Assignments Overview, there are total 6 parts.
1. Writing Each Part Respectively,
2. plz provide each part in separate word. file. And need a title for each
part.
3. For each part, I have required the word counts. Do NOT write less the
word counts I required. You can write more words, but NOT less.
4. APA format
6. Follow each part instruction respectively.
5.. All parts are for the company Aqua Jogger
Part 1: 400 words.
SWOT analysis
Assignment:
For the sake of this assignment is for Aqua Jogger, please pretend that you have been hired
as a consultant for the company. This means that you have access to a lot of their information,
but that you haven’t fully been with the company, so you need to do additional research to really
understand the business environment.
New Product Recommendation:
You will want to recommend some type of new product for Aqua Jogger. You will
then create your marketing plan around that product. It could be a new type of exercise gear
or a new type of water equipment that you think would be a good fit for Aqua Jogger to create
and start selling. You will want to spend some time researching Aqua Jogger’s website as well
as competitor’s websites to see what a good product idea might be. It doesn’t have to be a
brand new idea but it can be. The product needs to be something that they don’t
currently sell.
SWOT Analysis:
After you have your new product recommendation, you will create a SWOT Analysis for the
new product and the company.
You can think of the SWOT analysis as a brainstorming technique. You will look closely at the
strengths and weaknesses that the company and new product idea might have and then look at
the current market environment and the opportunities and threats. This will help you understand
what type of strengths that you have that can fit with opportunities. It also help you understand
what types of threats you need to avoid.
Research:
Look at the various products on amazon.com for Aqua Jogger and for competitors. Pay special
attention to the reviews on Amazon. Look at the competitors reviews as well. Do competitors
seem to have better reviews or does Aqua Jogger?
You will want to spend some time the Aqua Jogger website and also spend time researching the
“exercise industry”, “water-exercise industry” and anything else that you think might be
important to understand about the market. You can search for terms on Google such as “water
aerobic industry 2018”, “exercise industry 2018” and “2018 exercise trends”.
Strengths:
The first step is the “S” in SWOT: identify your strengths. Look at the current products and
services and identify what it is that you do or offer that is better and unique compared to any of
the competition. Maybe your client’s product is better. Maybe they have more experience.
Perhaps they have tons of testimonials from happy clients, and their reputation is the best in the
business. What makes them different and special?
Weaknesses:
Is there anything that you notice around the products or competitor’s products that keeps
coming up in the reviews or in your searches online? What about from the information about the
company? Is there anything that could be improved upon? Are they very small compared to their
competitors? In this section list any weaknesses that you see. Remember that this is about the
company and not the environment.
Opportunities: search for trends:
Both the opportunities and threats section are now focused on the external environment and
what is outside of the company’s control. For both of these sections, you will want to focus on
research around the industry.
Do you notice any trends that seem like they could be an opportunity for Aqua Jogger and the
product that you are recommending?
Threats:
When you were looking at information around Aqua Jogger, did you see any trends that seemed
like they could threaten the company? If you take a look at the industry, does it seem like there
are some new competitors? Do the current competitors seem bigger or more powerful? Are less
people forecasted to be interested in the industry? Are there any type of government
regulations?
What you need to write for this part.
First, describe your product recommendation. Why are you recommending this product?
Next, put your SWOT analysis together in a traditional SWOT Matrix that looks like the
following:
Please also explain in detail the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that you
choose.
Finally, after looking at your SWOT matrix, explain some ways that you think Aqua
Jogger and your product recommendation can capitalize on strengths and make the most of
opportunities.
Part 2: 600 words.
Target Market Strategy:
For this assignment, you are going to combine what we’ve learned about marketing research
with target marketing strategy. You will be conducting research both online and through a
survey to help you determine what target market your recommended Aqua Jogger should
target.
Assignment Steps:
Online Research:
You will start by looking at your SWOT analysis and by doing additional research online. Search
and see what type of target markets are most likely to use your product. Is there a certain age,
gender, income or lifestyle that seems to be the most likely to value your product? You can also
check and see what your competitor’s target markets are.
Check out places such as Google Trends: https://trends.google.com/trends/
Practical Ideas:
Also, think in general terms about what your suggested product is and what problem it solves for
consumers. For example, if it’s to help pregnant women lose weight then you know that you are
not going to target men or women in their 60’s.
