Principles of Marketing Individual Report

In advance of your submission, please:

1. Complete the following details and include as the first page of your submission;

2. Read the Turnitin section and check that you understand how Turnitin is used to
assess your work;

3. Read the declaration to check that your submission conforms with the listed
requirements before you submit your work.

Name(s) and Student Number(s):

Max Timmis N1078760
Module Title: BUSI12195: Principles of Marketing

Title of Coursework: Individual Summative Report

Word Count (see declaration below): 2,046 Words

Required Format

Font : Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri

Font size : 11 point minimum
Paragraph line spacing : Single
Page margin : 2.54 cm for Top / Bottom / Left / Right
Page Numbers : Included

Turnitin Similarity Check

Where appropriate to the coursework assignment, your document will be submitted to

Turnitin to generate a similarity report for review by your tutor. This report will
compare your work against millions of previously submitted student papers and online
resources (e.g. web sites, journal articles) in the Turnitin database and highlight any
text that matches your submission.

Declaration

By submitting your work you are certifying that:

1. The submission is the result of your own work and does not contravene the
University Regulation on Academic Irregularities.
2. The word count included on this cover sheet is accurate and follows the guidelines
outlined in the assignment brief (failure to include an accurate word count will be
treated as a minor academic irregularity as defined in the Academic Irregularities
Policy).   

1
This report will demonstrate how my brand and product would enter a different country.
My business, Natura Swim, is a sustainable swimwear brand which uses recycled plastics
directly from the ocean to be remade into sustainable swimwear. Our product is in the
higher end of the market with very high quality and a moderate price. We are based in
Australia due to the high demand of swimwear compared to other high-income countries
such as the UK. I am writing this report to illustrate the potential of the brand in a different
country where the market could provide more profit. Furthermore, I am writing this report
to gain a good understanding of what we could do to maximise the return of taking our
brand to a new country. My brand has multiple different aims and objectives, our main
objective is getting plastics out of the ocean. We follow through on this objective by
donating 3% of our profits to the Ocean Clean-up Charity in order to tackle the issue in a
hands-on manner (The Ocean Clean Up , 2019). To add to this, another objective is to have a
collaboration with The Ocean Clean Up and other plastic pollution organisations as it will
establish our motives to the customer base and improve our brand image. The country I
have decided to enter is the United States of America (USA), being the economic hub of the
world and with its freedom of Foreign Direct Investment it seems the best choice.

As previously stated, the country I have selected for entry is the Unites States of America
due to the very high demand for sustainable products. According to Worldometer the USA
has a population of 336 million (Worldometer, 2023). This is more than 10 times the
population of Australia which is 26.4 million (MacroTrends , 2023) therefore greatly
increasing our target audience and potential customers. The average income for the USA is
just over $70,000 per year which is more than Australia’s $57,000 (World data, 2023) which
opens the brand up to new customers, as well as this our customer affordability is increased
removing the need for our prices to go down when we enter the USA. Another positive
about the US is the size of their economy with a GDP of around 22 trillion recorded in 2021
(Data Commons , 2021). This is the largest GDP in the world which allows my brand to excel
in this economy melting pot. Although the USA is not the most sustainable country in the
world as a whole, there is a clear difference between different US states that our product
would perform significantly better. For example, out product would perform much better in
a state such as California as opposed to a state such as `Georgia or Alabama due to their lack
of sustainable thinking. This would bring the risk of the entry down due to the nature of the
different states. The USA is part of multiple economic unions which makes trade easier. An
example of an economic union which involves the USA is the USMCA or the United States
Mexico Canada Agreement. This agreement ensures free trade between these countries and
is to uphold for 16 years (U.S Customs and Border Protection , 2023). These trade
agreements should make it easier to export to the USA and therefore keep our brand
profitable. However, it is important to recognise the distance between the two countries
which may impact our delivery time of the product from business to customer. On the other
hand, the most desired state for my business, being California, is one of the closest states to
Australia which will help us with transporting the product. In terms of Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI), the US is “the world’s biggest recipient of FDI and the US government
policies on taxation and regulation offer foreign investors wide freedom” (Santander , 2023).
This is extremely useful for us as it lowers risk of investment and gives us freedom to
maximise our strategy for entry into this new country. After performing a PESTLE analysis,
there were certain factors to focus on more than others. For example, it is more beneficial

2
to focus on political due to the constant political tensions in the USA and how important a
factor it can be to a customer when buying a product. Another factor of PESTLE to focus on
is environmental, this seems more obvious as my brand is centred around sustainability and
improving the environment. This helped us to identify which state to launch in, being
California because it is the most sustainably appealing for the brand.

