Purpose of this Assignment
1. to improve understanding of marketing through application of the concepts and content of the course;
2. to learn more about the marketing strategies and business for a chosen or assigned company/organization;
3. to learn how and what research is needed to develop marketing strategies and plans; and
4. to learn how to write a professional and properly cited business research report
Preliminary Situation Analysis (50 points)
1. Choose your company/organization and define its industry.
First, you need to select a company to use for the project. This should be a company that is (1) a well-known for-profit, (2) sells B2C products (not B2B), and (2) a manufacturer or a retailer. You will use this company as the foundation for the preliminary situation analysis and for your final marketing plan.
Note 1: by choosing a well-known for-profit national company it is easier to find information and research to complete this project.
Note 2: If you choose a large company with numerous divisions (such as GM or Samsung), you should choose one of the divisions to focus on. Ask the professor, if uncertain about this.
Later, this situation analysis along with other analyses will be used to support the marketing of a new product or product line (either physical/tangible good or an intangible service) that you will recommend for the company to develop and market. Note: you are not to create a new business for your chosen company.
You may choose any of the top brands/companies mentioned here: https://www.businessinsider.com/top-100-millennial-brands-2018-9. It is best to choose a company that you are most familiar with as a customer, can find research about, and will have fun being creative with a marketing plan for them. Note: this project is for a company, not a brand within a company.
However, other companies or organizations may be pre-approved if you discuss it with the professor prior to the end of Week 1 (call or Zoom during office hours and send an email to confirm when you are calling and include the company’s website link so a judgement for approval can be made).
When you have decided on a company for this project, you should post assignment in memo format on Canvas>Assignments about: (1) your company (a link to their corporate website), and (2) the company’s specific industry (and the direct link where you confirmed this). You may find this at https://www.dnb.com/business-directory.html or https://libguides.libraries.wsu.edu/c.php?g=294263&p=1959958.
Note: this is due by the end of Week 1 (for 4 points).
For your chosen company, you will complete a preliminary situation analysis to understand: (1) what the company currently has to offer in the form of products, services, and resources, etc. (the controllable), and (2) what are the forces in the marketing environment that provide guidance for future marketing decisions.
From this preliminary research, you will identify a market need to fill by developing a new product/product line for your chosen company This will be the requirement for the preliminary situation analysis so the professor can provide you feedback to determine if you are on track with the project (50 points).
After receiving feedback for the preliminary situation analysis (5Cs, part 1), you will improve this part of the assignment (revised situation analysis part 1) and complete the final marketing plan project (part 2) with your marketing strategic decisions (STPs, 4Ps) for this new product/product line (200 points).
While the content from your reading/study, quizzes, mid-term, and final exams can provide you with the needed knowledge to complete this project, it is your further study/reflection for understanding and application of the important concepts and processes that will guide you in completing the marketing plan project.
2. Begin Your Company, Industry, and Situation Analysis Research Immediately.
A. You should cite current research from credible and reliable sources.
Most of your content can be found in three to five library recommended research sources. Be sure that you use current research sources (with cites/research that are no older than 3 years). Older than 3 years would not be considered up to date for any research data that may be used.
Note: if you cannot easily find the date of a research source, then it is not a source you should use in this project. Without a current and proper date of the source, the quality of the research cannot be judged, and this will negatively affect your project grade.
Company Research Guide https://libguides.unco.edu/business/company and https://libguides.unco.edu/business/industry
The Company Research Guide will provide the links to UNC library resources for researching your assigned company. You may need to sign in if accessing the library’s web site while off campus (this is the same as signing into Canvas). These recommended research sources are reliable and approved for use with this project. You are graded on the quality and currency of your information source, so be careful of using information from just any source found with a Google search.
Note: you will lose points if the professor only finds references from the popular press in the References section.
B. Your research citations should be complete and of proper style (e.g., APA).
As you find the information needed to complete this assignment, you will also need to record the source of your research for citation. The web links below are provided to guide you in judging quality research sources and for properly citing those sources. Proper and complete citations are a major part of your grade for this project and failure to cite properly will likely earn a C or lower grade on the project.
