O Level Business: Marketing strategy (Cambridge 7115) – Practice Questions

These are original questions written for Marlbridge, for revision and practice on this content. They are not reproduced past-paper questions, and they do not replicate the exam’s exact structure, question count or mark tariffs – examination boards hold copyright in their own papers. Use these alongside the official past papers from your board or school.

These questions cover section 3.4 (Marketing strategy) of the Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115 syllabus for examination in 2026: choosing and justifying a marketing strategy, legal controls related to marketing, and entering new foreign markets. Read the study guide and the revision notes first if you need to. The wider Marketing practice set covers other parts of the topic. Course pages: Cambridge O Level Business hub and printable checklist.

Questions

1. State two elements of the marketing mix other than price. [2]

2. Cobalt Row Footwear sells school shoes for children aged 6 to 12. Similar shoes in local shops cost between 28 and 45 dollars. Cobalt Row’s shoes cost 38 dollars. Explain one reason why the product itself may influence parents’ buying decisions more than promotion. [4]

3. Cobalt Row has a marketing budget of 90 000 dollars. It plans to spend 35% on in-store displays. It expects the campaign to bring 1 800 extra pairs of sales. (a) Calculate the amount spent on in-store displays. [2] (b) Calculate the marketing cost for each extra pair sold. [2]

4. Define misleading promotion. [2]

5. Driftwood Bay Foods makes fruit bars. One batch is found to have damaged seals, which makes the bars unsafe to eat. Explain two ways legal controls on faulty and dangerous goods could affect the company’s marketing strategy. [4]

6. Hazelbrook Toys advertised a toy as “unbreakable”. It sold 2 500 toys at 16 dollars each. The toy breaks easily and the company refunds every customer and pays 3 dollars per toy to collect it. (a) Calculate the cost of the refunds and collection. [2] (b) Explain one way the advert could damage the company’s marketing position. [3]

7. (a) State two problems a business may face when entering a foreign market. [2] (b) Define licensing. [2]

8. Halcyford Lamps sells handmade lamps. In Country Z the average household income rose from 24 000 dollars to 32 000 dollars in five years. (a) Calculate the percentage rise in average household income. [2] (b) Explain one reason why this suggests Country Z has growth potential for Halcyford Lamps. [2]

9. Halcyford Lamps is considering a joint venture with a local firm in Country Z. Explain one benefit and one limitation of a joint venture for Halcyford Lamps. [4]

10. Cobalt Row will launch a trainer for teenagers aged 13 to 17. Unit cost is 34 dollars and the marketing budget is 60 000 dollars. Rival trainers sell for 55 to 90 dollars. Teenagers in the target market spend much of their time on social media. Option A: price 59 dollars; promote mainly through social media; sell online and through many shops. Expected sales are 3 000 pairs. Option B: price 79 dollars; promote with local television; sell only in Cobalt Row’s own two shops. Expected sales are 1 600 pairs. (a) Calculate the expected contribution after marketing spend for each option (contribution is selling price minus unit cost, multiplied by pairs sold). [4] (b) Recommend which option Cobalt Row should choose. Justify your answer. [6]

11. Saffron Quay Spices wants to sell in a new foreign market. It has two offers. Joint venture: Saffron Quay invests 260 000 dollars for a 45% share of the venture’s yearly profit of 190 000 dollars. Licence: a local firm would sell Saffron Quay spices, expects sales of 1 250 000 dollars and pays a 7% royalty. Saffron Quay invests nothing. (a) Calculate Saffron Quay’s yearly income from the joint venture. [2] (b) Calculate Saffron Quay’s yearly income from the licence. [2] (c) Recommend which offer Saffron Quay should accept. Justify your answer. [6]

Answers

1. Two from product, place and promotion, one mark each: product or place or promotion [1] and a second, different element [1]. Examiner insight: A bare list of two terms is enough for a “state” question, so spend no time explaining them. Write exactly two terms, because extra ones add nothing.

2. Parents want shoes that last because children’s feet grow and shoes are worn daily [1]. A durable, comfortable product that fits well gives value for money at 38 dollars [1], which sits in the middle of the 28 to 45 dollar range [1]. Parents who find the shoes wear well may buy again and recommend them, so adverts matter less than the quality they have already seen [1]. Examiner insight: The strongest answers choose the mix element that suits the customer in the stem (here, parents buying for children) and use the price range given. A general statement that “product is important” does not use the case.

3. (a) 35% × 90 000 [1] = 31 500 dollars [1]. (b) 90 000 ÷ 1 800 [1] = 50 dollars per pair [1]. Examiner insight: Show the division with its units. A wrong figure can still earn credit for a correct method, but only if the working is visible.

4. Promotion that gives customers a false or unclear impression of the product, its price or what it does [1]. For example, an advert that exaggerates a claim, or one that hides a condition attached to a price [1]. Examiner insight: A definition earns credit for the meaning. An example alone does not show that you can say what the term means, so give the meaning first.

5. Any two developed points, 2 marks each. First, the company must test products and check seals before sale, which raises costs and may delay launches [1]. This changes the product stage of the mix, because quality becomes part of what is promoted [1]. Second, it may have to recall the batch and refund customers [1]. Publicity about unsafe food can damage the brand, so the company may need extra advertising to rebuild trust [1]. Examiner insight: Each point needs a link back to marketing strategy (product, promotion, price or place), not only to the legal rule. Two reasons that say the same thing are likely to be credited once.