Survey:
Next, you are going to create a survey and send it to some of Aqua Jogger’s current consumers
(these are people who are acting as current customers). You will start by thinking of 8-10
questions that you will ask these people. Use both open-ended and close-ended questions.
Look at chapter 9 and also look at the following resources that explain how to create a great
survey:
Remember that you will be thinking about your survey and research objective. In this case, you
want to determine what type of characteristics your ideal person has. So, you will want to ask
basic demographic and psychographic questions along with usage questions, such as how
likely would you be to purchase this type of product and general lifestyle questions such as what
keeps you up at night.
Once you have created the questions, you will put the survey on Survey Monkey. Here is a link:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/
If you need help understanding how to use the platform, please take a look at this resource:
https://help.surveymonkey.com/articles/en_US/kb/How-to-create-a-survey
Here is another helpful resource from Survey Monkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/
market-research-surveys/
After you have created the survey, plz attach the questions.
Now, you are going to pretend that each person whom you spoke to represents an entire
segment of a potential target audience. In a real marketing role, you wouldn’t speak with five to
ten people but would rather speak to thousands. So, pretend that each person represents a
group that has a thousand people just like them.
What person/segment do you recommend using for your product’s target market
recommendation? Look at page 144 to decide who your target audience should be. Make sure
to describe the target audience’s characteristics. What age are they? Gender? Income level?
What do they value?
Additional Research:
You are not required to conduct any additional research but if you are interested you can create
a focus group or conduct ethnographic research.
What you need to write for this part:
1. Now, you are going to write about this process. Please make sure that your paper is at least
two pages and double-spaced.
2. Explain why you chose that person to target and why you are recommending that target
market strategy. Explain your target audience’s characteristics. Also include any interesting
concepts that you learned during this process.
3. Finally, please attach the questions from your survey with your paper, , plz attach the
questions.
Target Market Sample Descriptions:
This link will give you some great target market description samples.
http://www.ccsfmarketing.com/sample-target-market-descriptions.html
http://www.ccsfmarketing.com/sample-target-market-descriptions.html
Part 3: 600 words.
Place Recommendation Assignment
For this assignment, we are focusing on the P, “Place”. If you remember from previous lectures,
place is focused on where the product will sell.
You will be recommending three different “places” where you think your Aqua Jogger
product recommendation should sell.
You will start this assignment by researching various topics that will help you make a solid
recommendation. You will then recommend two to three channel/place combinations that you
think would be the best fit.
Step 1 Market Factors:
The first step towards deciding on your place is to study your target audience’s shopping
behaviors. You will want to understand where they generally like to shop. Do they prefer to shop
online or at a physical location? Are they into Amazon shopping or do they like to shop at
smaller brick and mortar stores? These are all elements that you will want to consider for your
recommendation.
You can search for all of this information online by searching on Google for your target market’s
shopping and purchasing behavior. There are a lot of great studies and resources out there.
Step 2 Product Factors:
Next, you want to think about the actual product itself and also how your target audience might
interact with it. Here are a few basic questions that you will want to consider:
Does the end user need personalized service? If so, who is the best person to provide that
service to them?
Is the end user more likely to purchase this product online or at a physical store?
How much will you need to educate the end user on your product? Who is in the best position to
help you educate the end user?
If your end-users need a great deal of information and service, your company will want to make
sure that there is some type of sales force that can assist them.
If the buying process is fairly straightforward, you can sell direct via a website/catalog or
perhaps through a wholesale/retail structure.
If you need complete control over your product’s delivery and service, adding a channel
probably isn’t right for you.
Additional Product Questions:
You also want to consider your product and its materials. Do you think that this product will be
easy to produce? Does it need to stay fresh? Make sure to look at product characteristics in
your textbook on page 249.
Step 3 Producer Questions:
The last element to keep in mind is anything about the actual producer who in this case is Aqua
Jogger. Make sure again to look on page 249. Do they seem large compared to competitors or
do they seem like a small company?
Where does Aqua Jogger currently sell its products? You will want to keep this in mind too. If
they don’t sell in certain areas, it might be difficult to start new channels.
