Unit 3 - Product Development and Advertising
Reading Assignment: Winer, chapters 7, 8, 10
Assignment Type: Discussion Board Deliverable Length: 5-6 paragraphs
Points Possible: 50 Due Date: 4/13/2008 11:59:59 PM CT
It is the third week of the AI Brainstorming Conference and the discussion turns toward Core Strategy. In five to six paragraphs:
1. Provide a quick overview of the product or service you created on the Unit 1 DB (2-3 sentences only).
2. State your core strategy (which includes the Value Proposition and Product Positioning).
3. Critique the core strategy of at least two other participants. Does the strategy make sense? Do you have suggestions for revision?
In your own words, please post a response to the Discussion Board and comment on other postings. You will be graded on the quality and interactivity of your postings.
Instructor Comments: The textbook begins the discussion of Core Strategy on page 43. The analysis of the core strategy is extremely important for the overall strategic plan. When creating your own core strategy, analyze the core strategy of your competitors as well; page 158 of your textbook explains how you may do that. Don’t just say what your product does well, but what your product does better than the competition. Also, when writing your core strategy, it may help thinking that you are in fact writing the copy for your product’s advertisement.
Assignment Type: Individual Project Deliverable Length: 5-6 pages (Word document)
Points Possible: 150 Due Date: 4/13/2008 11:59:59 PM CT
The final component of the Marketing Strategy is the Marketing Mix. The Marketing Mix is the set of decisions about price, communications and promotion, product policy, channels of distribution, and customer relationship management. Only by addressing these elements can you actually implement your marketing strategy. This week you will focus only on communications and promotion, following an integrated marketing communications (IMC) approach. Such an approach delivers a clear and consistent message to your consumers. In a five to six page report:
1. Discuss the aspects of the IMC. (The elements of the communication mix include: advertising, direct marketing, sales promotion, publicity/public relations and personal selling.) Define each and discuss the pros and cons of the individual elements. This section of your paper is general background research which should be based on the text and articles from the Library's full-text databases.
2. Provide a quick overview of the product or service you created on the Unit 1 DB (2-3 sentences only).
3. This section forward will become part of your Final Strategic Marketing Plan. Describe the message you wish to communicate based on your core strategy. Explain your rationale for the message. Formulate how you will communicate with your target market? Be specific.
4. Provide a detailed description of your IMC approach. Explain your rationale for choosing or rejecting the specific elements (include applications to the earlier research section). Has the internet played any role in how you developed your marketing approach? Why or why not?
5. Select and explain the most suitable method for measuring advertising effectiveness.
In-text citations and corresponding references should be included in your paper.
For more information on APA, please visit the APA Lab.
Your assignment should contain an abstract, a short introduction, and conclusion in addition to the body of the paper.
Please submit your assignment as a Word document in APA format.
Instructor Comments: Start by describing (creating) the message you wish to communicate based on your core strategy. Once you have a clear idea of the message, discuss all five elements of the IMC and explain why each element is (or isn’t) appropriate for communicating your product/service’s core strategy. Begin each paragraph by briefly defining the element and then detailing how the element (method) applies to your product or service. When discussing the elements that you think are appropriate, make sure you include in your discussion an explanation of how they help convey the message to the target market. A copy of your message SHOULD be included in your IP report. (The copy is the words to be printed or spoken in your message.)
Unit 4 - Marketing Channels and Methods
Reading Assignment: Winer, chapters 9, 11-13
Assignment Type: Discussion Board Deliverable Length: 5-6 paragraphs
Points Possible: 50 Due Date: 4/20/2008 11:59:59 PM CT
The AI Brainstorming Conference topic for this week is pricing strategy. How do you set a price for your product or service? In five to six paragraphs:
1. Provide a quick overview of the product or service you created on the Unit 1 DB (2-3 sentences only).
2. Based on the strategic marketing plan you have written so far in weeks 2 & 3, discuss what pricing objectives you would consider.
3. Identify the pricing objective and strategy you will ultimately choose and explain why.
4. Critique the pricing decisions of at least two other participants. Do they make sense? Would you make a different decision? Why or why not?
In your own words, please post a response to the Discussion Board and comment on other postings. You will be graded on the quality and interactivity of your postings.
