Academy of Management Journal Journal
of Marketing Communications
Academy of Management Review, Journal of Marketing Management
The
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Advertising
Age Journal
of Marketing Practice
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Age’s Business Marketing Journal of Macromarketing
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Week Journal of Relationship Marketing
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of Research for Consumers
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of Market-Focused Management
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of Marketing
Note 2:
Advertisements can be from any media, such as print (newspapers, magazines),
electronic (TV, radio), direct mail, the Internet, etc. Be sure to state when and where each ad
appeared. Please attach copies of print
ads to your paper, and include descriptions of other ads such as radio and TV
commercials and outdoor billboards.
Evaluation of Papers
Each assignment will
be evaluated on the following criteria:
Relative
Criterion
Importance
1. Content – Conciseness, correctness,
and completeness of answer (highly informative/ 70%
sufficiently
detailed); application of theory learned in course; originality of ideas and
creativity; logic of analysis; use of examples and evidence (a sufficient
number, including outside sources).
2. Organization, Presentation, and Appearance
– Organization includes such matters as: 15%
a)
Coherence—the paper is sequentially logical; paragraphs and sentences are
in the right order; topics are developed within paragraphs; each paragraph
represents a single topic; transitions between sections, paragraphs, and
sentences flow smoothly and logically; and the paper flows smoothly
b)
Unity—introduction and conclusion (summarizes and provides closure), the
theme is clear, everything in the paper defends or explains the theme
c)
Development—everything is fully explained.
Presentation
and appearance involve matters such as neatness, proper formal
paper format (title page, endnoting, bibliography, headings and subheadings,
page numbers, margins, use of exhibits and illustrative charts, etc.).
3. Clarity of Communication
a) Writing style—the paper is
clearly and concisely written, 15%
not to impress, but to
make the reader understand; active voice; verb tense consistent; professional
tone (absence of contractions, appropriate vocabulary, etc.); interesting;
b) Mechanics—grammar,
syntax, spelling, punctuation, word divisions.
100%
Specific Assignments
Group #1 Assignment: Due
June 2
ASSIGNMENT 1: Marketing
Management Philosophies and Corporate Missions
1) Describe examples of companies that practice each of
the various marketing management philosophies (production concept, product
concept, etc.) Is each company’s chosen
marketing management philosophy the best one for that particular company? If so, why, and if not, what would be a
better philosophy, and why?
2) For each of these companies, define what you believe to
be the corporate mission. In each case,
does the mission relate to the marketing management philosophy, and if so, why
or why not?
OR
ASSIGNMENT 2: Business
Portfolio Analysis
Using the Boston
Consulting Group’s Business Portfolio Analysis, analyze either a division of a
large company of your choice (e.g., Saturn Division of General Motors) or else
a smaller multi-product company. Be sure
to place each Strategic Business Unit (SBU) in the proper quadrant, describe
and analyze the strategy currently being used for each SBU, and explain whether
the strategy is appropriate for that quadrant.
Is the business portfolio balanced?
How, if at all, could it be improved?
OR
ASSIGNMENT 3: Product/Market
Growth Strategies
In order for a company to achieve growth in today’s
marketplace, strategic planning calls for a market opportunity
analysis—identifying market opportunities where the company would enjoy a
differential advantage over competitors.
Imagine that a company of your choice is in the process of
identifying relevant opportunities.
Suggest ways in which the company of your choice can plan strategies
concerning: 1) intensive growth opportunities within its present product/market
scope; 2) integrative growth opportunities within its channel of distribution
and industry; and 3) diversification growth opportunities outside its industry.
Group
#2 Assignment: Due June 5
ASSIGNMENT 4: Environmental
Analysis
a) The environmental "uncontrollable"
macroenvironmental variables acting as constraints on marketing decisions are:
economic, technological, political and legal, demographic, social, cultural,
natural, public, competitive industry structure (suppliers, distributors,
competitors), and the resources and objectives of the firm.
Select
one of these variables and identify its impact on each of the
elements of the marketing mix (product, price, distribution, and promotion)
decisions. Illustrate this impact using
specific examples from current periodicals or websites for one or more
organizations.
OR
b) Describe the macroenvironmental forces that
might affect your search for a full-time job when you graduate. What implications do these have for your
marketing plan to find a job? Briefly
outline this marketing plan for your job search, noting the impact of the
various environmental forces on each element of your plan, where appropriate.
