Assignment

You will individually write a 1-page paper consisting of a summary and brief International Marketing perspective-based analysis of a current international business event. The event must be no more than 6 months old and must be from one of the following sources: Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, CNN Money, Consumer Reports, Economist, Fortune, Harvard Business Review; Inc. Magazine, or Wired.

Most of these periodicals allow access to some articles online for free and most are available through the FIU Library online database by going to library.fiu.edu and in the search box clicking "E-journals". Then type in the periodical and click "search". Then click on the link to the periodical in the library listing either browse the recent issues or enter search terms such as "international marketing" to narrow the search.

WHAT IS AN APPORPRIATE CURRENT EVENT TOPIC? Any news event FOCUSED ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE OR INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS IMPLICATIONS concerning new product development, new market entry, branding or rebranding, advertising, retailing strategy, pricing strategy, distribution strategy, consumer behavior/trends, business to business strategies, segmentation and/or target market strategy, or positioning strategy.

What topics are NOT appropriate? News about stock prices, selling/buying of company stock, trade deals, management issues, labor issues, buying and selling of companies, general political events that are not related to foreign business investment opportunities, or capital investments. And, of course, ANY MARKETING/BUSINESS NEWS THAT FOCUSES ON DOMESTIC IMPLICATIONS, NOT INTERNATIONAL TRADE IMPLICATIONS. If you are unsure about a current event you are considering, please email me to ask about it.

REQUIREMENTS: Your paper MUST contain the following:

(a) Article title, author, publication date, and periodical name

(b) A brief explanation of the International Marketing event the article reports. (50 words max)

(c) A statement of at LEAST ONE international marketing concept (UNDERLINE the concept name) covered in our course that applies to understanding the issue, problem, and/or implications of the International Marketing event. (10 words max)

(d) An explanation of the issue, problem, and/or implications of the International Marketing event from the perspective of the company's international performance and International marketing strategy success. (75 words max)

Example, suppose a student is analyzing Harley Davidson's launch of an affordable, small-engine motorcycle line in Cuba:

(d) A major issue with this marketing strategy is that Harley Motorcycles are known for their performance and their rebellious All-American brand image. However, the small engines likely undermine performance and doing business in a Communist nation could undermine the brand's rebellious, freedom-centric American image.

(e) Analysis of the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the International Marketing strategy (segmentation, targeting, positioning, branding, product, pricing, promotion, or distribution strategy) that is at the core of the International Marketing event the article reports. DEFINE andAPPLY the international marketing topic from our course that you state in part (c) in your analysis (UNDERLINE the concept name). (150 words max)

For example:

(e) The effectiveness of Harley Davidson's international product line expansion strategy can be understood from the perspective of a product and brand's representation of cultural values. Cultural values are the standards and ideals that a society upholds and considers important. If Harley Davidson is to succeed with Cuban consumers, it would have to tone down or change its freedom-centric, rebellious brand message because these American cultural values conflict with the more collectivistic, authoritarian values that characterize Cuban culture. Furthermore, the size of the motorcycles and their engines is different from their traditional product offerings in the U.S. and Europe. Consumers in other parts of the world may encounter the weaker performance Harley motorcycles by visiting Cuba or through Cuban consumers' social media communications. This could dilute the brand's high performance brand image around the world.

Formatting:

1. 1-inch margins, SINGLE-spaced 10- or 11-point Arial font.
2. Label each section of your posting using the designated letters (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e).
3. Proofread. Each and every spelling error, grammar error, and/or incorrect term usage after the fifth (5th) occurrence will incur a 1 point deduction from the total assignment score.