Marketing Analysis

• Select      one of the following      companies for this assignment: Under Armour or FedEx. Do research and analyze based on their current      situation. Look for investor relations for the best information from the      company web sites (e.g., investor.underarmour.com or investors.fedex.com).
  
   
• You      should do this paper with complete sentences and paragraphs, and use subheadings      for each section in the outline below as a way to organize the      assignment. Approx. 6-8 pages      double-spaced.
  
   
• Cite sources of information as you      write (parentheses with source following any information from that source      – not just for direct quotes). Also, include a full list of references used at the end of the      assignment (using APA format – not      just web site addresses). You      should have at least three quality references in addition to the      company’s web site and 10-K report (more will likely improve grade). Consult the APA format/citation guide at      the library’s web site or in Course Documents if you are not sure how to      do it. *Note: Wikipedia is not considered a valid reference in academic      research.
  
   
• These      are public companies with a lot of information available. The best information on their web sites      is usually under Investor Relations (often in small print at bottom of the      home page). A 10K (or annual) report is also a great resource. For external analysis, you will need to      search articles about the industry or other trends that could affect the      company (searchable databases in the library – see link in Blackboard). Also use the textbook if you need      explanation and examples of the terms used in the outline.
  
   
• Be      sure you understand and avoid plagiarism! If you copy-paste information directly      from a web site, that can lead to an F (unless you are using it as a      direct quote and have quotation marks and proper citation – and you should      not have too many direct quotes in a paper).
   

Paper Outline (do all 4 sections, paying careful attention to the instructions)

Product-Market Analysis

• What products/services      are offered by the company (i.e., description of the product mix and main      benefits offered to customers)?
• Profile      the target markets for these products (different products may      target different segments; some products target multiple market segments).
• Also,      include something about the brand(s) used by the company (and how      they position their brands).

External Situation Analysis

• Who      are the main competitors and possible substitute competitors? What      are some important competitive issues or conditions to consider in this      industry? 
• What      current trends in the marketing environment might have an effect      (positive or negative) on this company? See Exhibit 5.1 and Ch. 5 for ideas on this, and consider all      areas of the macroenvironment.

Marketing Mix

Discuss the other parts of the marketing mix for the company (i.e., what kind of promotion they use, how/where the products are distributed – including location strategy if a retailer, and what kind of pricing they use). Note: You already discussed “product” in the first part of the outline.

Environmental Sustainability (Both of these company web sites have sections on this! For FedEx, look for Governance & Citizenship, then Citizenship for links. For Under Armour, look for Sustainability link under About in their investors page.)

What is this company doing to be more responsible regarding the protection or conservation of the natural environment? What are some ways they could improve their efforts toward environmental sustainability? (If you can’t think of suggestions, do some research on what other companies are doing, and see if some of those ideas could be used by this company.)