1. Instructions
State the opposing ethical arguments about marketing: Does marketing satisfy or create customer's needs and wants? Compare and contrast these arguments in terms of benefits and detrimental effects on individuals, businesses, and the societies or nations in which they function. Finally, evaluate the arguments, supporting your stance for one argument over the other. (20 points) (A 1-page response is required.)
2. Instructions
You are the marketing manager for a video rental chain. You have been asked to define the major competitive spheres within which your company will operate. Respond to the following competitive elements. (30 points) (A 2-page response is required.)
- Industry
- Products and Applications
- Competence
- Market Segment
- Vertical
- Geographical
3. Instructions
Assume a business entity of your choosing is planning to introduce a new product or service. Describe the business and the product or service being marketed. Then, construct a market research plan that shows at least five (5) steps/areas that you must research in order to determine the viability of the offering. After researching and analyzing the information, what kinds of recommendations might you make for bringing the product to market? (25 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
4. Instructions
For the same business, write five (5) close-ended and five (5) open-ended questions to use in a questionnaire surveying the existing or potential marketplace. Following each question, describe the purpose or rationale for asking the question. In addition, state your method of administering the survey and explain how it fits into at least one (1) component of the overall marketing decision support process that you discussed in Discussion Question #1. (25 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
Instructions
Activity #2: Fair Skies Focus (100 points)
This Activity is comprised of four (4) parts. Your Activity responses should be both grammatically and mechanically correct, and formatted in the same fashion as the Activity itself. If there is a Part A, your response should identify a Part A, etc. In addition, you must appropriately cite all resources used in your response and document in a bibliography using APA style. (100 points) (A 4-page response is required for the combination of Parts A, B, C, and D.)
Think of yourself as the marketing director for Fair Skies Airlines, which provides consumers with a product and service that is well accepted and used by millions of people each year in the United States. Several innovations are about to be incorporated into the product that will change some of its features and modify the benefits customers enjoy. These have already been decided; in fact, they are almost fait accompli.
In essence, this full-service airline is about to undergo a complete transition into a new low-fare carrier with meager accommodations and no advance seat-selection. It will charge passengers for everything extra, from coffee and soft drinks to sandwiches and even temporary use of pillows and blankets. Passengers will have to check their own baggage, but ticketing and check-in will be more automated. Fares will be exceptionally low, and there should be less wait time at check-in counters. Belatedly, upper management has asked you to obtain some feedback on this new orientation.
| Part A | Using the Ashworth College Library, research the following information. You must provide an APA-formatted bibliography identifying all the sources you use. (15 points) | |
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| 1. | Research at least three (3) discount airlines describing the different services they provide as options for their customers. |
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| 2. | Consult at least two (2) airline industry journals and/or publications from specific airlines and provide a brief summary describing what a "discount" fare really means. |
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| Part B | Your boss has asked you to validate the claim that the new concept will be a success. In order to do so, you need to conduct a SWOT analysis. Your boss has asked you to include a competitive component in the analysis. Your SWOT analysis must include at least three (3) internal strengths and three (3) internal weaknesses, as well as three (3) external opportunities and three (3) external threats. The competitive component must include mention of at least two (2) competitors in relationship to the opportunities and at least two (2) competitors in relationship to the threats you have identified. (36 points) | |
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| Part C | Your boss has asked that you interview people about the upcoming changes. Create a list stating the type of subjects you should interview. Upper management favors sampling loyal Fair Skies passengers who have flown at least three round-trips, but feel free to propose others you think should be interviewed. Name at least three (3) subjects to interview. (29 points) | |
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| After creating the list above, you decide to use a focus group format. | |
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| 1. | List and discuss two (2) considerations that you think will be important in leading the focus group. |
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| 2. | Compose at least 10 questions you think would be necessary for adequate input and which address the two (2) or more considerations you have identified. |
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| Part D | Write a memo to your boss and associates explaining the following. Remember that most people rarely read memos more than two pages long, so keep it short and to the point. Don't forget to cite your sources, however. Your list of sources and any pertinent charts, tables, and reference materials can be added to the memo as appendices. The results will provide guidance for marketing planning that may insure the survival of Fair Skies while other airlines are floundering during these difficult times. (20 points) | |
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| 1. | Explain the method and rationale you used for conducting this type of research. |
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| 2. | Explain how you would use input from the SWOT analysis. |
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| 3. | Explain how you would use the proposed questions. |
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| 4. | Make at least two (2) recommendations for management based on what you have learned |
Discussion-5
Define segment marketing and provide the rationale for its use. List and describe four (4) levels of market segmentation, providing explanations of each level. In addition, give one (1) example of each of the four (4) levels of market segmentation with a complete description of each example. (26 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
Discussion-6
Using each of the four (4) segmentation levels from Discussion Question #1, describe two (2) examples of how different companies apply each segmentation level to their products or services. (24 points)
(A 1½-page response is required.)
