Part 1: Summary and Recommendations—250 words
Briefly summarize your report and list your three key recommendations. Note that although this section comes first in the final project, you will write it last.
Part 2: Market Analysis of Product Category—1000 words
What is the market situation for the category of your brand? Provide a short review of the market situation facing the brands in your competitive “space” (your brand and its direct competitors).
This section may address such topics as the key consumer trends, a crucial political issue, a critical technological change, a shift in the nature of the competitive landscape, and/or a key environmental force affecting the brand and competition. Choose issues that generally affect the performance of all players (i.e., some brands are affected more and some less, but the issues affect the group as a whole).
Notes: (1) You will want to refer primarily to the concepts discussed in Ch. 3 on Marketing Environment and Ch. 5 on Consumer Behavior. (2) In this section you are conducting an “environmental scan” (see Ch. 3) of the product sub-category market, which includes your brand and other direct competitive brands.
Part 3: Brand Analysis—1000 words
Analyze the marketing strategy of your brand (relative to key competitors) with an eye towards its specific strengths and/or weaknesses.
Topics in this part may include (but are not limited to):
a. Segmentation and Targeting: What is the target market or markets for your brand? Discuss the segmentation approaches used by your brand (such as demographic, psychographic, etc.–see Ch 9.)
b. Positioning: Discuss the strategies used to position your brand. (See Ch. 9)
c. Product, Price, Place, Promotion: Discuss the key product issues (Ch. 10-12). Which specific elements and tactics of the communications mix, such as advertising, public relations, sales promotion, and direct marketing are important for your brand? (See Ch. 18-20.) Discuss key distribution issues. What types of distribution channels are used and why? Evaluate point of sale merchandising and promotions. (See Ch. 15-17.) What types of pricing strategies are used? (See Ch. 13-14.)
At the end of this section, provide a SWOT analysis for your brand. Your SWOT analysis should be logically based on ideas presented in parts 2 and 3.
Part 4: Brand Recommendations for Your Focal Brand — 750 words
In this section you expand the recommendations you first gave to the reader in part 1. Based on the issues you’ve identified in parts 2 and 3, present three well-founded ideas for improving the distinctive competitive position for your brand. (Hint: Do not just form recommendations that will improve sales in general. Develop recommendations that will help your focal brand to set itself apart from the competition.) Discuss the pros and cons of each idea. Justify actions with supporting analyses & logic.
Note: All students are required to have their term paper reviewed by either the Center for Business Communication (CBC) or by our class TA. You must note who reviewed your report in the report.
Due Date
A hard copy of the report is due at the beginning of class on the date indicated in the syllabus (or earlier). Penalty for late submission is 10 points per day.
Additional Key Instructions
• Use subheadings to organize your report and provide structure for the reader.
• Bold specific marketing terms that we have covered in class lectures and are taken from your text.
• The report must contain a minimum of five figures (charts, exhibits, graphs, tables, or useful illustrations). These are not included in the word count. They should be embedded within your surrounding text as this will make it easier to read for your boss. Make sure that you label each figure and also refer to the figure within the text. Avoid confusing, uninformative, ill-conceived, simplistic and sloppy figures! I strongly encourage you to make some of your own figures and not simply copy and paste from your references. The Simmons data is a natural source for at least one figure. If you adopt or construct a figure using information from a reference, you must cite the reference in the label for the figure.
• The report must contain a minimum of ten references/citations.
• The report should be single-spaced with double spaces between paragraphs/sections, default margins, 12-point font.
• Make sure your writing is concise and to-the-point and your claims are based on objective evidence.
• The tone of the report should be formal and professional, so choose your wording appropriately; points will be deducted for informal writing (e.g., avoid slang, short-hand, etc.)
• Remember that your writing style and presentation quality will be graded. Every instance of improper grammar, spelling, unclear writing, sloppiness or error in formatting will result in a deduction in grade.
• Staple your report together. No plastic report covers, bindings or paper clips.
• Please make sure that you cite sources within the text. No footnotes or endnotes.
• Include a bibliography at the end of your report with an alphabetical listing of all your citations. Each citation (minimum ten) should include the author(s) name(s), the title of the publication, the date of the publication, the source name, and a website (where appropriate). If you include a hyperlink to your articles, make sure this can be accessed by all readers of the document. More information regarding citation format will be provided by the Office of Business Communications.
• All citations must come from relevant, reputable, and credible sources.
• Remember that your overall goal is to demonstrate your writing skills and your understanding of the concepts and principles discussed in this course.
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