Assignment - Marketing Plan - The rest of the Four Ps

PRICE DECISIONS

1. What should be the company's strategy for pricing? (Skimming, penetration, EDLP, etc.)

2. What are the constraints? What are the objectives? Any additional costs to the consumer?

3. Explain how this price approach works as part of your suggested marketing mix, designed for your target markets. ("Using an EDLP--everyday low price--strategy works well with our economy-sized box of tortilla chips and our target market of young adults because ...)

PLACE/DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

1. What kind of distribution channel does this product require, such as direct (typical for services), traditional, etc? Explain the channels you are part of to receive goods, as well as the channels you use to get the goods to the consumer.

2. What position does this business have in its distribution channels? ("We are a wholesaler so we receive goods from the producer and then repackage them and sell them to the retailers ...")

3. Carefully explain the distribution process for a customer who is ordering and receiving the product and make suggestions if needed, such as "The ice cream display was too high for children to see the various flavors, so we suggest a stepping stool..." or "Since the manicurist accepts walk-ins, customers with appointments had to wait up to an hour. We recommend ..."

4. You have already explained the ambiance of the location earlier in the report, but now go into detail and explain the location of the shop, how much foot traffic there is, what kind of window displays you need, how far customers need to walk, etc. and if you see a need for changes, explain them here.

5. This section is also the place to go over any wholesale issues, delivery issues, and seasonality problems.

PROMOTION STRATEGY

1. Design a promotional campaign for this retailer. Explain how you will use the IMC philosophy to tie all parts of the campaign together. Describe what the Big Idea (theme) for this campaign will be. (It is important that ALL the parts of a promotional campaign have the same theme, so that the consumers don't get confused, but instead begin to recognize the company identity. Be sure to use the retailer's logo, slogan, color scheme, or anything else they have already begun to use as identifiers. If they have none, you may design something for them as one of the two required samples.)

2. Create actual creative samples of TWO promotions the company could do. You may use photos, clipart, etc. because this is not an art class, you are only responsible for pulling it together and organizing the execution. Explain the costs and details for the company to actually use your two samples. You may choose from the following options:

Promotion Ideas - prepare samples and instructions for ONLY TWO of these:

LOCAL NEWSPAPER: Create a sample newspaper ad. It must be the actual size for use in a local paper, so be sure to check on the column widths in that paper. Describe your ad as X number of inches high, by X number of column widths. Using clipart, etc. is OK, this isn't an art class. Include a paragraph with the newspaper ad that explains the "specs" to the retailer. ("This ad is three columns wide by six inches high and should be run in the sports section of the Daily Herald.") Include instructions about which days and how many times it should run. Look online for the price sheet and calculate the approximate cost of your newspaper campaign; include that information in your description.

RADIO: Write a 30-second script for a local radio station, using a script format to indicate dialogue, SFX (sound effects), VO (voice-overs), and music. I will time it when I grade it, so make it close to 30 seconds. Also include a written paragraph that explains the "specs" to the retailer. (Describe what stations this should play on to reach your segment, what times of day, how long to run the campaign, and the approximate cost of your radio campaign ... easy stuff to find online.)

DIRECT MAIL: You may design a brochure, a postcard, a ticket, a poster, or whatever else you think the customer would pay attention to if they received it in the mail. Prepare a sample using the colors and size you suggest, and indicate how it would be cut, folded, or whatever else you need to do. Include an explanation about the specs, including the approximate cost per thousand for printing, stamps, and envelopes.

PUBLICITY: Although you can't "buy" free publicity, you may want to prepare a sample Press Release for a local paper or magazine that includes a sample article. The trick to being selected by the editor is to not sound like an ad, but more like an interesting and truthful news item. If your article sounds like an ad, you won't get credit for it. You usually have to find something else to talk about to create an article, such as a community service project your company is doing.

SALES PROMOTION: Perhaps your retailer has very little money for advertising, which can be quite expensive for small businesses, but may consider some type of sales promotion such as printed T-shirts, sponsorship of a local sports event, or running a coloring contest. If you feel this is a viable choice for the business, design a sales promotion event and explain every step of the process and the anticipated costs.

DIGITAL MEDIA: You may create a webpage, a YouTube video, a blog, or any other social media platform page or whatever else you think will actually connect with customers, but must provide a sample or the actual URL, and need to also carefully explain how you will drive the consumer to the site. Do not use an existing website, only do this if you create one.