There are many ways to enter a new country with a brand such as exporting or licensing. In
the case of my brand, we believe that entering the USA with a Joint Venture would be the
best move for the brand. According to Commerce Institute, on average there are 5 million
businesses started every year in the USA (Commerce Institute , 2022) and to be successful in
such a crowded space, the brand needs to do something that will catch people’s attention
therefore a Joint Venture with an organisation such as The Ocean Clean Up seems the best
option. However, it is important to recognise the risk that this brings but with the
experience already gained by starting up and selling in Australia should give us the edge
against business starting up in the USA. With this risky choice of a joint venture, there are
going to be challenges. These challenges include: a potentially saturated market, and if
there are enough customers to persuade. After researching, I discovered that the swimwear
market is not only extremely large but also crowded. According to Statista, the US swimwear
market is worth around $22 billion which is just 4 billion off the size of the world swimwear
market (Statista , 2023). Furthermore, in terms of the number of customers, there is no
shortage of potential customers as around 80% of Americans can swim (American Red Cross
, 2014)Although this seems quite the challenge, out Unique Selling Point (USP) of making
our swimwear from recycled plastics is what sets us apart from the rest. To add to this, our
joint venture will get our name out there for the customers to see. To aid the brand with
recognising and overcoming these challenges I looked at Porters 5 forces and concluded
that the Threat of new entrants is the brands biggest potential challenge. This is due to the
entire swimwear market already being saturated and it could not be long until the
sustainable segment of this industry is too. There are any types of customers in the USA, but
it important to focus on our target audience, which is a younger generation person who
cares about sustainability and cleaning our oceans from plastic; however, this product is
targeted at anyone who want to lower plastic pollution from our oceans. Although due to
the trendy and fashionable approach of our designs, it incurs less risk if we target the
younger generation. It is vital that we get seen by our target audience in the right way and
that we meet our aims and objectives. As stated before, we believe that a joint venture or
partnership is the best way forward. Partnering with The Ocean Clean-up for our launch in
the USA will not only with setting us apart from competitors but will also help us reach the
right audience. Moreover, our promise of 3% of profits going to The Ocean Clean-up should
help us secure the partnership and improve relations with our counterparts. The Ocean
Clean-up have already partnered with several different brands in their efforts to lower the
amount of plastic pollution such as Coca Cola who promised to implement clean-up systems
in 15 rivers by the end of 2022 (Coca-Cola, 2021).
The integration and use of social media in our launch in the USA is vitally important as it will
allow us to connect with our target audience. There are several options as to which social
media platform is best for us to use, for us to reach our preferred customers it is best to use
both TikTok and Instagram. This is due to the response that a lot of brands have seen when
using TikTok and Instagram. Both platforms are available to use and are extremely popular

3
in the USA. There are currently over 150 million users on the TikTok app in the USA alone
which is nearly half the population (TikTok, 2023). This is too much of an opportunity to miss
so the use of TikTok is extremely important. As for Instagram, there are currently 165 million
Instagram users in the USA which again is too big an opportunity to miss (NapoleanCat,
2022). The success that brands have seen after using TikTok and Instagram is not something
to look over. However, after seeing thousands of these brands upload to TikTok and
Instagram there are certain videos that go much more viral than others and therefore create
more attraction to the brand. These types of videos are not just regular adverts for
products, it is when a brand takes current trends on TikTok and Instagram and applies it to
their brand or business. An Example of this taking place is the Official Lotus Account for
TikTok, which on the app is renowned for making funny edits and videos about the brand
which gained millions of views and likes therefore attracting potential new customers, it is a
similar system on Instagram. To add to this, both TikTok and Instagram have both added a
shop within their apps, which allows customers to shop for products straight from the video
or they can simply search your brand. Both apps also allow the user to create links to the
shops on posts you share within both apps. These features are all free of charge which
brings the risk to virtually nothing. Another popular and successful strategy for brands on
these apps is collaborating with influencers already popular on the app to further boost the
brand, however this can come at a cost. There are multiple potential influencers/celebrities
that we could use to boost the brand, although it is important to choose the right person as
if we choose unwisely, it could destroy our brand. Therefore, I believe the person must not
only have the right audience but also be involved with sustainability. To aid the choice of
this person I used AIDA and thought through what will get us Attention and Interest from
the public. Kevin Hart is a much-loved celebrity in the USA and is quite popular on TikTok
and Instagram, Kevin Hart has also recently launched a completely vegan restaurant in Los
Angeles California which is exactly where we want to launch in the USA (Weiss, 2022). For
these reasons I believe he is the perfect person to get our name out there and attract our
target audience. On the other hand, there are always challenges when using apps such as
TikTok and Instagram. To ensure that we stay current and keep people interests we plan to
keep making videos that involve current trends on the app, so we do not become just
another scrollable video on the app. Another potential issue is the current heated debate
over TikTok in the USA with the CEO of TikTok Shou Chew recently taking a hearing with the
US congress (Shepardson & Ayyub, 2023), but we do not see this as a threat to our growth,
in fact it is more likely to grow the platform.