Citation: http://libguides.unco.edu/content.php?pid=85068&sid=1024771
More about the APA 7 Format for Reference Citations (for citing sources within your page and on the reference page): https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html
Pay attention about how to properly cite research from: (1) a Full Text Article from Library Databases (Electronic) or (2) a web page. If your citation is only a web address, then it is considered incomplete and not acceptable. What is most important is that your reference citations are complete and with consistency of style (i.e., APA).
Note 1: If using a database to find research sources, make sure that the web link provided works and links directly to the original source (a permanent link). While signed into a database, the link found in your browser is often a temporary link and does not work for others not signed into your database.
Note 2: GMID Passport is an excellent database for your project. But, make sure you have a separate citation for each report used in this database (see Citation link above). A single citation for GMID does not provide adequate detail for judging the date and source of specific data used in your paper.
Note 3: Research citations from web sources need two dates: (1) date of the source, and (2) the date retrieved or downloaded (see APA style).
Note 4: If you do not have a date for a source, then you should not use it because its quality and currency cannot be judged. Sometimes when you cannot find an immediate date, you can look at the bottom of the page and find the copyright date.
Note 5: you may use a Bibliography Maker, such as EasyBib or BibMe, but you will need to make sure you have input the extra information. The Source is often needed to add.
Note 6: APA style is primarily used for formatting the citations and paper. Other formatting requirements are found later in this handout.
Every citation should include some or all of the following (just fill in all the missing information requested by the Bibliography Maker): (1) the author, (2) the source (e.g., name of magazine, newspaper, web site, book, database, etc.), (3) title (article title, web page title, film title, report title, etc.), (4) date published or created, (5) date accessed or retrieved (for web sites only), (6) page numbers (for printed sources only), (7) direct permanent link to the specific article (for web sites only), (8) publisher (for books or web sites only), and other information, depending on the type of source and format style.
C. You should cite your research sources where used in the written presentation.
This is called an in-text citation.
The required way to reference a research source in the body of the presentation is to present a citation in parentheses, by author and date, and should include page numbers for quotes. Note: do not use footnotes.
For example, if the content from this paragraph came from research source by authors McCorkle and McCorkle, then it is indicated as it is here (McCorkle and McCorkle 2021). Two references are separated by a semi-colon, e.g., (Engel and Blackwell 2020; Stocker 2021). Page numbers are indicated by a colon, e.g., (Engel and Blackwell 1982:7), which means reference quote is found on page 7. Page numbers are only needed for direct quotes. In most cases, paraphrasing should be used instead of direct quotes. Excessive use of direct quotes in your paper will count against you.
D. Plagiarism is a serious matter when completing this project.
This Preliminary and final Marketing Plan Project should be written and completed by only you. Canvas’s TurnItIn or equivalent software is used to compare your work to sources on the Internet, my assignments from past semesters, and past assignments completed for other professors, to identify if any of your content was copied (i.e., plagiarized). Thus, be sure that you paraphrase any content from research sources and be sure to cite the specific source of the research used in your paper where it is used in the paper (see previous section). This is called in-text citation. Proper paraphrasing requires that an entire sentence be rewritten. Rearranging a few words or phrases can still be considered as plagiarism.
Note: direct quotes should only be used when the specific wording of the source is important. It is inappropriate to direct quote a full paragraph or more than a sentence or part of a sentence. Instead, this content should be paraphrased.
If plagiarism is found, severe consequences will result. Be sure to re-read the MCB Statement in the course syllabus. TurnItIn software will be used as a check for potential plagiarism.
Note: direct copying of anything from the web without proper paraphrasing and citation is considered plagiarism with this project. In addition, direct copying from current or previous projects from this class is considered plagiarism.
Note: I will always review the TurnItIn (or equivalent) report. Depending upon the extent of plagiarism or copying, appropriate points will be deducted, and a warning will be given. In most cases where plagiarism is found, for the first offence, that section of the project will receive a 0 grade. If any plagiarism continues with a second assignment, then the entire project grade (for all current and past parts) will be adjusted accordingly (most likely given a 0 grade) and the situation will be reported thru proper channels with MCB and UNC.
3. Complete Preliminary Situation Analysis of the Marketing Plan Project (Part 1).
The Preliminary Situation Analysis is due at the end of Week 3 (50 points). The assignment will not be accepted for a grade if late but will be reviewed and feedback will be provided. You must include cover page, table of contents, headings, sub-headings, proper spacing, intext citations, reference page, etc.
