MGMT 2401 Group Projects 20% of your grade: - marketing plan: 12% - presentation: 8% Instructions • Please form a team and submit your names and topic by October 3. • Each team has 4-5 members. • Pick an industry and think about launching a new product within this industry for the Canadian market • You assume the role of a marketing consultant who is responsible for the • launching of this NEW product in the Canadian market I advise you to consult with me after you pick the industry and the product Instructions (cont.) • You are asked to write a detailed marketing plan for the launching of this new product in the Canadian market. • Your work will also be evaluated by your team members. This means that team members’ grades might not be the same. Peer evaluations will be done by all members of the group. • The project is due in hard copy on the day you present. The following slides outline the format and structure you need to cover in the marketing plan. See Appendix 2 in your textbook for a sample marketing plan. The Marketing Plan • Background (Situation Analysis) • Industry analysis, competitor analysis, and SWOT analysis • Market Analysis and Market Research • Positioning and Specific Marketing Objectives • 4 P (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) Strategies • Conclusions Situation Analysis • A situation analysis is where the marketer lays out the most important factors that define the marketing situation facing the firm and explains the importance of each factor. • Industry Analysis • Competitor Analysis • SWOT Analysis Industry Analysis Focus on developments and trends within the industry and on any other factors that may make a difference in how you proceed with your marketing plan. An industry analysis should enumerate and discuss the most important aspects of a given industry. Anything that is relevant to the micro and macroenvironment is discussed here. Competitor Analysis Once the industry is studied and analyzed, attention is turned to competitor analysis. Here a marketer determines exactly who the competitors are, discussing their strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, and any threats they pose. SWOT Analysis • After you have analyzed the industry and competitors, you need to conduct a SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities and Threats) analysis for this product. Market Analysis • A market analysis is the flip side of industry analysis; it is the demand side of the equation. • In this section, you need to justify your segmentation and targeting strategies. Which segment(s) of the Canadian market would you go after with this product and why? What would be your segmentation and targeting criteria? Market Research • You should examine the potential consumers’ needs, wants, and expectations from this type of product. • In order to complete this part you may: • Find information on your product and its potential • • competitors (e.g., market research reports, media stories, market response in other countries). Go on social media and discussion boards to read consumers’ comments about the product and competitors’ products (e.g., what consumers like and dislike). Research your target market’s values and needs conclude what consumers may expect from the product based on such general values and needs. Positioning • Create a positioning statement for your product and explain what your sustainable competitive advantage would be. Objectives A marketer’s objectives may be: • To create or maintain brand awareness. This is a popular marketing objective. Brand awareness is an indicator of consumer knowledge about the existence of the brand and how easily that knowledge can be retrieved from memory. Top-ofthe-mind awareness is represented by the brand listed first when consumers are quizzed. Ease of retrieval from memory is predictive of market share. • E.g., highly attention grabbing ads or packaging • To change consumer beliefs or attitudes. Beliefs are the way consumers express the knowledge that certain things are true. Attitudes—predispositions to respond based on experience and knowledge—about products are typically measured by tracking studies and survey research. Both beliefs and attitudes affect consumers’ potential for choosing a brand. • E.g., Specific product feature and its benefit to consumer Objectives II • To influence purchase intent. Determined by asking consumers whether or not they intend to buy a product or service in the near future. The appeal of influencing purchase intent is that intent is closer to actual behavior, and thus closer to the desired sale, than are attitudes. • E.g., Emphasizing the consequences of not having the product • To encourage brand switching. In some categories, brand switching is commonplace, even the norm. When setting a brand-switching marketing objective, the marketer must neither expect too much, nor rejoice too much, over a temporary gain. Convincing consumers to switch brands permanently can be a long and arduous task. • E.g., Compare your brand to competition Product Decisions • Describe your product in some detail including special features, reasons to buy, etc. • What are the three levels of your product (core, actual, and augmented)? • Include at least 2 distinctions about your product that makes it stand out (remember differentiation) Pricing Decisions • Your pricing strategies • Environmental influences on your pricing • decisions (e.g., income level, spending habits. macroeconomic climate) What is your competition charging? • At what price will you sell your product? (and why?) - What would be different pricing strategies you might consider? Promotion Decisions • Types of promotion (Advertising, Sales Promotions, Personal Selling, or others) with reasons of selection • Your main advertising/promotion message • What media will you use and why? • What psychological appeals will you use to persuade your consumer? Place (Channel Decisions) • Your channel organization strategy: • Conventional, vertical, horizontal, or • • • multichannel? Consideration of disintermediation? If so, why? Distribution intensity decision and justification Retail environment decisions CONCLUSIONS A justification of the market strategy you are proposing • What would be your evaluative criteria for success (e.g., meeting key objectives)? • What could be the obstacles that would keep you from succeeding? • Some assumptions you have made – what if they turn out to be wrong? What would be your response? The Report • The report will be 20-25 pages, double spaced, including any tables graphs, etc. • Remember to include your references at the end. • Have a cover (title) page and table of contents at the beginning. • Due in class in hard copy on the day you present. Group Project (presentations) • Last two days of class. • Given the large class sizes, each team will only have 5 minutes to present their work! • You should nominate 1 or 2 members to speak for your group, but all members of the group should be in class during their presentation. • This is an elevator pitch type presentation where you will briefly describe your company, your target market, your competitive advantage, and a brief description of your plan Presentation Content • What is your product (core, actual, and augmented product)? • Who is your target market and why is this your target market? • What is your competitive advantage? • What is your promotion strategy? • What media will you use? What kind of • message appeal? You can bring in any creative materials (e.g., flyers, advertisements, videos, etc.) that you might have created Group Conflict • Group projects, like any group work in the business world, can sometimes be a frustrating experience. It is often difficult to pick convenient times for everyone to meet. Group members sometimes feel that the division of labor is not equitable. However, learning how to effectively manage the group work experience and outcome is essential to successful professional performance. • you need to not only contribute yourself but also encourage others to contribute to the group work. • Setting clear and explicit expectations of the group at the outset and communicating frequently and openly throughout the semester are key. Group Conflict • If a student is found not to be contributing to the group at a sufficient level as deemed by all remaining group members and the instructor – the group can request to have that student removed from their group. This student will then have to complete the project individually. This provision is in effect until 3 weeks before the project is due.
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