Instructions
Activity 3: Marketing Self-Segmentation (100 points)
Each of us fits different points within a plethora of marketing segmentation schemes. You have now been exposed to VALS categories and to LOHAS, to definitions of major US social classes, to identity marketing, and to demographic and psychographic modes of classifying clusters of buyers. You have also learned the key elements of a variety of market segments (target markets). Based upon the knowledge gained from your text, Required Readings, and Lecture and Research Update, respond to the following. Your Activity responses should be both grammatically and mechanically correct, and formatted in the same fashion as the Activity itself. If there is a Part A, your response should identify a Part A, etc. In addition, you must appropriately cite all resources used in your response and document in a bibliography using APA style. (100 points) (A 3-page response is required.)
| Part A | List and define three (3) market segments (target markets) into which you fit. (16 points) | |
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| Part B | Discuss each of the three (3) market segments – including descriptors such as demographics, lifestyle, and usage behaviors of each and why you believe you fit into each one. (30 points) | |
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| Part C | Apply Maslow's theory of motivation to each of the market segments. Based on the demographics, lifestyle, and usage behaviors you indicated, select three (3) primary needs for each of your three (3) chosen market segments and describe how each need would drive buying behavior. (54 points) | |
Discussion-7
Select one (1) major company whose product(s) you buy. Visit their Web site and then answer the following questions. You may also use articles and advertisements in newspapers, journals, etc. that are about the company. (26 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
- Write a summary about what most influences you personally to buy this product(s) as opposed to the competitor's product(s). Include a comparison of at least two (2) competitors.
- Define how you believe the company segments its market by describing four (4) criteria it uses to identify which consumer group to target.
- List two (2) markets that the company is targeting.
Discussion-8
Explain how a marketer delineates among durable goods, nondurable goods, and services when planning an appropriate market-mix strategy. Describe the strategies used for the different types of good and services. Provide two (2) example products for the consumer market and two (2) example products for the industrial market for each category (durable goods, nondurable goods, and services). (24 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
ACTIVITY 4_11
Activity Description: Marketing Analysis (100 points)
Pretend you have been hired as Director of Marketing and Planning in time for the anticipated introduction of a company's new product or service. For your first assignment, you are asked to provide a rudimentary market analysis and promotion mix for the new product offering's introduction. You will present this information to the Senior Vice President of Marketing, as well as to others in upper management. They will compare your suggestions to other earlier suggestions previously developed, but they are hoping you will provide new, fresh insights into how they can identify, attract, and capture their desired audience. Although you want to make a great impression, you also know that they may very well give the implementation of the plan back to you and you want your presentation to be as realistic as possible. Your Activity responses should be both grammatically and mechanically correct, and formatted in the same fashion as the Activity itself. If there is a Part A, your response should identify a Part A, etc. In addition, you must appropriately cite all resources used in your response and document in a bibliography using APA style. (100 points) (A 3-page response is required.)