In Conclusion, I believe that the USA is the best country for us to enter due to the very high
demand for sustainable products especially in certain states such as California. I also believe
that the best way to enter this new country is to use a joint venture with the popular
organisation The Ocean Clean-up. Our biggest challenge when moving into this new country
will be the threat of new entrants that have more of a hold on the customer base. It is vital
that we use apps such as TikTok and Instagram to overcome these challenges and build as
much of a following as we can by keeping up with trends and staying relevant in a crowded
marketing segment.
Bibliography
American Red Cross . (2014, March 20). Red Cross Launches Campaign to Cut Drowning in
Half in 50 Cities. Retrieved from American Red Cross :

4
 https://www.redcross.org/about-us/news-and-events/press-release/red-cross-
launches-campaign-to-cut-drowning-in-half-in-50-cities.html#:~:text=The%20survey
%2C%20conducted%20for%20the,their%20life%20in%20the%20water.
Coca-Cola. (2021, Feburary 6). Coca-Cola Signs On as Global Implementation Partner for The
Ocean Clean-up's River Project. Retrieved from Coca-Cola: https://www.coca-
colacompany.com/news/ocean-cleanup-partnership#:~:text=around%20the
%20world.-,Coca%2DCola%20%26%20The%20Ocean%20Cleanup%20will%20help
%20integrate%20solar%2D,into%20rivers%20around%20the%20world.&text=The
%20Coca%2DCola%20Company%20and,from
Commerce Institute . (2022). How Many New Businesses Are Started Each Year? Data
Reveals the Answer. Retrieved from Commerce Institute :
https://www.commerceinstitute.com/new-businesses-started-every-year/
#:~:text=Data%20from%20the%20US%20Census,businesses%20are%20started
%20every%20year.
Data Commons . (2021). United states of America . Retrieved from Data Commons :
https://datacommons.org/place/country/USA/?
utm_medium=explore&mprop=amount&popt=EconomicActivity&cpv=activitySource
,GrossDomesticProduction&hl=en
EMCS. (2021). Using PESTLE Analysis To Develop New Products In The Manufacturing
Industry. Retrieved from ECMS: https://www.theecms.co.uk/using-pestle-analysis-
to-develop-new-products-in-the-manufacturing-industry/
MacroTrends . (2023, May 8). Australia Population 1950-2023. Retrieved from macrotrends:
https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/AUS/australia/population
NapoleanCat. (2022, January ). Instagram users in United States of America January 2022.
Retrieved from NapoleanCat: https://napoleoncat.com/stats/instagram-users-in-
united_states_of_america/2022/01/#:~:text=There%20were
%20165%20900%20000,group%20(52%20900%20000).
Santander . (2023, April). United States: Foriegn Investment . Retrieved from Santander
Trade : https://santandertrade.com/en/portal/establish-overseas/united-states/
foreign-investment
Sellers, A. (2022, February 4). The AIDA Model: A Proven Framework for Converting
Strangers Into Customers. Retrieved from HubSpot:
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/aida-model
Shepardson, D., & Ayyub, R. (2023, March 24). TikTok congressional hearing: CEO Shou Zi
Chew grilled by US lawmakers. Retrieved from Reuters :
https://www.reuters.com/technology/tiktok-ceo-face-tough-questions-support-us-
ban-grows-2023-03-23/
Statista . (2023). Sports & Swimwear - United States. Retrieved from Statista :
https://www.statista.com/outlook/cmo/apparel/men-s-apparel/sports-swimwear/
united-states#:~:text=Sports%20%26%20Swimwear%20%2D%20United
%20States&text=Revenue%20in%20the%20Sports%20%26%20Swimwear,US
%2422.11bn%20in%202023.
The Ocean Clean Up . (2019). The Ocean Clean Up . Retrieved from The Ocean Clean Up :
https://theoceancleanup.com
TikTok. (2023, March 21). Celebrating our thriving community of 150 million Americans.
Retrieved from TikTok: https://newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/150-m-us-

5
 users#:~:text=Celebrating%20our%20thriving%20community%20of
%20150%20million%20Americans%20%7C%20TikTok%20Newsroom
U.S Customs and Border Protection . (2023, March 27 ). U.S. – Mexico – Canada Agreement
(USMCA) . Retrieved from U.S Customs and Border Protection :
https://www.cbp.gov/trade/priority-issues/trade-agreements/free-trade-
agreements/USMCA
WallStreetMojo. (2021). Porter’s Five Forces. Retrieved from WallStreetMojo:
https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/porters-five-forces/
Weiss, S. (2022, September 2). Kevin Hart Opens Plant-Based Fast Food Restaurant in Los
Angeles. Retrieved from People : https://people.com/food/kevin-hart-opens-plant-
based-fast-food-restaurant-in-los-angeles/
World data. (2023). Average Income around the world . Retrieved from World Data :
https://www.worlddata.info/average-income.php
Worldometer. (2023, May 8). United States Population . Retrieved from Worldometer :
https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/

APPENDICES

PESTLE

6
 A pestle analysis is a business tool that is used to break down the key external
factors that influence an organisation.

(EMCS, 2021)

Porters Five Forces

Porters Five Forces is an academic model that analyses the 5 key forces that come to play
and shape every industry.

(WallStreetMojo, 2021)

AIDA

AIDA is a model that traces the journey of the customer through 4 key areas: Awareness,
Interest, Desire, Action

7
(Sellers, 2022)