Marketing Report This report will give you the opportunity to evaluate the marketing concepts employed by an existing company, business unit, or product/brand. Each person will select their own company to research and analyze based on the marketing principles presented in this course. Report Content and Format Each person/group needs to do enough research to find enough secondary data and information to assess the marketing strategy for the company, product, or brand they have selected.

Section 1: Company background and Competition

1. Company and/or product brand overview. Identify the name of the company, the type of industry they are in, and the names of their primary products.

2. Mission Statement: Identify the company’s mission statement and explain its meaning.

3. Marketing Objectives: The marketing objectives is a statement of what the company is trying to accomplish through marketing activities. These maybe explicit or implicit.

4. Target Market Strategy: Identify and describe the market segments the company is targeting- this may also be explicitly or implicit.

5. Competition- Find at least two competitors, either direct or indirect. You will need some knowledge of the competition and access to information about them to complete the rest of the assignment.

Section 2: Marketing mix

1. Marketing Mix: Identify each element of the marketing mix and look for evidence of strategy by providing examples.

a. Product or Service- describe features and benefits, branding, packaging, service warranties, and/or guarantees, stage of the product life cycle.

b. Place/Distribution- when and where do customers buy the product, what kind of distribution strategy do they employ?

c. Promotion- which media does the firm use for advertising? Be specific about what types of channels (MTV, SPIKE, HGTV)

d. Explain how sales are implemented?

e. Does the company employ any other promotional strategies

f. Price- how price sensitive are consumers of the product or brand? What is the company’s pricing strategy, and what are they trying to accomplish with pricing?

Section III- Recommendations

1. Identify what you believe the company’s competitive advantage is and why. Also explain their positioning in the market

2. Make specific recommendations regarding the Marketing Mix, Target Markets and Positioning. You must make at least three recommendations that are different from what they are currently doing.

Report Requirements: 1. 8-10 pages; MLA format 2. Create a PowerPoint Presentation that summarizes the report and interesting findings. 3. Include ALL references used.