Instructor Comments: The textbook begins the discussion of the Role of Marketing Strategy in Pricing on page 239. The analysis of the pricing strategy is extremely important for the overall strategic plan.
Assignment Type: Group Project Deliverable Length: 7-8 pages
Points Possible: 150 Due Date: 4/20/2008 11:59:59 PM CT
The conference is moving into its fourth week. Over the past three weeks, you and your colleagues each have developed most of the components of a Marketing Strategy . Now it is time to put the pieces together into a rough draft, and provide feedback to each other in your small group. Your 7-8 page rough draft should include:
· Objectives & Mission Statement (from the Unit 2 Discussion Board)
· Customer Targets (Unit 2 Individual Project)
· Competitor Targets (Unit 2 Individual Project)
· Product/Service Features (Unit 1 Discussion Board)
· Core Strategy (Unit 3 Discussion Board)
· Marketing Mix: Communications & Promotion (Unit 3 Individual Project)
· Price (Unit 4 Discussion Board)
(You will add the Product Policy, Channels of Distribution, and Customer Relationship Management parts of the Marketing Mix next week.)
It is recommended that you post your rough draft early in the week so that your classmates have time to read it. Each group member should critique all of the drafts. Just as you have done in the discussions each week, provide advice to the author of the draft. Be specific with your comments. You are critiquing content and quality of applications, not grammar or formatting.
It is recommended that you post your rough draft in APA formate to the Small Group Discussion Board by Friday of the week and your Critiques by the end of the week. You will be graded on the quality of your postings.
Instructor Comments: This group project is a culmination of the past 3 weeks' assignments, and week 4’s DB assignment. (Follow the outline indicated in the Assignment List.) Students should critique other members marketing plan on contents and format. Please submit your draft of the marketing plan in the small group’s section early so your peers have time to review them and post quality comments. When submitting your draft, DO NOT post a file; instead post the entire draft directly into the DB.
Unit 5 - CRM and Service Market Strategies
Reading Assignment: Winer, chapters 14-15.
Assignment Type: Discussion Board Deliverable Length: 5-6 paragraphs
Points Possible: 50 Due Date: 4/27/2008 11:59:59 PM CT
The AI Brainstorming Conference is nearly over. In the closing discussion you will talk about your own personal experiences with companies over the years.
1. Share a scenario of a company that did a great job of satisfying you (as a customer) and a scenario of a company that fell short of expectations. Explain how you would handle the unsatisfactory situation if it happened at your company.
2. Select two unsatisfactory customer experiences described by your fellow participants, and explain how you would handle those situations if they happened at your company.
In your own words, please post a response to the Discussion Board and comment on other postings. You will be graded on the quality and interactivity of your postings.
Instructor Comments: The textbook begins the discussion of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) on page 402. The analysis of the CRM and its applications in the external environment are extremely important for the overall strategic marketing plan.
Assignment Type: Individual Project Deliverable Length: 8-10 pages (Word document)
Points Possible: 150 Due Date: 4/27/2008 11:59:59 PM CT
The conference has come to an end. Your complete Marketing Strategy is now due. Revise your current draft by applying the critiques from the Group Project in Unit 4, and add the following components to create your final plan:
· Pricing (from the Unit 4 Discussion Board)
· Product Policy (from this unit)
· Channels of Distribution (from this unit)
· Customer Relationship Management (from this unit)
Please submit your assignment as a Word document in APA format.
Congratulations and Good Luck with your marketing endeavor!
Instructor Comments:
It is important that for this final comprehensive paper (marketing plan) you indicate the ideas and marketing concepts required in each of the five (5) units. Here is an outline of the information required in your paper:
· Executive Summary (Own)
· Introduction
· Company and Product Features (Unit 1 DB)
· Mission Statement (Unit 2 Discussion Board)
· Marketing Objectives (Unit 2 Discussion Board)
· Customer Targets (Unit 2 Individual Project)
· Competitor (Unit 2 Individual Project)
· Core Strategy (Unit 3 Discussion Board)
o The Value Proposition
o Product positioning
· Marketing Mix: (Unit 4 and 5 DB)
o Communications & Promotion (Unit 3 Individual Project)
o Price (Unit 4 Discussion Board)
o Product policy (Unit 5)
o Channels of Distribution (Unit 5)
o Customer Relationship Management (Unit 5)
· Conclusions (Own)
· References (Own)
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