OR
c) Take some marketing situation
(actual or hypothetical) and discuss the implications for the macro- and
microenvironments of marketing. For
example, limited production of memory chips by Japanese companies has caused
supply shortages and price increases for U.S. computer manufacturers. This situation has implications for the
company's microenvironment: the company (production schedules, management's
sales goals), middlemen (if one firm can't supply their needs, will they turn
to another manufacturer?), financial intermediaries (the company might need
funding for higher-than-anticipated supply costs), the firm’s standing relative
to the competition, and so on. The
situation also relates to the enterprise’s microenvironment: technological
change, government trade regulations, demographic trends affecting the demand
for personal computers and other electronic devices, and others.
OR
d) Assume you are opening one of the
retail store types listed below.
Identify publications and one or more websites that could provide useful
information about the environmental forces likely to affect the store that you
choose. Briefly summarize the
information on each environmental force, and explain how it will affect your
marketing strategy.
a.
Convenience store
b.
Women’s, men's, or children’s clothing store
c.
Grocery store
d.
Fast food restaurant
e.
Furniture store
f.
Sporting goods store
g.
Record store
h.
Another retail store of your choice
i.
An online store (“e-tailer”) of your
choice
Group #3 Assignment: Due June 7
ASSIGNMENT 5: Marketing
Research
a) The engineers in your company
have formulated a new line of scented suntan oils, including spearmint,
coconut, cinnamon, lime, strawberry and cherry.
You need a customer profile—who will buy the suntan oils (or, if you wish,
you may substitute another fictitious product of your choosing) and why—in
order to design an appropriate marketing program. Outline a marketing research survey study and
design a questionnaire to obtain appropriate information.
OR
b) A large national not-for-profit organization which does research in
the field of Alzheimer’s disease is concerned that there is a large number of
people throughout the country who know little, if anything, about this
debilitating disease. They have hired
your marketing research consulting firm to do a national image study for them,
and have given you a budget of $350,000.
How would you design this research project? Be sure to include a questionnaire to
generate the appropriate information.
OR
c) The president of a campus organization (of
your choice) has asked you to conduct a marketing research project on why
membership is declining (or on how to attract new members). Discuss how you would apply the steps in a
marketing research project to this project.
Or, alternatively, imagine that the Chairman of the Stonehill Business
Administration Department (or another department of your choice) has asked you
to discover why the percentage of Stonehill students majoring in Business
Administration (or in another major) is declining.
OR
d) Movie marketing is a tremendously risky
product development activity. Many
millions of dollars can be spent with little idea of eventual consumer demand
for the film.
Take in a movie
and/or read reviews/watch commercials for that film. Then, write a report to the movie’s producers
outlining your proposal for marketing research to help them design, develop,
and market the next edition of the movie (e.g., SpiderMan 3, Shrek 3). Be sure to include a questionnaire to
generate the needed information.
OR
e) When an
organization wants to conduct research, a problem or potential problem must be
recognized, or possible opportunities must be discovered, to market its goods
or services.
Choose a local
organization (manufacturer, retailer, service firm, not-for-profit
organization, etc.) that you think might benefit from a research project. Develop an outline of a research method to
approach this inquiry. Explain why you
think the research methodology is relevant to the organization and why the
particular methodology would best fit the problem/opportunity and company.
Group # 4 Assignment: Due June 7
ASSIGNMENT 6: Consumer Buyer
Behavior
a) From a major purchase you recently made, briefly describe the
consumer decision process you used.
Specifically, identify each of the following, where relevant:
1. Pre-purchase behavior: problem
recognition, relative importance of evaluative criteria, internal and external
influences, information sources, changes in attitudes and purchase intentions;
2. Purchase behavior: time and effort
spent; alternative products, brands and/or outlets considered;
3. Post-purchase behavior: use of
product, post-purchase evaluation, degree of satisfaction with product and
decision, post-purchase doubt, word-of-mouth recommendations to others, repeat
purchase behavior, brand loyalty, further related behavior.
What would you do differently in
stages 1, 2, and 3 above if you were to make this purchase again?
What are the
implications of your behavior (and/or what you consider the "typical"
consumer's behavior would be if different from your behavior) at each purchase
process stage for the marketing manager of the product or service that you
purchased?
