Marketing Plan Project: Group Write-up and Presentation

Organizational overview

Appendix A Marketing Plan Project  Group Marketing Plan Write-up: In the corporate world, you will often work in groups or teams to work on projects or reports. In this course, you will work in groups (to be assigned by me) to research and write a complete four years marketing plan, for a new venture they are going to establish in Canada. The marketing plan will count for 30% of your grade. Since this is a major assignment, please plan your time accordingly. The plan will require you to critically analyze the current environment, client strengths and weaknesses and generate recommendations in light of your budget (e.g., $400,000) and other constraints. Your paper should be between 15 and 20 pages in length. Group members will also present their marketing plan to the client, at a day/time to be determined (after your final examination). This formal presentation must incorporate audio-visual aids. Proposal: Submit 2-3 pages proposal of your project including a brief explanation of your chosen company, why you selected that, what is your new idea to make changes in their current marketing plan (you may suggest new product, reposition the brand etc.). Presentation: You have 15 min for presenting your work and 5 min for answering to the audience potential questions. Class members may ask questions of clarification during the presentation, but major substantive questions will be held until the presentation is completed. Group members will be expected to defend their plan and recommendations. All members of the group will participate equally in the write-up, presentation and handling of questions. The presentation should be clear, concise, equally shared by team members, and analytically well defended. The ability to answer questions effectively will be evaluated as well. Peer Evaluation: Another objective of the group project is to help you to effectively and successfully collaborate with different work styles and skill sets in order to reach common goals. Part of our project evaluation will include anonymous peer evaluations by your team members at the end of the term. The peer evaluation report is due at the beginning of the class that you present (details will be announced). Although the marketing plan is group work, each member’s grade will be adjusted to reflect individual contribution through a confidential peer evaluation at the end of the term. Failure to submit your evaluation on time will result in an automatic deduction of 5% of total grade in the course. Suggested Marketing Plan Outline : 1. Organizational overview  a. Name of organization b. Mission statement, organization’s basic values and philosophy UCW Course Syllabus: CODE nnn 9 c. Geographic location d. Product mix - Single product - Product line(s) 2. Situational Analysis a. Industry analysis b. Competitor analysis c. Company analysis d. Customer analysis SWOT analysis 3. Marketing strategy– product/service focus and goal setting a. Stage of the product life cycle: In which phase of its lifecycle is the product? Explain your rationale and identify what strategies they have adopted or need to adopt to extend their lifecycle or develop a new product. b. Segmentation: Outline your segmentation strategy/analysis and selecting best target market(s) and explain related target market profile(s) (you may create new segments) including demographics, psychographics, behaviours, and geographical considerations. c. Differentiation and positioning: Position the product and review positioning statements to drive marketing mix (you may reposition the brand). d. Marketing Objectives: Objective can be behavioral (e.g., sales, market share, profit etc.) and/or attitudinal (increase in consumer attitudes, awareness, recall, liking, etc.) and they need to be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely). 4. Marketing program : You may decide the marketing mix elements and develop your program marketing mix that helps company to reach its goals and to be successful. You may use new marketing tools in this stage such as using new communication tools (e.g. social media), CRM systems, new channels of distributions, and so on. 5. Budget: You may hypothesize a realistic budget and develop your budgeting strategy, allocations etc. 6. Control/monitor  Feedback mechanism to monitor progress - Evaluation process - Performance objectives (quantifiable elements) - Profit margin - Market share - Promotional effectiveness - Market penetration ): Grammar, format, citations, APA, words, transitions, readability, cohesiveness, space, headlines, punctuations etc. The following assessment criteria will be used for team presentations of marketing plans: Content & organization ? Did the main topic or problem introduced and clearly defined? ? Did major points have specific details? ? Were all points supported? ? Was information well organized and follows logical sequence? ? Was a proper summary/conclusion done? ? Was everybody knowledgeable (and therefore did not have to read their entire presentation)? Visuals and materials ? Was Power Point visually pleasing? ? Were slides easy to read (Size and amount of text is excellent)? ? Were visuals appropriate and professional? ? Use of appropriated graphics to explain presentation? Delivery ? Did members show enthusiasm and make good eye contact? ? Did members uses appropriated voice volume? ? Did group has excellent use of the time Overall professionalism and teamwork ? Did group members address the audience in a professional manner? ? Was there a proper introduction of group members and topic areas to be covered? ? Were there proper transitions between speakers? ? Did group members present themselves in a professional manner? ? Did the group respond to questions with knowledge and professionalism? The following assessment criteria will be used for written marketing plans: Written Content/Development  Content is comprehensive/accurate/persuasive and demonstrates critical thinking. ? Displays an understanding of client and environmental issues. ? Major points supported by specific details/examples and critical analysis. ? Research is adequate/timely ? Writer has gone beyond textbook for resources Higher-Order Thinking  ? Suggestions are show a comprehension of market factors as well as client strengths and capabilities. ? Is able to integrate theory and best practices into thoughtful suggestions for client. As such, team has critically analyzed the various aspects of the market and applied these to the problem at hand. Organization