Hiking relied on communicating its philosophy and focusing on the enduring quality and value of its products. In turn, this fulfilled consumer needs linked to larger sociocultural trends, such as frugality, value for money, reusing, repairing and recycling, during this time period. Conscious Hiking understood that many target consumers had a desire to spend their discretionary income more wisely on fewer, but high-quality, products that would last. Consumers appreciated a company that also committed to offering pathways to purchase quality, used products or help them repair products they already owned. From Conscious Hiking's understanding of the marketing environment and consumer trends during a difficult economic period, it was able to build authentic relationships with its consumers and better position itself against competitors. However, some sceptics question Conscious Hiking's approach. Some believe Conscious Hiking's high prices and promotional materials are targeted to affluent consumers who have the luxury of time to pursue adventures in exotic locations, rather than less-affluent budget-conscious consumers looking for value for money in durable products. Several of Conscious Hiking's stores are located in high socioeconomic areas, indicating some potential insight to the latter strategy. Others note that Conscious Hiking's pathways for fixing and purchasing used Conscious Hiking equipment are simply marketing strategies that steer consumers towards trading up and purchasing additional products they might be interested in. Despite some scepticism on the authenticity of altruism embedded in Conscious Hiking's initiatives, the company continues to maintain double-digit growth. Using the information provided in the case study answer the following questions. Question 1 Identify the FIVE (5) marketing management orientations that guide the company's marketing strategy. What marketing management orientation does Conscious Hiking utilise? Justify your answer. (5 marks] Question 2 Describe the environmental forces that affect the company's ability to serve its customers. Explain how changes in the macroenvironment affect marketing decisions. Identify at least two macro-environmental forces and discuss how these trends have shaped opportunities for Conscious Hiking's success in the outdoor-clothing market. (5 marks] Question 3 List and discuss the main bases for segmenting consumer market. Describe the profile of a typical Conscious Hiking customer. Discuss how Conscious Hiking segments its target audience by identifying relevant market segmentation variables. (5 marks] Question 4 Describe the elements of a marketing mix, and explain how integrated marketing mix creates customer value. Discuss how Conscious Hiking creates value for consumers by identifying the four Ps of their marketing mix strategy. Justify your answer. [5 marks] (Section A Total: 20 marks]