OR
b) Part 1
Choose a product you have
recently purchased. Analyze the purchase
by responding to the following questions:
1. What product did you buy? What is the brand name? Manufacturer name?
2. Where did you buy the product? Why did you purchase there?
3. What factors caused you to buy a product of
this kind at this time?
4. Is this the first time you have purchased
this product? If not, how many times
have you bought it before? Have you
purchased this particular brand or from this particular manufacturer
before? How, if at all, did your buying
history influence this particular purchase?
5. Why did you purchase this brand rather than
some other? How many different brands
did you consider?
6. Did you do any research before you made this
purchase? Why or why not? What kind of information did you try to obtain? Where
did you get it? For example, did you
consult any consumer buying guides, look at advertising, talk to salespeople,
talk to friends, or visit websites?
Which of these were the best sources of information for you? Why?
Were there any particular strengths or limitations to the information
sources you used?
7. Now that you have purchased the product, are
you satisfied with it? Did you
experience any dissonance following your purchase? Would you buy this item again? Would you recommend it to any of your
friends? Do you feel any need to take
any other actions as a result of this purchase?
Why or why not?
8. Discuss any important marketing implications
for a marketing manager that arise from your discussions of at least three of
the points above. (You may integrate
these implications at the appropriate places in your discussion above.)
Part 2
After carefully considering the answers to the
previous eight questions, explain how at least three of the following concepts
discussed in Chapter 9 affected the purchase you made:
1. Needs and motives 7. Culture
2. Perception 8. Subcultures
3. Learning 9. Social classes
4.
Attitude formation and change 10.
Households/families/family life cycle
5. Personality and self-concept 11.
Reference groups
6. Lifestyle 12.
Word of mouth/opinion leaders
What are the
implications of your answers concerning these three concepts for the marketing
manager of the product you purchased?
OR
c) Consumers use
one of three problem-solving/decision making procedures when purchasing goods
or services: (1) routine problem solving/routinized response behavior, (2)
limited problem solving, or (3) extended/extensive problem solving. Describe three buying experiences you have
had (one for each type of problem solving), and identify and describe which
decision-making type you used in each case.
Discuss why you used that particular process. What are the implications for the marketing
manager in each of these three situations?
OR
d) Psychologist Stanley Plog thinks that car
buying is too difficult for most people because of the product's complexity,
lack of buyer information and confidence, and the myriad models, options, and
financing possibilities, plus the lease vs. ownership decision. He thinks that this confusion is strong
enough to slow down the market for new cars.
Write a report suggesting a list of things
an automobile manufacturer (or division of a manufacturer, such as General
Motors, Chevrolet division) could do to make shopping easier for the average
member of their target market. Be sure
to relate your discussion to the consumer decision process and any relevant
characteristics of the typical targeted buyer.
(Hint: The availability of online information is greatly expanding
consumer shopping expertise.)
Group #5 Assignment: Due June 12
ASSIGNMENT 7: Business Buyer
Behavior
a) Observe the
articles and advertisements appearing in several trade journals directed to
industrial or business buyers. In general,
how would you assess them with regard to buying appeals, objective
presentations, and technical information?
What conclusions can you draw from this regarding differences in buying
behavior of business purchasers and consumer/household buyers?
OR
b) Imagine you are the marketing manager for a
small business purchasing its first computer system (or if you prefer,
upgrading its current computer system or buying another high-tech product or
service, such as voicemail, a photocopy system, wireless data service,
etc.). Describe the following regarding
your situation: the type of buying situation (buy class: new task, modified
rebuy, straight rebuy), participants in the buying center and their roles in
the buying process, environmental influences on the purchase, and the
organizational buyer decision process.
OR
c) Global Furniture, inc., a small maker of
office furniture, faces a big challenge.
Organizational buyers are typically drawn toward large, well-established
suppliers. In office furniture,
Steelcase dominates. Based on an
analysis of organizational buyer behavior (customer characteristics,
environmental influences, buyer decision process, etc.), write a report
suggesting strategies and tactics Global should use to compete more effectively
with Steelcase. Consider that they might
wish to focus upon a particular market segment.
OR
ASSIGNMENT 8: Market
Segmentation
a) A number of companies sell multiple brands of
products such as automobiles, beer, cereals, coffee, sodas, soaps, detergents,
and other consumer goods. Select one
large national or international company and list all of the different brands of
a product that the company manufactures. Explain why you think the company
markets each of these brands of the same product. Toward what target market is each of these
brands aimed? Briefly describe the
marketing strategy for each segment. Is
their market segmentation and target marketing strategy "on target"
or could it be improved? If so, how?
