MARK2012 · Marketing Fundamentals
The Complete Study & Assessment Guide · T2 2026Marketing Fundamentals
MARK2012 Marketing Fundamentals is a UNSW Sydney (UNSW Business School, School of Marketing) foundational core marketing course, worth 6 units of credit and running in Term 2 with weekly lectures and tutorials (Week 6 is the flexibility week). It is a concept- and application-driven course: the syllabus works from the marketing concept and the marketing mix (the 4Ps, extended to the 7Ps for services) through the marketing environment, consumer behaviour, segmentation-targeting-positioning, product and branding, new-product development, pricing, services and service quality, integrated marketing communications, distribution and retailing, and digital, social and sustainable marketing — the toolkit you use to create and deliver customer value. There is no final exam: MARK2012 is assessed 100% by coursework across three tasks — an individual Learning Reflection (35%: an in-class reflection, a 500-word written submission and an AI Service Marketing Simulation), an individual Leadership Presentation (35%: a case presentation for the executives, an Executive Challenge peer-critique and two PodQuizzes drawn from the weekly “Learn Marketing in Minutes” podcasts), and a group Business Report (30%) applying marketing frameworks to a sustainability case and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, with a report showcase and a short TikTok-styled video. The marks live in applying the right framework to a real brand or consumer scenario, referencing your claims (Harvard) and reflecting on your own learning, so the course rewards steady weekly engagement over a last-minute push, and the result feeds your Weighted Average Mark (WAM) on the UNSW HD / DN / CR / PS / FL scale. All weights and timings here mirror the published UNSW course outline; confirm the exact components and due dates for your term on Moodle, as the assessment design is periodically updated.
What MARK2012 covers
MARK2012 builds the marketing toolkit one week at a time in UNSW Term 2, moving from analysing the marketing environment and consumer behaviour to STP, the 4Ps, services, and digital and sustainable marketing. There is no final exam — your WAM contribution comes entirely from a Learning Reflection, a Leadership Presentation and a group Business Report on the UN SDGs — so this guide focuses on applying each framework to those tasks.
How MARK2012 is assessed
| Component | Weight | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Learning Reflection (individual) | 35% | In-class reflection – 3 mins (10%); written submission – 500 words, due the following Monday (15%); AI Service Marketing Simulation Learning (10%); across Weeks 2, 3 and Week 7 |
| Leadership Presentation (individual) | 35% | Presentation for the Executives (20%); Executive Challenge (5%); PodQuiz (10%); across Weeks 4–5 and Week 8 |
| Business Report (group) | 30% | 1,500-word business report on sustainability & the UN SDGs due 12pm Monday Week 9 (15%); Report Showcase 7-min presentation + Q&A in Week 9 tutorial (10%); TikTok video in Week 9 tutorial (5%) |
| Final exam | None | No final examination — MARK2012 (T2/2026) is assessed entirely by coursework |
Applied: an STP walk for a new recycled-fabric outdoor jacket (Leadership Presentation shape)
- +2(a) Segment. Choose the base deliberately. Age alone is weak here, so segment psychographically — by shared values and lifestyle: buyers whose self-identity centres on sustainability, ethical consumption and the outdoors. Name it (e.g. “values-driven eco-adventurers”) rather than “young people”.
- +2(b) Target. Justify the choice against effective-segment criteria — the segment is identifiable, reachable through outdoor and social channels, substantial enough to be profitable, and responsive (willing to pay a modest premium for a credibly sustainable product). Undifferentiated mass marketing would dilute the sustainability message, so a concentrated/differentiated approach fits.
- +2(c) Position. Use the positioning-statement template — For [target] who [need], [brand] is a [frame of reference] that [point of difference], because [reason to believe]: “For eco-conscious adventurers who want performance without waste, the jacket is high-performance outerwear that is made from recycled ocean plastic, because every jacket diverts a stated quantity of plastic and is independently certified.” State a clear point of difference versus rivals.
- +2(d) Enhancement. Add what the exemplars reward: layer in behavioural segmentation (target repeat/high-involvement outdoor buyers), back the premium-willingness claim with evidence, and add explicit competitive differentiation versus other brands also claiming sustainability — avoiding any hint of greenwashing.
Key terms
- Marketing concept
- The idea that a firm succeeds by creating, communicating, delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, partners and society — a marketing (customer) orientation rather than a production- or sales-led one. The foundation of every MARK2012 task.
- Marketing mix (4Ps / 7Ps)
- The controllable decisions a firm makes to create value: Product, Price, Place and Promotion (the 4Ps), extended for services to add People, Process and Physical evidence (the 7Ps). The organising spine of the course.
- STP
- Segmentation → Targeting → Positioning: divide the market on a chosen base, evaluate and select target segment(s), then design a distinctive, valued position versus competitors. The core skill assessed in the Leadership Presentation.