Note 1: submit at Canvas>Assignments or Modules. TurnItIn software is used to check for plagiarism. Do not send as an e-mail attachment unless requested to do so.
Note 2: you may submit this assignment at any time before the deadline, but it may not be graded until after the deadline.
Note 3: once you have submitted this assignment, Canvas may not allow you to resubmit it, so make sure you are done with it before submitting it through Canvas.
Note 4: you should submit your assignments as one file (additional files for something that you forgot will not be graded).
A. The format for your project is as follows:
a. Cover Page that includes the title of paper and your current name, address, phone, and email. Note: I will not share your personal contact information with anyone, though it is important that I know how to reach you in case of a problem with your project submission. Make your cover page look professional by including graphics and design elements.
b. Executive Summary that summarizes the major marketing strategy decisions provided in the paper (1-2 pages). You should write this after completing all the other content. It is not needed in the preliminary assignment.
c. Table of Contents page that includes all headings, subheadings, and their related page numbers aligned on the right side of the page (see any book Table of Contents for an example; hint: use tabs for alignment).
d. Content:
Introduction – This should explain what the paper is about and that it is for this class.
Body – Write in paragraph form (bullet points should be used sparingly) and in third-person perspective (not first-person). This is a formal report and not an outlined presentation. You do need to explain yourself as with writing a formal report.
12-point font, Times New Roman recommended for easier reading.
Use all headings and subheadings from the project outline. Be consistent in their indentations/alignment. Note: in the outline below, the numbers represent the 1st level headings (1, 2, 3, 4), the capital letters represent the 2nd level headings/sub (A, B, C, D), and the lower-case letters represent the 3rd level headings/sub (a, b, c, d). However, you should not include the letters and numbers in your report. This handout is not an example of the project format. See example format pages later in this handout.
Use double spacing with paragraph indents.
Cite sources where used in the paper (in-text citation) using a referencing method by author and date (see citing reference sources section above).
Include visuals (images, videos, etc.) in the body of your paper to liven up the written presentation (show and tell). Be sure to provide titles and reference cites for all graphics/pictures/tables/figures used in the paper. All graphs, tables, charts, figures, etc. should be numbered and discussed in the body of the paper. Be sure to explain any visuals that are used, and do not use the visuals as a substitute for your written content. Note: do not cut and paste tables, charts, etc. from the web without citation and proper explanation of its content. This is considered plagiarism.
Include web links to demonstrate something important, such as an advertisement or video for your brand/company. Be sure to explain any links that are used, and do not use the links as a substitute for your written content.
Use these digital writing/reading style guidelines of:
(1) shorter paragraphs for easier e-reading (double-spaced within and around all headings/subheadings and paragraphs), and
(2) entry points for easier scanning (headings, subheadings, and limited use of bullet points).
Conclusion – At the end of the final paper, you should write a conclusion to wrap up this formal presentation.
e. References Page.
B. Expected minimum length for Part 1 of the Project (preliminary situation analysis):
2,500-5,000 words (or about 10 to 20 total double-spaced pages of content, not including cover page, table of contents, visuals, and reference cites; and with formatting explained in section 3A above).
You will upload your paper at Canvas>Assignments or Modules for Preliminary Situation Analysis so that TurnItIn can be used.
C. Content for completing Part 1 of the Project (Situation Analysis)
The 5Cs provide the heart of the “situation analysis” (see textbook Chapter 17 and Appendix for guidance). The first step in planning is to understand about the company, brands, and industry current situation. That assessment requires a deep understanding of our company, customers, context, collaborators, and competitors (the 5Cs). The ideal result of a situation analysis is to answer every part of every question as comprehensively as possible, using secondary data and research citations as extensively as possible (required).
To complete this assignment, you need to begin with a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of your company/brand. While you should not turn in with this paper, a SWOT will guide you in completing the situation analysis. SWOT is described in Chapter 4 on Targeting and Chapter 16 on Marketing Strategy. Some researchers recommend that you carefully examine linkages between the four SWOT elements of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats and that you consider designing objectives that either help to maximize the impact of the linkage or minimize the impact of the linkage in to the future. Please note, objectives are not required for the completion of this assignment.