6. (a) 2 500 × (16 + 3) [1] = 47 500 dollars [1]. (b) The claim “unbreakable” gave customers a false impression of the toy [1]. When the toy breaks, customers lose trust and the brand’s reputation falls [1], so future sales of all Hazelbrook toys may fall and the company may need extra promotion to recover [1]. Examiner insight: In the explanation, show a chain: the false claim, the effect on customers, then the effect on sales or promotion costs. Stopping after “the advert is misleading” leaves the answer as a statement.

7. (a) Any two different problems, one mark each, such as cultural differences in language, tastes and customs [1] and lack of knowledge of customers, competitors or rules [1]. (Also acceptable: high distance or delivery costs, or established local brands.) (b) Licensing is when the owner of a brand or product [1] lets another business make or sell it in return for a fee or royalty [1]. Examiner insight: “Lack of knowledge” is more convincing when you say of what, such as local customers’ habits. Do not confuse licensing with joint ventures: the key idea of licensing is permission to use for a fee.

8. (a) (32 000 − 24 000) ÷ 24 000 × 100 [1] = 33.3% [1]. (b) Customers have more money to spend, so more households can afford handmade lamps [1], which suggests demand for Halcyford Lamps could grow [1]. Examiner insight: Use the number you calculated in part (a) in part (b). Linking rising income to demand for this particular product is more convincing than a general comment about the country.

9. Benefit: the local firm knows customers, local rules and distribution [1], so Halcyford Lamps avoids the problems caused by lack of knowledge and shares the costs and risks [1]. Limitation: profit has to be shared with the partner [1], so Halcyford earns less than if it entered alone, and the partners may disagree about decisions [1]. Examiner insight: A benefit and a limitation both need development. Name the point, then say what it means for Halcyford Lamps, such as lower profit or lower risk.

10. (a) Option A: (59 − 34) × 3 000 = 75 000 [1]; 75 000 − 60 000 = 15 000 dollars [1]. Option B: (79 − 34) × 1 600 = 72 000 [1]; 72 000 − 60 000 = 12 000 dollars [1]. (b) Recommend Option A. Marks for justification: Option A gives the higher expected contribution after marketing, 15 000 against 12 000 dollars [1]. Social media suits teenagers, who spend much of their time on it, whereas local television reaches a more general audience [1]. Selling online and through many shops makes the trainer easy to find, while two shops limit availability [1]. Its 59 dollar price is inside the 55 to 90 dollar rival range, which suits young buyers with limited money [1]. Against this, Option B earns 45 dollars per pair rather than 25 dollars, so it needs fewer sales to cover costs, and a higher price might give a premium image [1]. However, B’s sales forecast depends on television reaching teenagers, and only two shops limit its sales, so on balance A is the better choice, provided its 3 000 forecast is reliable [1]. Examiner insight: A “justify” answer should use the figures given and also weigh the other option before reaching a judgement. A recommendation that only praises the chosen option leaves out the balance that higher-level answers show.

11. (a) 45% × 190 000 [1] = 85 500 dollars [1]. (b) 7% × 1 250 000 [1] = 87 500 dollars [1]. (c) Recommend the licence. Justification: the licence earns slightly more, 87 500 against 85 500 dollars [1], and needs no investment, whereas the joint venture needs 260 000 dollars [1]. The licensee already knows the market, so Saffron Quay avoids lack of knowledge and cultural mistakes [1]. The joint venture return is 85 500 ÷ 260 000, about 32.9% a year, which is a good return, and Saffron Quay would have more say over quality and the brand [1]. The licence leaves less control of quality and brand image, and the licensee might become a rival later [1]. On balance the licence is preferable, because the income is higher without investment and with less risk, as long as Saffron Quay sets clear quality standards in the agreement [1]. Examiner insight: Compare the two offers with the figures in both parts (a) and (b), then bring in a qualitative point such as control. Choosing the highest number without discussing risk, investment or control gives a one-sided answer.

Where marks are usually lost

• Naming a mix element without linking it to the customers or product in the stem.
• Giving two similar reasons in a “two ways” question.
• Explaining the law but not the effect on marketing strategy.
• Forgetting that a recall costs refunds plus collection, and not just the price.
• Calculating a percentage change without dividing by the starting value.
• Confusing joint ventures with licensing.
• Recommending one option without weighing the other.
• Leaving out units such as dollars or the percentage sign.
• Using “culture” or “lack of knowledge” without saying what differs or what is unknown.

Frequently asked questions

Are these Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115 past paper questions? No. They are original practice questions written for Marlbridge on section 3.4 (Marketing strategy). Use them alongside the official past papers.

How do you answer a legal controls question on marketing strategy? Link each point back to the marketing strategy, such as the product, promotion, price or place, rather than only explaining the legal rule. Explaining the law without its effect on strategy is a common way to lose marks.

What is often missed when calculating the cost of a product recall? A recall costs the refunds plus the cost of collecting the goods, not just the selling price. Show the calculation with its units.

How do you make “culture” or “lack of knowledge” points convincing? Say what differs or what is unknown, such as local customers’ habits, tastes or the rules on advertising. A single word with no detail is too vague.

How should you compare two offers for entering a foreign market? Use the figures for both offers, then bring in a qualitative point such as control or risk before reaching a judgement. Choosing one option without weighing the other loses marks.

Next steps

• Review the revision notes and the study guide.
• Try the topic-level Marketing practice set.
• Open the Cambridge O Level Business hub and the printable checklist.
• Take one of the free 10-minute diagnostics.
• Book a free trial class.

Official syllabus

Cambridge International, Cambridge O Level Business Studies 7115 syllabus for 2026, section 3.4 Marketing strategy (3.4.1 to 3.4.3).