24202 Consumer Behaviour Assignment Brief | UTS

Project Overview

The purpose of this project is for you to apply the consumer behaviour topics covered in class to a real‐world marketing case. The project comprises three assessment components:

Details about the project topic and each component of the assessments are described below. 

Project Topic 

The banking industry includes companies that deliver services such as retail and business banking, institutional banking, funds management, insurance, and investment and share-broking. Banks in Australia bring in more than $230 billion in revenue each year1. The banking industry in Australia has traditionally been dominated by the Big Four banks, which hold a combined market share of over 80%. These banks boast solid reputations with extensive physical and digital presences. However, in recent years, the Big Four have faced competition from smaller banks and foreign banks. The industry has also faced challenges associated with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monetary policy strategy, which has produced high volatility in revenue.  

In Australia, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA, which also includes Aussie Home Loans and Bankwest) is Australia’s largest bank by assets, deposits, market capitalisation, and number of branches2. The bank has over 16 million customers and employs approximately 49,000 full-time equivalent staff and is administered from its head office in Sydney. Major competitors include ANZ, National Australia Bank, and Westpac. CBA’s net profit margin is higher than its peer average, and annual revenue growth is expected to remain steady in 20254. To distinguish itself from competitors, in recent years CBA has revised its brand identity5, introduced a new customer recognition program6, and launched its owned media network7. 

Part of CBA’s refreshed brand identity is a commitment to helping customers achieve their financial goals and live their best lives. One specific area of focus has been to help customer 24202 Consumer Behaviour  3  Autumn 2025 avoid falling victim to scams and fraud. For example, anti-scam technology introduced in 2024, including NameCheck8 and CallerCheck9, cut scam losses in half10.  Given the competitive marketplace, CBA needs to maintain existing customers, reactivate lapsed customers, and reach new customers. The company is now looking to develop its next marketing campaign that will drive awareness, particularly with initiatives designed to help customers achieve their financial goals. 

Project Objectives 

For this assignment, you should consider yourself (and your group) to be a marketing consultancy firm. Your new client is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). Considering the marketing-related issues faced by the company, your objective in this project is to propose a marketing campaign that can help boost the company’s sales and increase its market share. To do this, you will first work independently (by conducting consumer interviews, researching academic articles, and identifying the marketing problems/opportunities) and then work as a group (by proposing creative solutions to the marketing problems/opportunities in the form of a marketing campaign).

Research Report

(Individual assessment; 20% of the assessment weighting for this subject; due Week 6) To complete this 1,000-word (excluding cover page, contents page, references, and appendices) Research Report, you will engage in both primary and secondary research. Primary research involves collecting new, firsthand data directly from sources (e.g., interviews, surveys, and experiments), while secondary research involves analysing existing data or information gathered by others (e.g., academic journal articles, industry reports, and databases). The knowledge that you gain from conducting this research will directly feed into your group Marketing Handbook. 

Please refer to Appendix A for the suggested structure for the Research Report. You may deviate from this structure if you would like to.

Primary Research 

In terms of primary research, you will conduct at least five in-depth interviews with consumers about the client company. The people you interview should be familiar with the client company but do not need to be a recent customer. Interviewing friends and family is allowed. Do not approach strangers at the client company’s place of business. If you are going to intercept strangers, then this should be done on public property, and you should show your UTS student ID card. It will be beneficial to interview a diverse range of people. Your goal in the interview is to discover consumers’ attitudes and experiences with the client and its competitors. This will be a great way to understand the general state of the industry whilst also providing a platform to enable you to generate possible new ideas.

Your Research Report should include an appendix that details each question you asked during the interview and the response your interviewee gave. You may like to record the interview and then later transcribe the interviewees’ responses. Alternatively, as you conduct the interview, you can take notes and then use those notes to later reconstruct the interviewees’ full answers. It is also permissible to interview software such as Google Forms; however, if you do this, be sure to also capture qualitative data in the form of open-ended questions where participants type in their response. Links to the video or audio interview recordings will not be allowed; you need to provide transcribed text of the interviewee’s responses.  

The quality of insights one can gain from an interview is contingent on the quality of the questions asked. To assist you with your interviews, an interview guide is provided in Appendix B. These questions are a starting point; you should ask questions beyond those in the interview guide. You are recommended to probe consumers with “why” questions to drill deeper into underlying perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and motivations.  

Once you have completed your interviews, you should summarise the insights you have gained. In particular, you must describe what you think are the client’s core marketing problems and opportunities. A marketing problem is something that the company is currently doing that is “bad” in some way and should be stopped or changed. By contrast, a marketing “opportunity” is something that the company is currently not doing but would be “good” in some way if they did. The marketing problems/opportunities you discuss should provide insights into why the client does not have a larger market share and/or more sales. Common marketing problems/opportunities include:

• Targeting the wrong segment/s.
• Poor customer perceptions (of relative price, quality, value for money, etc.).
• Inappropriate brand image.
• Confusing or ineffective past marketing campaigns.
• Poor brand differentiation from competitors. 