This section draws from information gathered from the 5Cs marketing framework outlined in your textbook. The 5Cs consist of Company, Customer, Context, Collaborators, and Competitors. The textbook chapters mapped to the marketing framework are found in Figure 1.4 in Chapter 1. An example spreadsheet of the 5Cs is in Table A17-1 (click full book button in Cengage to get there).
Below outlines the topics that fall under each one of the 5Cs. A SWOT analysis is used for several aspects of the situation analysis, so it is best to work on this first to guide you in summarizing the information below.
Note: do not cite another’s SWOT as the source of your research (such as from Market Line). You should find and cite research from first-hand sources.
Note: you need to formally define the industry that your company is operating in. Don’t make this up. Search for this on the company’s web page. Google for it. Use the UNC and Cengage industry research sources to confirm it. If uncertain, email the professor with what you have found as early in week 1 as possible.
a. Company (10 points).
Describe your company’s (1) origins, (2) brief history, (3) product lines/mix by brand and percent of product mix, (4) overall sales and growth by product lines, and (5) define the industry for your company. A table is best to show some of this information.
Also, answer these questions from the textbook:
– What are we good at? Known for?
– What do we want to become? Future strategies.
This requires research about your chosen company. Visit their web pages. Google search for more. Refer to the UNC and Cengage company research resources mentioned in 2B above.
This content represents the internal/controllable strengths and weaknesses of your company (SW of SWOT).
b. Customers (10 points).
The company tries to understand its customers by collecting data on them. The company starts with studying secondary data to know the background trends, and then as an option collects fresh data on customers and potential customers.
Answer these questions from the textbook (use subheadings):
– Demographics (e.g., age, income, household composition)
– Psychographics (e.g., attitude to product, attitude toward brand)
– Current levels of customer satisfaction
– Describe loyalty programs and other efforts at Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
– Buying behavior (e.g., What they buy, when they buy, what channel do they prefer, sensitivity to price?)
– Other customer issues (e.g., What changes have we seen with these customers, why don’t non-buyers buy?)
– Company demand/trends (e.g., Are there any recent changes in market demand or sales trends for this company?)
– See more questions in the Appendix
This requires research about your company’s current customers or target markets. Visit company web pages to find their typical customers and research the industry trends or growth segments for these consumers/customers. You may also research their competitor’s customers to identify segments that are overlooked by your company. Google search for more. Refer to the UNC and Cengage research resources mentioned in 2B above.
This content represents the internal/controllable strengths and weaknesses of your company and the external/uncontrollable opportunities and threats from the market/industry (SW and OT of SWOT).
c. Context (10 points).
The Company assesses the external/uncontrollable macro-environmental issues that affect it. Sample questions that the company should pose help with understanding the business context. The company revisits these questions when it sees changes in its environments or when it changes its brand or target segments. In this section, you are researching the macro-environmental current and future industry trends that can affect your company and their current and future strategies.
In this section, you will likely find the research needed to support your proposed new product line. If not, then you need more of this research about the industry and market demand/trends.
Answer this question with research from multiple recommended research resources (not just popular press):
– What is the market demand and trends for products/services in your company’s industry? (Note: this is not about your company, it is about its industry of similar companies).
Answer these questions from the textbook (use subheadings):
– Is the economy a factor? Is it stable? Growing? What’s the consumer mood?
– Are politics a factor? Are our partners stable?
– Is legal a factor? Are any consumer laws looming?
– Is technology a threat/opportunity? Machines? IT?
– Any societal concerns? Demographic shifts? Attitude shifts?
This requires research about your company’s industry. Visit the company’s web pages to properly define the company’s industry. Refer to the UNC and Cengage research resources mentioned in 2B above. This is about your research as support and not about your opinion.
This content represents the external/uncontrollable market opportunities and threats to your company and its marketing (OT of SWOT)
d. Collaborators (5 points).
The company should also study the relationship it has with its providers in the supply chain and channel members.
Answer these questions from the textbook (use subheadings):
– Good relations with supply chain providers?
– Good relations with distribution channel members?
– What channels are used by your company (see text for types)?