- Value (benefits ÷ costs)
- The ratio a customer weighs — perceived benefits relative to perceived costs (price, effort, risk). A firm raises value by adding benefits or lowering costs; value-based marketing means delivering more value than rivals.
- Brand equity
- The added value a brand endows on a product, built from brand awareness, perceived quality, brand associations/image and brand loyalty (Keller/Aaker). A key lens for product and branding analysis.
- UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- The 17 United Nations goals for people and planet; MARK2012 foregrounds SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities & Communities). The group Business Report must map a business case to specific numbered SDGs.
MARK2012 FAQ
Is MARK2012 hard?
It is challenging in a different way from a numbers course: there is almost no calculation, but a wide set of frameworks (the marketing mix, CDSTEP, the consumer decision process, STP, brand equity, the PLC, SERVQUAL, AIDA, the UN SDGs) that you must apply, not just recall. The difficulty is breadth plus the expectation to analyse and reflect rather than describe, and the fact that a large share of the mark is reflection, a presentation and group work assessed against rubrics with Harvard referencing. Students who watch the weekly “Learn Marketing in Minutes” podcasts, keep a reflective log from Week 1 and practise applying each framework to real brands tend to find it very manageable.
Can AI help me with MARK2012?
Yes, as a study aid. Sia is an AI tutor trained on how MARK2012 is actually taught and assessed at UNSW Sydney: it can explain a framework like STP, the CDSTEP macro scan or SERVQUAL step by step, help you structure your Learning Reflection or the sustainability Business Report, and check whether your reasoning applies the right model to a scenario. It explains the method and checks your thinking; it does not do graded assessment for you, and the UNSW academic-integrity/plagiarism policy applies (generative AI is only permitted where the course coordinator explicitly allows it for a task, and any use must be acknowledged).
How is MARK2012 assessed?
By 100% coursework — there is no final exam. Three tasks make up the mark: an individual Learning Reflection (35%: an in-class reflection worth 10%, a 500-word written submission worth 15% and an AI Service Marketing Simulation worth 10%, across Weeks 2, 3 and 7), an individual Leadership Presentation (35%: a presentation for the executives worth 20%, an Executive Challenge worth 5% and PodQuizzes worth 10%, across Weeks 4–5 and Week 8), and a group Business Report on sustainability and the UN SDGs (30%: a 1,500-word report worth 15%, a report showcase worth 10% and a TikTok video worth 5%, in Week 9). Confirm the exact components and due dates for your term on Moodle.
Does MARK2012 have a hurdle or a final exam?
There is no final examination and no whole-of-course hurdle is stated in the assessment briefs — every component simply counts toward the 100% coursework total and feeds your Weighted Average Mark (WAM) on the UNSW HD / DN / CR / PS / FL scale. Two participation gates matter in practice: you must attend the Week 7 tutorial to complete the AI Service Marketing Simulation, and the Report Showcase and TikTok video are delivered in the Week 9 tutorial. Always confirm the current assessment rules on Moodle and the UNSW course outline.
How does the group Business Report and PodQuiz work?
The 30% Business Report is group work: a group contract is set early in the term, a sustainability case brief is released around Week 4, and the 1,500-word report is due about Week 9, followed by a report showcase and a short TikTok-styled SDG video in the Week 9 tutorial. The PodQuizzes (part of the 35% Leadership Presentation) are short Moodle quizzes drawn from the weekly “Learn Marketing in Minutes” podcasts — a few questions each, one attempt, pro-rata to a small mark — so keeping up with the podcasts week to week is the easiest marks in the course. Confirm the exact dates and group rules on Moodle.
How to prepare for the assessments
Treat MARK2012 as a toolkit to apply, not a set of readings to memorise. Each week watch the “Learn Marketing in Minutes” podcast before class (it also feeds the PodQuizzes), then take one framework and apply it to a brand you actually use — write two lines on its 4Ps, or which CDSTEP forces are reshaping its market. Keep a running reflective log from Week 1: it feeds directly into the Learning Reflection and trains you to reflect (make meaning from a personal experience) rather than describe a product. For the Leadership Presentation, practise the STP walk (segment → target → position) with explicit competitive differentiation and evidence. For the 1,500-word group Business Report, map your case to specific numbered UN SDGs (SDG 12 and SDG 11 are the course's anchors) and put sustainability at the core of the recommendation, not bolted on. Reference every claim in Harvard style — poor in-text referencing is explicitly marked down. Because a big share of the mark is group work, set a group contract and shared record early. Aim to engage every week rather than cramming, and confirm every weight, word count and due date for your term on Moodle and the UNSW course outline. When a framework won't click, ask Sia to re-explain that single model a different way and quiz you on applying it — it teaches the method and checks your reasoning, and never substitutes for your own graded work.
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