When you start a new round, most decision pages are pre-filled with a copy of the decisions that you made in the previous period. In Period 1, decision pages are pre-filled with the decisions made by the previous management team.
Initial decisions are used by the model in case you do not submit new decisions in due time. Because the competitive situation changes each period, using the same decisions as in the previous period is usually not optimal. Hence, you are strongly encouraged to submit new decisions.
You will find below more details on how initial decisions are calculated.
•Team Identity – In Period 1, your company name is initially equal to your initial letter: M, R, S, T, L or N.
•R&D – All projects that have been partially developed in the previous period will be completed. This means that the budget required for completion is automatically allocated. If you wish to stop the development of a project, you need to shelve this project in the R&D decision page.
•Brand Portfolio – All brands marketed in the previous period will be marketed automatically in the new period. Brands will not be launched, withdrawn or modified automatically.
•Marketing Mix – The following decisions are copied from the previous period: production plan, price, advertising media, advertising research and segmentation strategy. Perceptual objectives are reset to No Objectives.
•Commercial Team – The size of your commercial team is not changed. Similarly, the allocation over channels and brands is the same as in the previous period.
•Merchandising – The merchandising budgets allocated to brands and channels are copied from the previous period.
•Market Research Studies – The same studies as in the previous period are ordered.
Do not be surprised if a share of your marketing budget is already allocated when you start the decision round. This is due to the expenses corresponding to the initial decisions: completed R&D projects, advertising, commercial team and market studies. When you change your decisions, these expenses will be changed accordingly.