– Want any modifications?
This requires research about your chosen company’s supply chain and distribution channels. Visit their web pages. Google search for more. Refer to the UNC and Cengage company and industry research resources mentioned in 2B above.
This content represents all areas of the SWOT.
e. Competitors (5 point).
Using a SWOT analysis helps the company determine its strengths relative to other providers in the marketplace.
Answer these questions:
– What is the industry for your chosen company?
– Who are your major competitors in this industry?
– What are your competitors’ strengths? (these are threats in a SWOT analysis)
This requires industry research about your company’s competitors. Visit their web pages. Google search for more. Consider a table for comparison.
Refer to the UNC and Cengage research resources mentioned in 2B above. This is about your research as support and not about your opinion.
This content represents the external/uncontrollable market opportunities and threats to your company and its marketing (OT of SWOT).
f. Summary and Proposed New Product Line (5 points).
Summarize the key conclusions about the situation analysis that will serve as the foundation for future analysis and formation of marketing strategies for a new product/product line.
Be sure to clearly state the new product line that you will develop for this project and include a minimum of 3 proof points from your research as justification (call them proof point 1, proof point 2, proof point 3 as subheadings). This decision should be supported by your research in this preliminary situation analysis. If you are missing research support for your proposed new product line, then you should return to previous sections and add your research there.
g. Format/research, spelling, and grammar (5 points).
Be sure to follow the formatting instructions provided in this assignment and use the recommended library resources. Failure to do so could result in an overall grade reduction of 10%.
4. The Preliminary Situation Analysis for the Marketing Plan Project should have these major pages and sections (add your own subheadings for easier reading).
Cover Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
Situation Analysis (5Cs).
Company
Customers
Context
Collaborators
Competitors
Summary of Research and Proposal of New Product Line
References
E. Grading Rubric for Part 1 of the Project:
This assignment is worth 50 points as outlined above for the 5Cs. Points will be earned based on grammar and completeness of response. Since the SWOT is the basis of some of the Cs, it would behoove you to spend some quality time on the formation of this tool even though it is not included in this project.
Situation Analysis Very strong evidence
Moderate Evidence
Evidence is lacking
Company / worth up to 10 points Clear and engaging description of company and what it wants to become (10 points). Some evidence of clear and engaging description yet a minimal amount of confusion or missing information (6 points). Evidence is unclear and not very engaging with a lot of confusion or missing information (3-0 points).
Customers / worth up to 10 points Clear and engaging description of demographics, psychographics (if appropriate), customer satisfaction, buying behavior, and other customer issues (10 points). Some evidence of clear and engaging description yet a minimal amount of confusion or missing information (6 points). Evidence is unclear and not very engaging with a lot of confusion or missing information (3-0 points)
Context / worth up to 10 points Clear and engaging description of market demand/trends, economic, political, legal technological, and societal issues (10 points). Some evidence of clear and engaging description yet a minimal amount of confusion or missing information (6 points) Evidence is unclear and not very engaging with a lot of confusion or missing information
(3-0 points)
Collaborators / worth up to 5 points Clear and engaging description Modifications needed with either supply chain partners or distribution channel partners (5 points) Some evidence of clear and engaging description yet a minimal amount of confusion or missing information (3 points) Evidence is unclear and not very engaging with a lot of confusion or missing information (1-0 points)
Competitors / worth up to 5 points Clear and engaging description of the main competitors and their threats (5 points). Some evidence of clear and engaging description yet a minimal amount of confusion or missing information (3 points). Evidence is unclear and not very engaging with a lot of confusion or missing information (1-0 points)
Summary and New Product Line / worth up to 5 points Clear and engaging description of key conclusions about the situation analysis that will serve as the foundation for future analysis and formation of marketing strategies for a proposed new product line (5 points). Some evidence of clear and engaging description yet a minimal amount of confusion or missing information (3 points). Evidence is unclear and not very engaging with a lot of confusion or missing information (1-0 points).
Format, Spelling, Grammar & Research / worth up to 5 points Format, spelling, grammar & research cites are high quality
(5 points). Format, spelling, grammar or research show a lot of lower quality (3 points) Format spelling, grammar or research show an overwhelming amount of low quality (1-0 points).
