Principles of Marketing

This assignment meets the following course learning outcomes:
•    To understand the role of marketing in an organization.
•    To understand consumer characteristics and target segment identification and marketing.
•    To understand product pricing and branding.
•    To understand the role of advertising and other marketing communication methods and how to effectively use them.
•    To learn about market ethics.
•    To develop oral and written skills.

This project is due before 5pm.  A hard copy in addition to a soft copy is required. You can send the soft copy to either my email or the dropbox on blackboard.
This assignment is marked out of 100 points and contributes 30% to the total mark
Delay 1 day (-1% of the total mark)
Delay 2 days (-3% of the total mark)
Delay 3 days or more (zero mark)

Description and Requirements
In this project, you are to prepare a marketing plan for a new product or service. You begin by choosing either an existing company or a fictional company and prepare the marketing plan based following the structure below:
1.    Cover Page
2.    Executive Summary
3.    Situation Analysis: this section will involve conducting preliminary research on:
a.     the company (Goals, focus, culture, SWOT analysis, market share)
b.    Customer Analysis: Number, type, value drivers, decision process, concentration of customer base for particular products
c.    Competitor Analysis: Market position, strengths, weaknesses, market shares
d.    Collaborators: Subsidiaries, joint ventures, and distribution
e.    Climate: Macro-environmental (PEST analysis: Political and legal environment, economic environment, social and cultural environment, technological environment)
4.    Product Discussion: a thorough outline on what the proposed product is about. Include any visuals if necessary.
5.    Market Segmentation
a.    Discuss the market segments that the company is already involved in, if any
b.    Discuss what your company’s target market is
c.    What segments will your product focus on? Does it fit with the current customer base?
6.    Marketing Strategy
d.    List and discuss any alternatives that were discussed before coming up with the final product
e.    Product: brand name, quality, scope of product line, warranty, packaging
f.    Price: List price, discounts, bundling, payment terms and financing options, leasing options
g.    Promotion: advertising – how much? What media?, public relations, promotional programs, budget: determine break-even point, projected results for promotional programs
h.    Place: Distribution channels, logistics etc.
7.    Short Term and Long Term Projections: immediate effects, expected long-term results, and any special actions required to achieve them. May include forecasts of revenue and expenses as well as a break-even analysis if necessary.
8.    Conclusion
9.    Appendix
10.    References
Bonus: Through primary research i.e. surveys, analyze what your customers want in a new product and see whether they actually want your product rather than setting up a myopic product. Show evidence of surveys and responses within the appendix and discuss thoroughly.
The structure of the paper is described below:
a)    Make sure to have titles and subtitles for each section
b)    A cover page and a reference page is required
c)    Minimum 8 pages, maximum 12 pages (excluding cover pages, conclusion, appendix, references and executive summary)
d)    Font size 12, Times New Roman, 1.5 spaced
e)    Average 2,000 to 3,000 words
Plagiarism Policy
?    The work you submit must be your original work
?    Assignments that are not the original work of the student are considered plagiarized
?    Plagiarism occurs when another person’s work, words, or ideas are presented as one’s own without the use of a school-recognized method of citation, such as APA style (e.g. copied from another source such as an author or another student without properly acknowledging the actual writer / author)
?    Plagiarism also occurs when knowingly giving or allowing one’s own work to be copied or otherwise duplicated by another for academic credit, or when resubmitting one’s own work for academic credit
?    All those who violate this policy will receive a zero for the assignment and the case will be turned over to the Dean of Student Affairs for further action
Make sure that you present the information in a creative and good looking way. Graphs, images and other illustrations should be utilized.