| Part A | Choose the type of company for which you work. Although your company is fictional, you may base it on a similar real-life one in order to obtain basic information about the company itself. Describe your new employer, including the following. (10 points) | |
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| 1. | The company and industry in which you operate |
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| 2. | Your product lines |
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| 3. | Your total number of employees |
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| 4. | Your annual revenue |
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| 5. | Your top competitor |
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| Part B | Write an overall description of the new product you will be promoting. Include four (4) product features and one (1) benefit for each feature. (20 points) | |
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| Part C | Identify and describe the three (3) primary market segments you would target to buy your product. In each description, identify two (2) demographic and one (1) psychographic characteristic. (30 points) | |
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| Part D | Develop a list of five (5) marketing activities you recommend to promote this new product. Include the reason why you believe each of the marketing activities will be successful. (40 points) | |
Discussion-9
Instructions
Relate the different models of brand equity to each other. How are they similar? How are they different? (24 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
Discussion-10
There are certain areas of the country that are so rough that Domino's, Pizza Hut, and many other restaurant chains will not deliver to them. Imagine that a local entrepreneur has started a company called "Homeboys Restaurant Delivery and Catering Service," that will deliver to these areas. With a bank of phones and two drivers, the company picks up at the restaurant of your choice and delivers to your doorstep. Its drivers use late-model, inconspicuous used cars. Homeboys run a tab at the restaurants and pays weekly for food picked up by its drivers. Customers are charged a $3 delivery fee on $10 minimum orders. Its drivers hand out flyers with the Homeboys logo and the names of participating restaurants. Each driver also has the menu from those restaurants. Evaluate the effectiveness of Homeboys in terms of the intangible and/or variable elements of people, physical evidence, and service standards. (26 points) (A 1½-page response is required.)
Activity 5_14
Activity Description: Corporate Memo (100 points)
You are working for the College town-based California Happy Valley Beverage Corporation, marketers of California Sunshine Filtered Water. The product has a colorful label and sells well throughout the state, especially among environmentally-conscious consumers. A member of the College town City Council, with a reputation and record for activism, ran across several controversial articles about filtered water production and distribution and proceeded to raise a ruckus, questioning the integrity of Happy Valley Beverage Corporation and the suitability and value of its bottled water product.
The city council has written a pointed letter to your corporation and copied it to the local newspaper, mirroring these concerns. On the attractive bottle label, you and thousands of other consumers can read the statement, "Every drop of this healthy, refreshing beverage is guaranteed to be filtered in conformance with all applicable California and federal government regulations." What the label does not explicitly state, however, is that the water is actually tap water from the town's municipal system, a fact that has now been exposed.
As a newly minted MBA who has only recently assumed the Director of Marketing and Community Relations position, you have been assigned the privilege of answering the letter. Even though you have two other "rookies" who can assist in the research and composition, the responsibility for the content rests with you. In order for your assistants to do a good job, you have to supply them with some of the basic arguments that will uphold your company's reputation and stem the tide of this public relations brouhaha. Your Activity responses should be both grammatically and mechanically correct, and formatted in the same fashion as the Activity itself. If there is a Part A, your response should identify a Part A, etc. In addition, you must appropriately cite all resources used in your response and document in a bibliography using APA style. (100 points) (A 2-page response is required.)
Part A Find at least three (3) journal and/or news articles that might help you outline a response to why consumers should pay for bottled tap water and to determine what other defenses your company could use against this type of consumer activism. You will use this research in Part B. Present your research in the form of an annotated bibliography. (30 points)
Part B Write a 2-page memo to your "rookie" associates explaining the company's present circumstances. Note that your memo will likely be used as the basis of your company's response to the accusations of the College town City Council. Include responses to the following issues in your memo and support them with the research that you found in Part A. (70 points)
1. Why will/should people pay for a bottle of water? Give a minimum of three (3) reasons supported by the research.
2. What are the corporations' best defenses in the face of this kind of consumer criticism? Give at least three (3) defenses with an explanation of why each reason is important.
Discussion-11
Applying principles you've learned up to this point in the course list and explain four (4) ways that even a well-executed marketing program might fail. (20 points) (A 1-page response is required.)
Discussion-12
Identify four (4) measures of marketing effectiveness. Explain which one (1) of the four (4) measures on your list, in your opinion, is most important and why. Which is least important and why? Do the elements they measure tend to interact with one another, or is their effectiveness primarily self-contained? (30 points) (A 2-page response is required.)