Note: see the final pages for sample presentation format and checklist.
Final Marketing Plan Project Instructions (200 points)
Note: the format provided below is for you to review and better understand where you are going with this project. Based on the grading from Part 1, this assignment may be modified or improved to better fit with the class output.
1. Revise/improve Part 1 Situation Analysis and add Part 2 of the Project.
This is due at the end of Week 7 (see Canvas).
You will receive a grade and feedback within one week after completing preliminary Part 1 of the Project. With this feedback, you should learn how to improve upon Part 1. The improved Part 1 and new Part 2 should be presented as a new and completed final paper.
A. The format for the Final Marketing Plan Project:
Same as with Part 1 of the Project, with an added Executive Summary (see content section 3A above).
B. Expected minimum length for the Final Marketing Plan Project:
5,000 to 7,500 words (or about 20 to 30 total double-spaced pages of content, not including cover page, table of contents, visuals, and reference cites; and with formatting explained in section 3A above)
You will upload your paper under the Canvas>Assignments or Modules for the Marketing Plan Submission so that TurnItIn can be used.
C. Content for completing Final Marketing Plan Project:
Same notes as with part 1 of the Project (see content section 3C above). Note: for the final paper you will revise and improve part 1 and then add part 2 to form one final project paper.
The ideal result of both the situation analysis and other analyses in the marketing plan below would be to answer every part of every topic as comprehensively as possible, using secondary data and citations as extensively as possible (required). Please note that the creation of marketing plans is not perfectly linear – when you find the answers to one topic, you might need to adjust another topic. Review the Chapter 17 in the textbook and slides for guidance of the decisions that you will need to include in your final project (see Figure 1 below).
Remember that you must use the same company you chose to analyze in the Preliminary Situation Analysis and please remember you have to develop a new product/product line as the focus of your analysis below. After receiving feedback for part 1, you will likely need to revise and add research to your 5Cs to support your new product line decision.
For example, if Nike was your chosen company, you would need to use the research of your situation analysis or 5Cs (current products, marketing environment, SWOT, market trends, etc.) to explain and justify a new line of shoes for a particular target market. Note: you are proposing a new product line and not using a current product line.
Next in part 2, you would propose the rest of your marketing strategies (STPs and 4Ps).
Figure 1
Chapter Topics
Source: Iacobucci, D. (2018). Marketing management (Fifth edition.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
a. Situation Analysis (5Cs).
Use the company/organization that you used in your Preliminary Situation Analysis as the foundation for your marketing plan. You can use the situation analysis that you have already prepared with any improvements you deem appropriate (based on the feedback). I do recommend that you redo your situation analysis with an ‘eye’ for the new product you suggest the company develop. It will help the reader to conclude that your plan has internal consistency between different sections of the marketing plan. Please refer to former instructions for the Preliminary Situation Analysis for this portion of your marketing plan. This situation analysis along with other analyses will be used to support a new product (either a durable/tangible good or service) that you recommend that the company/organization you have chosen will develop.
At the end of this part 1 section, you should clearly explain your new product line based on your new research. Additional details as to branding strategies will be explained later in this paper.
b. Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STPs).
To complete the marketing plan beyond the situation analysis, you must complete the Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning (STPs) section. An example spreadsheet of the 5Cs (for the situation analysis), the STPs, and the 4Ps is in Table A17 of your textbook.
Regarding segmentation (See Chapter 3), be able to describe groups of customers using hard data from online secondary sources or industry level trade publications. The assessment will draw a lot from the customer section in the 5Cs (or situation analysis). Describe current customers, non-users, competitors’ customers, and ideal customers as appropriate.
> What are the potential market segments for marketing your company’s new product line? Provide a profile for each considered market segment (perhaps 3 to 5 segments).
Targeting (See Chapter 4) consists of an iterative process between a managerial assessment of the fit of the segments’ needs with the company’s brand strengths (competitive advantage), and research-based estimates of market size and profitability. Even if the sizing exercise of the segments are based on making some assumptions, they’re worthwhile.
> Which market segment(s) will you choose to target for marketing your company’s new product line? Why? Choose one or two of the segments explained in the previous section. Do not create a new segment not previously explained.