OR
b)
1) If you decide to start a local or regional chain of
stores (e.g., nurseries to sell flowers, shrubs, and trees), which
market-coverage strategy (target marketing options: undifferentiated marketing,
differentiated marketing, or concentrated marketing) would you use, and which
variables might you use to segment the market?
Describe some logical target markets and some possible positioning
strategies.
2) Suggest some
plausible target markets and positioning strategies for a new brand of packaged
goods (e.g.,
cookies) sold in supermarkets (or some other type of retail outlet).
3) Compare and
contrast these various segmentation and positioning strategies for the chain
and the
packaged good,
explaining why differences exist.
OR
c) Monitor four advertisements for competing
brands within a product class:
1. Toward what market segment(s) do you think
each of the advertisers is attempting to position their brand? Be as specific as possible in terms of
demographics, psychographics, and/or behavioral characteristics. Is the segment chosen appropriate for each
advertiser? If yes, why? If not, how could it be improved?
2. How do you think the advertisers are
attempting to position their brands?
Draw up a positioning (perceptual) map and explain it.
3. Do you think a new brand could be effectively
positioned so as to differ from these brands?
Where on the positioning map should the new brand be located? Why?
(Don't forget to consider buyer preference segments/ideal points.)
Group #1 Assignment: Due June 14
Market
Segmentation (continued)
d) 1. Find
four ads, each of which illustrates one of the following categories for market
segmentation: geographic, demographic, psychographic/lifestyle, and
behavioral/behavioristic (one ad for each of the four categories). For each ad, which specific segmentation
variable(s) is (are) being used? How
effective do you think this approach is?
For each ad, suggest an alternative market segmentation strategy (one of
the other three categories plus specific segmentation variables) and discuss
its relative effectiveness.
2.
Which market coverage/target marketing
strategy (undifferentiated marketing, differentiated marketing, and
concentrated marketing) is each advertiser in question 1 using? How effective do you think each of these approaches
is?
OR
e)
Choose one of the following: a new
musical group, a new feature movie, a new book, a new television show, a new
CD/DVD, a new video game, a new sports team, or some other new entertainment
offering. Describe how you would segment
your product-market, target your product-market, and position within your
target market. Justify all choices you
make in light of buyer needs and wants, competitive offerings, and any other
marketplace factors you deem important.
OR
f) Visit a drug store or supermarket and pick
out a product category that offers a number of product variations for different
market segments (e.g., different features, styles, options, varieties, price
points, quality levels, etc.). Based on
product packaging, in-store displays, and any other evidence you can uncover
(e.g., consumer advertising, understanding of people you personally know who
are heavy product users, etc.), describe the target market and positioning
strategy for each brand. Is there room
for another brand to enter this product class, and if so, to whom should it be
targeted and how should it be positioned?
OR
ASSIGNMENT 9: New Product
Decisions
a) Select a product category where most brands
seem to be pretty much the same (parity/homogeneous products, e.g., sugar, margarine,
dishwashing liquid, white bread). Either
for an existing brand in the category or a new brand of your invention,
describe some ways to differentiate that offering. Consider product elements in Chapters 11 and
13, such as features, branding, packaging, labeling and supporting elements,
plus the concept of an augmented product.
OR
b)
Business publications and/or their websites frequently report inside stories of
marketing successes--and failures.
Select from one of these publications or
websites the story of a recent new product strategy that failed. Summarize and
analyze what the company tried to do and what went wrong. In your opinion, how could they have improved
their marketing efforts?
OR
c) Select an article on a new product considered
very successful. Summarize and analyze
reasons for the product's success. In
your view, did the new product team make any mistakes and/or can you offer
suggestions for how they could have done even better?
Group #2 Assignment: Due June 19
d) Select, summarize, and analyze an article on
the general subject: why new products fail.
Then, apply the principles you’ve learned from this article to
developing and launching your own hypothetical new product.
OR
e) Select, summarize, and analyze an article on
the general subject: how to succeed with new products. Then, apply the principles you’ve learned
from this article to developing and launching your own hypothetical new
product.
OR
f) Select, summarize, and analyze an article on
the general subject: factors that distinguish between new product successes and
failures. Then, apply the principles
you’ve learned from this article to developing and launching your own
hypothetical new product.
