Marketing Product and Positioning Strategies

What you need to do You should select two products in the same  packaged good  product category (i.e., any frequently purchased product that is packaged, e.g., a food product or a personal care product, two brands of soap, two brands of chocolate, or two brands of yoghurt). Based on your own in-store observations and knowledge about the products as well as brief interviews with 3-4 friends or family members that you think would be familiar with both brands, you will describe each of the products. Based on this information you will conclude with what you think is the positioning strategy of each product.

The positioning statement should describe the target market and how the product is meant to be differentitated from the competition. It does not need to be longer than one or two sentences. Please use the following format:

To [target market/need], [brand] is [concept] that [point of difference]. Example: “To up-scale food lovers who are looking for unique food experiences, Vosges is a chocolate that offers the experience of high quality chocolate in surprising and exciting flavor combinations."  

What you will turn in Your submission should be no more than one page (1" margins and 12 point font) uploaded on Blackboard in either Word format or PDF. It needs to have the outline below. For each heading, use a bullet-point for the description of each product so that it will be easy to distinguish the information for each. Introduction - What are the two brands and why did you choose them?

Product attributes  – describe each product's features

Benefits provided  - list (at least) one possible functional benefit (how the product helps the typical consumer) and one psychological benefit (how does owning and/or using the product make consumers feel) for each of the products.

Product line - describe the product line that you think the product is part of

Packaging – Please describe the packaging for each of the two products in terms of color, shape, text/information, overall look, and possible functional aspects.

Brand image - What do consumers associate with a particular brand? For each brand, please generate a list of 5-6 words that you think reflect consumers' perceptions of the brand (e.g., quality, modern, cool, boring, "for hipsters", green, etc.) and explain with two-three sentences why you have chosen those words.

Positioning statement - see instructions above. You need to write one positioning statement for each of the two brands you are analyzing.

If you realize that you made an error in the assignment that you uploaded, you can upload a new version. We will grade the most recent version that is posted on your profile in Bb. While late submissions will be accepted, the total points possible will decrease by 10 points for every day the assignment is late.

To access the assignment submission page, please double-click on the assignment heading. The assignment is due on Monday, Oct. 13, by the end of the day. If your assignment has been correctly uploaded there will be an exclamation mark for it in MyGrades until the assignment is graded.

How the assignment is graded This assignment is worth 60 points. It will be graded on both content and presentation. To get full credit for the assignment you need to describe all listed factors for each product, follow the layout format, and proof-read your submission. 

This is an individual assignment! While some of your may choose the same pair of products to analyze, if we notice assignments that are identical, or almost identical (i.e., only minor word changes), neither student will get credit for the assignment. Helping your friends with the assignment by explaining what they need to do is commendable, but keep in mind that if you share your solution with another student, and that person decides to submit the assignment as is, you will also lose your points.