Positioning (See Chapter 5) begins by considering the simple extremes of the high quality and high price point vs. the basic product and low-price positions in the market. Sketch how the strategic position for your new product compares to your competitors. You can use secondary data to finalize this analysis (required).
> How do you want your chosen target market to see your company’s new product line relative to your major competitors? Include a positioning statement/slogan that clearly identifies your new product lines’ major selling point (or USP, unique selling point).
c. Four Ps of Marketing (Product/Brand, Price, Place/Channels, Promotion).
The 4Ps are the nitty gritty of a plan (See Chapters 6 through 13). The 5Cs tells us where we are, the STPs tells us that we have big picture goals of becoming something else, and the 4Ps tell us how to achieve those goals. The biggest questions in the 4Ps are (1) make sure they’re consistent or integrated from P to P, and (2) consider scenarios about competitors’ likely responses to try to begin to anticipate possible risks. More instruction about the 4Ps follows.
The product section of your marketing plan should draw from the product positioning analysis that you prepared for the Positioning portion of the STPs above. The positioning will be key to shaping those associations such that positive ones are retained and the negative ones are replaced.
> Here you will explain and justify more details about your new product line (description of product line and its variations/choices; see textbook), the branding (brand name, type of branding, and branding strategy), and other related product/branding decisions and strategies (see textbook).
Pricing should be tied to the product quality choice. You need to also consider how frequently you plan to change price. For example, prices at the product introduction (skim or penetrate the market) to discounting later in a product’s life cycle. Bottomline, you need to display a basic understanding of whether your customers are price sensitive (elastic product) or are willing to pay for a better product, service, etc. Note: a price discount for higher priced products can dilute a positioning of higher quality relative to the competitors.
> Here you will explain how your new product line will be priced ($ for each variation) and the related pricing decisions and strategies (see textbook). A price comparison of competing products can help with your justification of price.
Place/channels are our decisions of how we will distribute our products or get them to our target markets or potential customers.
> Here you will explain how your new product line will be distributed to your target market and the related channels of distribution decisions and strategies (see textbook). State and explain the various channel strategies that you will use (see textbook).
Promotion is the P that naïve people thing is the totality to marketing. It is a fun P and new media choices such as social media and guerrilla marketing are exciting and growing. However, determining the appropriate promotional elements to use is hard to do well because it requires not only hard work in completing market research (secondary and optionally primary research) but an abundance of creativity. Try to set up a measurable promotional launch of the new product (durable good or service). Be sure to estimate how much the promotion will cost and how much revenue it will generate.
> Here you will explain how you will communicate to your target market the product, price, and place for buying your company’s new product line (see textbook). Note: the use of social media and public relations alone is never enough. Consider all elements of the promotion mix (see textbook).
Before finalizing your strategic decisions for the 4Ps of marketing your new product line, be sure to review each of the related chapters to make sure that you have presented all the major decisions for each of the 4Ps.
d. Executive Summary.
The executive summary outlines the who, what, where, when, how, and why of the marketing plan. The reader should be able to read the executive summary and be able to understand the highlights of your marketing plan and the strategic marketing decisions. It is essential that the executive summary display internal consistency between all the important topics covered in this executive summary (e.g., one topic shouldn’t raise a question about another topic). The executive summary should present your main recommendations to enable top management to easily find the major points of the plan by going to the Table of Contents in the next section.
It should be a one to two-page summary of the entire plan. Keep the executive summary simple and straightforward. Typically, the executive summary is placed at the beginning of a marketing plan. However, it is recommended that you write the executive summary after you have finished the rest of the marketing plan.
Note: the Executive Summary is presented as a section prior to the Table of Contents section and not at the end of the paper.
