Choose a brand from the list below or select one of your own choices to research and develop a marketing plan.   You should be able to find information from business media, such as  The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Fortune, Advertising Age,  or  Forbes. Start with the recommended publications above.    Other information may be obtained from the company ‘s website, and from the business section of daily newspapers.   You may also look for the product in stores, or visit the business for additional information.   This is particularly helpful for understanding the competition, the pricing, and distribution strategies.   Use multiple sources because some may be biased (for example, the company website probably avoids any negative information about the brand).
I expect a minimum of  twelve current articles (2012 – present),  not including the company website, as background for your paper.   If you are not sure about the meaning of the terms in the outline below, consult your textbook to make sure you understand what you are saying about the brand.   Although many students start their searches with Wikipedia for background information, Wikipedia is NEVER appropriate as a citation in college level work.  
The major part of the assignment will focus on what the company  is or has been doing.   Part four concludes with your recommendations to change something about the way the product should be marketed.   The actual paper should be written in paragraphs, ie, not simply an outline with bullets.   Go to  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ if you need writing help, especially for an explanation of how to cite your sources using APA format.

The  paper should cover:  
I.  Situation Analysis
a.Internal Environment
          i.      What is the company ‘s mission and overall business objectives?
          ii.      What resources does the company have that make them unique?
        iii.      How is the marketing function organized (centralized?   By brand or category? By market?)
b. External Environment
          i.      What is the overall domestic and global market for the product?   What is the approximate market share?
       ii.      Who are the competitors?   What are their marketing strategies?
      iii.      How does the economic environment affect demand for the product?
       iv.        What is happening in the social and cultural environment that affects the product?
        v.        What is happening in the legal and regulatory environment?
       vi.        How does the technological environment affect the business?
c.  SWOT Analysis
       i.    Based on our understanding of the internal and external environments, what are the key opportunities and threats for the marketing of the brand?
II.  Target Market
a.  Describe the current target market(s) for the product.   What segmentation variables are used to divide the market?  
b.  What type of targeting strategy is used? (undifferentiated, concentrated, differentiated)
c.  Research additional information about this (these) target markets that would be helpful in improving the marketing mix.   A business librarian may be useful in finding appropriate sources of information.
III.  Current Marketing Mix
a.    Product
b.    Pricing strategy
c.    Place or distribution
d.    Promotional campaign                                                        
IV.   New Directions:   Based on the information you about the current marketing plan for your brand, identify a major problem or opportunity (for your company or brand) that you want to address with changes, including:
A. Marketing Objectives (list 3 or 4 outcomes that can be achieved by altering a target market, introducing a new product, or substantially changing elements of the marketing mix to address the problem or opportunity.
B.  Marketing Strategies
1. Any changes in the consumer or business target markets
2. Any target market segments that will remain the same
C. Marketing Mix
1. Positioning the product and product strategies. Include packaging, branding, and introduction of any new product lines
2. Pricing strategies (using terminology from the text)
3. Promotion strategies (current and new recommendations) – (again, using terminology from the text)
4. Distribution strategies (current and new recommendations)
D.   Implementation Strategies
E. Monitoring and Control Strategies  
Brands:                        
Dr. Pepper soft drinks
Fage Greek Yogurt
Iams Pet Food products
Microsoft Xbox One
Nissan Leaf electric cars
Nook Tablet
 
Only one plan should be submitted per group.  When the paper is submitted there will be a Turnitin score given automatically.   You may submit as many times as needed before the deadline.   I will only grade the last submission. Papers with more than 20% duplication may not be accepted, so plan on editing your paper after you get initial feedback from the Turnitin.com report.  
All references must be cited, using the APA format.