Integrated Marketing

Assignment 2: IMC Strategies for Building Brands Introduction This assignment builds on the learning materials, activities, and discussions in Module 2 and on your first assignment. You will begin by preparing a situation analysis of the marketplace for your brand, and then use this analysis to describe its target market, and to identify the most promising segment in this market as your primary target segment. You will include the data-driven communication audit for your brand and your recommendations for improving the use of data-driven communication. By using this data, you will be ready to conduct a SWOT Analysis. From your prioritized SWOT, you will develop your integrated marketing communication objectives for the IMC plan.  Depending on your choice of brand and brand target market, you should be prepared to visit retail outlets and other locations to explore how this brand is reaching its market. In addition, you also should be prepared to research the websites and social marketing sites on which it has an online presence. You also may interview colleagues, friends, and family to determine how the brand is reinforced within the marketplace.  Instructions Important: In answering the following assignment parts, it is critical to justify your answers. Grading is weighted heavily in favour of answers that refer back to or reference course materials including concepts, terms, relevant information, and other outside sources. It is important to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the course materials in your reasoning about and application of them.  Part 1: Marketplace Situation Analysis (40 marks) Analyze the internal and external influences of the integrated marketing communications (IMC) of your brand/product. Your analyses should assess the following areas for your brand/product:  Internal Analysis (10 points) Relative strengths and weaknesses of the brand IMC and promotional organization and its capabilities Previous IMC and promotional programs Brand image External Analysis (10 points) Customer behaviour analysis Competitive analysis Environment Analysis (5 points) What are the marketing mix implications (context of 4 Ps) of your marketplace situation analysis for your brand/product strategy and the development of your IMC plan? (15 points) * Suggested length for Part 1 is four to six pages.  Part 2: Target Market (25 marks) Explain how profiling the current target market of a brand can assist in identifying segments and selecting segment characteristics that can help to create IMC messages and media selection that reach a targeted prospect segment. (5 points) From your target market, select and describe two target market segments for your brand/product. Describe each segment separately by using the five types of segmentation variables discussed in your textbook. (10 points) Identify the two most important consumer characteristics for each of the target market segments. Explain how the brand links to these particular characteristics. (10 points) * Suggested length for Part 2 is two pages.  Part 3: SWOT Analysis (15 marks) From the information analyzed in Parts 1–2 above, summarize in point form the external opportunities and threats and internal strengths and weaknesses of your brand. (10 points) To complete the SWOT analysis, prioritize it for your brand/product. (5 points) * Suggested length for Part 3 is one to two pages.  Part 4: IMC Objectives (15 marks) Based on the prioritized SWOT analysis findings, develop three specific IMC objectives to guide the development of your IMC plan. (9 points) For each objective, articulate whether it is a communication or behavioural objective and provide the rationale for selecting this type of objective. (3 points) Explain how each of these objectives evolved from the marketplace situation analysis, the target market, and the prioritized SWOT Analysis findings. (3 points) * Suggested length for Part 4 is one to two pages.  Part 5: Report Structure and Presentation (5 Marks) Ensure you structure and present your assignment in formal manner suitable for business.  Assessment Criteria This assignment is worth 15% of your final course grade and is marked out of 100 as follows:  Assignment Parts Weight Part 1: Marketplace Situation Analysis 40% Part 2: Target Market 25% Part 3: SWOT Analysis 15% Part 4: IMC Objectives 15% Part 5: Report Structure and Presentation 5% Total: 100%  Assignments will be evaluated using the following performance criteria:  Content—Address all points of information as outlined in the criteria and course content for the assignment.  Knowledge—Demonstrate your understanding, skills, and perspectives regarding the module terms and concepts and provide a coherent summary of your learning from the assignment.  Theory and Practice—Demonstrate the connections that exist between the work of others (course materials, readings, activities, and discussions) and marketing principles, practices, and processes with your work.  Critical Thinking—Use logical thinking to gather, integrate, and analyze the information in your report. Display your ability to draw the best possible conclusions from your findings and analysis, and to apply these to the development of your IMC plan.  Presentation—Deliver all parts of the assignment with good structure, clarity, and presentation. Ensure that your report is professionally formatted; that spelling, grammar, and punctuation are accurate; and that footnotes and acknowledgments (bibliography or reference list) are correctly used.  Completion Guidelines Submit your assignment by Blackboard email. Save it as a Word document and name it MKTG4481_Lastname_Assign2_CourseCompletionDate.  A few reminders before submitting your assignment:  Did you put your name, student number, and course completion date on the cover page of your document?  Did you submit all parts of your assignment in one document to your Open Learning Faculty Member?  Did you complete all the required elements?  Did you use relevant information and terminology that you learned in this course?  Did you support your statements with specific examples?  Did you cite references, using the correct citation format?  Did you ensure that your writing is free from spelling mistakes?  Is your report grammatically correct, clear, and well organized?  Note: Cite all quotations appropriately by using the American Psychological Association (APA) documentation style (author [last name followed by first initial], date, title, publisher, page number [if required]), and when needed, provide Web URLs. For more information on APA, see http://www.tru.ca/library/guides/citation_styles.html.