Secondary Research

In terms of secondary research, you are encouraged to supplement the insights you gain from conducting primary research with other sources of secondary data, such as online consumer reviews, industry reports, and peer-reviewed academic articles. It is ideal, though not a requirement, that the academic articles you reference are recently published in high-ranking marketing journals. A list of such journals is provided in Appendix C. 

Please note that you are unlikely to find an academic research article that has been conducted in Australia in the same industry as the client. This is not a problem. You are looking for insights that may have been learned from other industries and contexts as well as other countries that could nonetheless be usefully applied to the client company.

In describing the marketing problems/opportunities, you should also highlight any relevant consumer behaviour concepts and/or theories. In particular, you should describe at least one of the following theories in your own words and explain how it is relevant to the client’s marketing problems and/or opportunities, given the research you have conducted: 

• Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow, 1943)
• Multi-Store Memory Model (Tulving, 2002
• Brand personality theory (Aaker, 1997)
• Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975)
• Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986)
• Information Search Model (Schmidt & Spreng, 1996)

Submission

The softcopy version of your research report must be submitted to Canvas in Week 6 before the due date. The due date will be available on Canvas on the “Assignments” page.  

A copy of the marking guide for the Research Report can be found in Appendix D.
Please note that the following penalties apply:

• 10-point deduction for Research Reports that are longer than 1,000 words (including headings and in-text citations but excluding cover page, table of contents, references, and appendices). There is no buffer on this maximum. Please display the report word count on the cover page.
• 20-point deduction for focusing on a company that is not the client company.

Marketing Handbook

(Group assessment; 30% of the assessment weighting for this subject; due Week 10) The 3,000-word (excluding cover page, table of contents, references, and appendices) Marketing Handbook is the culmination of your individual and group effort. 

 A “marketing handbook” is a guide that can be referred to by a marketing manager when determining their marketing decisions and activities as well as evaluating whether those decisions and activities are successful. It will detail your plans for an upcoming marketing campaign and associated recommendations, considering your consumer behaviour analysis. Your recommendations could relate to print, television, a website, ambient/outdoor, cinema, or maybe an idea for an event, competition, promotion, or social media campaign.  

In writing your marketing handbook, be sure to provide recommendations regarding:

• What is the marketing problem and the causes of the problem? 
• What is the marketing opportunity? 
• What will be the objectives of your marketing campaign?
• What will be the key message/idea of the marketing campaign?
• Who will be your target market?
• Why will this key message/idea change your target audience’s behaviour?
• How are you going to communicate this key message to your target audience? 
  Please refer to Appendix E for the suggested structure of the Marketing Handbook and further details. You may deviate from this structure if you would like to. 

The softcopy version of your Marketing Handbook must be submitted to Canvas in Week 10 before the due date. The due date will be available on Canvas on the “Assignments” page. Only one member per group needs to submit.

A copy of the marking criteria for the Marketing Handbook can be found in Appendix F. Please note that the following penalties apply

• 10-point deduction for assignments that are longer than 3,000 words (including headings and in-text citations but excluding cover page, table of contents, references, and appendices). There is no buffer on this maximum. Please display the report word count on the cover page.

Interactive Marketing HandBook Discussion

(Individual assessment; 10% of the assessment weighting for this subject; due Week 12) The Interactive Marketing Handbook Discussion is a follow-up assessment task to your group Marketing Handbook, where you will engage in a live discussion to critically analyse and defend the recommendations you made. This assessment is your opportunity to showcase not only your consumer behaviour knowledge but also your ability to think on your feet, communicate effectively, and defend your brilliant ideas like seasoned marketing professionals. 

The interactive discussion will take place in your scheduled tutorial class. Each group will be called upon to stand and participate in a discussion led by the tutor. The discussion will last between 10 and 15 minutes. Questions will focus on the content of your marketing handbook, including your analysis of the target firm’s marketing problems/opportunities, the new campaign you proposed, and your understanding of consumer behaviour principles. Your tutor will direct specific questions to each member of the group. Each group member should be prepared to speak on all aspects of the marketing handbook. Although the group will engage in the discussion with the tutor together, grades will be individually awarded.  

Preparation Tips 

To prepare for the interactive discussion, you should revisit your Marketing Handbook and ensure that you thoroughly understand all its content. Anticipate potential critiques or challenges to your recommendations and prepare evidence- and/or theory-based responses. Practice responding to potential questions your tutor might ask about your analysis and recommendations. Note, however, that you will not be permitted to rely on notes or palm cards. On the day, please dress as you would if the interactive discussion were with the client’s marketing team.  
To complete the assessment, you must attend your Week 12 tutorial.  
A copy of the marking criteria for the Interactive Marketing Handbook Discussion can be found in Appendix G.  

Group Work

The Marketing Handbook is to be completed within a group. As a group, you will be working very closely all semester, and each of you will be required to contribute equally to ensure a professional working relationship is maintained. Please be aware that group members are collectively responsible for the group assignment. You should, therefore, ensure that you have had an opportunity to review your handbook before its submission.