D. Grading Rubric for the Final Marketing Plan Project:
This assignment is worth 200 points as outlined below. Points will be earned based on content, format/research, spelling, grammar and completeness of response. Note: each section will be graded where A= 100-90%, B= 89-80%, C= 70-79%, D= 69-60%, F= 59-0%,
Very strong evidence
Moderate Evidence
Evidence is missing Evidence is totally lacking
Executive Summary (worth up to 5 points) Clear and engaging description of the overall marketing plan (5 points) Some evidence of clear and engaging description yet a minimal amount of confusion or missing information (3.5 points) Evidence is unclear and not very engaging with a lot of confusion or missing information (2 points) Evidence is totally missing (1 points)
Situation Analysis & New Product Proposal (worth up to 25 points) Clear and engaging description of Situation Analysis (5Cs) (25 points). Some evidence of clear and engaging description yet a minimal amount of confusion or missing information (17.5 points). Evidence is unclear and not very engaging with a lot of confusion or missing information (10 points). Evidence is totally missing (5 points)
Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (worth up to 75 points)
Clear and engaging description of Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STPs) (75 points). Some evidence of clear and engaging description yet a minimal amount of confusion or missing information (52.5 points). Evidence is unclear and not very engaging with a lot of confusion or missing information (30 points) Evidence is totally missing (15 points)
Four Ps of Marketing (Product/Branding, Price, Place/Channels, Promotion) (worth up to 75 points) Clear and engaging description of the product/branding, pricing, place/channels, and promotion (4Ps) (75 points). Some evidence of clear and engaging description yet a minimal amount of confusion or missing information (52.5 points) Evidence is unclear and not very engaging with a lot of confusion or missing information
(30 points) Evidence is totally missing (15 points)
Format/Research, Spelling, and Grammar (worth up to 20 points) Format/research, spelling and grammar are perfect (20 points). Format/research, spelling and grammar show minimal errors (14 points). Format/research, spelling and grammar show a lot of errors (8 points) Format/research, spelling and grammar show an overwhelming amount of errors (4 points)
2. The Final Marketing Plan Project should have these major pages and sections (add your own subheadings for easier reading).
Cover Page
Executive Summary
Table of Contents
Introduction
Situation Analysis (5Cs)
Company
Customers
Context
Collaborators
Competitors
Summary of Research and Proposal of New Product Line
Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STPs) for New Product Line
Segmentation
Targeting
Positioning
Four Ps of Marketing for the New Product Line
Product/Brand
Price
Place/Channels
Promotion
Conclusion
References
Note: see the next pages for sample presentation format and checklist.
Sample Pages Format
For proper formatting of the paper, take notice in these sample pages for:
(1) use of heading/subheadings from the project handout (3 levels);
(2) double spacing between paragraphs;
(3) visual aid or graphics include titles and research citations (multiple graphics are needed); and
(4) research citations indicate where research was used within the paper (in-text citation)
Note: this is a sample for formatting only, it is not a project from this course.
Use MS Word>View>Zoom to enlarge the pages for easier viewing.
Checklist
For use before uploading your assignment to Canvas:
Format
__ Did you include a Cover page, Executive Summary, Table of Contents, Introduction, Conclusion, and References page (in this order)?
__ Table of Contents: are the numbers aligned on the right (or right justified)?
__ Spacing: double spaced?
__ Heading/subheadings: as presented in the project outline of content?
__ Do all pictures/graphics have a title and intext citations?
Research
__ Are you using APA 7 style for citing your sources on the Reference page?
__ Do all your research citations (especially when statistics are used) contain a current date so the quality of the content can be judged? (Do not use a research cite without a date; except for pictures/graphics or general information.)
__ Are your primary research sources of high and acceptable quality (from recommended research sources from handout, Library Guides, or Library databases; and not all from popular press or a Google search)?
__ If using a web research source, do you provide the date of the source and a date for your retrieval or download? (If there is no date for the source, then you cannot use it.)
__ Is it clear where your research sources are used in the paper [in-text citation]? (If you do not properly cite research sources where used within the paper, then you may lose lots of points.)
Content
__ Are you explaining your content? (Listing and short explanation are not good enough.)
__ Are you citing research sources within the paper, so it is clear as to the quality of that content (e.g., citing complete and current dated sources)?
__ Are you including all areas of content that are properly found under the appropriate subheadings (see content outline)?
__ For the last sections of content (STPs and 4Ps), are you applying your research content from your 5Cs? (if not, then you should add this new research to your revised 5Cs)
__ For all the sections of content, are you using the concepts/terminology from the textbook? (review each related chapter to each section of your marketing plan)
Overall (see entire handout)
__ Did you review the project outline for the content to make sure nothing was left out?
__ Did your review the Grading Rubric for the content to make sure you addressed all things needed for grading?