Step 4: Actual Distribution Intensity:
What type of distribution intensity do you recommend? Why? Please back up your statements to
show your understanding of what your actual product is.
Step 5 Identify Partners:
Now, it’s time to identify some choices. You will want to think about all of the previous research
that you conducted and make a list of places where you think your product should sell. The
possibilities are really endless, such as through Amazon, direct sales, direct sales through the
website, specific retailers such as Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Once you have identified your top three places, research each of them online. Look to see what
the requirements are for selling a product through them and then explain what type of
distribution channel each recommendation would be.
For example, if you have found that your target audience only shops online and especially
Amazon and sports retailers, then you would make a list of the retailers that could carry them,
such as:
1. Direct Sales- this will be a direct channel sale from our website
2. Amazon- look into how it works to sell on Amazon. What type of channel would this be?
3. Dick’s Sporting Goods- look at how it works to sell at Dick’s Sporting Goods.
What you need to write for this part:
1. Now it’s time to write your paper. Please make sure that it is at least two pages doublespaced. Please cite any references in APA style.
2. Start your paper by summarizing the research that you found. What did you end up learning
about your target audience? Then summarize what conclusion you came up with for the other
sections.
3. Next, explain what distribution strategy you are recommending.
4. Finally, recommend each place choice and briefly explain how it works and what type of
channel it would be using. Also in this section, list your reasoning for suggesting each choice
and make sure to back up your claim with research and points about the product or target
audience.
Part 4: 600 words.
Page Length: minimum two pages
Media Plan Assignment Instructions:
For this assignment, you will be putting together a miniature media plan for your company
’s client. The company is Aqua Jogger. You will start off by researching your target market’s
media consumption habits. Next, you will take a look at the your product and where it is in its
life cycle and then decide which media would be best to reach your target audience. Finally, you
will put the plan together and explain why this plan will be the best one for the client.
**We are not going to take budget into account for this assignment, even though if you were
creating a media plan for a client, budget would be a major factor.
Step 1: Research the Target Audience’s Media Consumption Habits
Your first step in the media planning process is to research the target market and understand what
media they use. Remember that even if you have the greatest creative ad, if the target market
doesn’t see it, then it won’t matter.
If you were a media buyer at an agency, you would have access to information with demographic
data on actual programs and platforms. We don’t have that specific information, but I still want
for you to get in the habit of researching target market media usage info.
Conduct some searches online for any type of information that you can find about the target
market’s media viewing habits (including social media channels). Try to find what type of media
they view the most. You probably won’t be able to find exact information for your target market,
but try to look and see if you can find information for age or income level. For example, if your
target market was woman who are 25-34 who live active lifestyles, you could research to see
what media was most popular among women who are 25-34.
Below are some links to help get you started in your research process:
http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/social-media/
http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/reports/2017/q1-2017-local-watch-report-tv-trends-in-ourcities.html
https://www.statisticbrain.com/tv-cable-subscriber-statistics/
– https://sproutsocial.com/insights/new-social-media-demographics/
– http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news.html?sortbyScore=false&tag=Related:radio
– http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/television/
Now that you have looked at media consumption habits, make a note of the media vehicles (for
example, television, Facebook, newspaper) that seem to be most popular among the target
market.
Step 2: Product’s Goals and Life Cycle:
Now, take a look back at your product. Where is it in the product life style stage?
Is this a brand new product idea that no other companies have produced before? If so, it will be
brand new to the public and you will want to follow a certain type of promotional campaign that
is good for introducing a product for the first time.
If this is a product idea that other companies currently sell, then you will follow a different
schedule because it is not in the introductory phase, so you will want to think of other types of
media that would make the most sense.
Step 3: Combine the Best Media
The next step is deciding which media you think would be best for the client. Look over the
information again that you found in Step 1 and Step 2. Given the information that you found in
Step 1 and Step 2, decide which top three media you would recommend for the client. Are there
three media vehicles that the target market uses that also will fit with where the client is in the
product life cycle? There is no wrong or right answer here, but you must choose what you
believe will be the most beneficial for the client.
What you need to write for this part:
It is now time to write your plan. You will want to answer the following questions in a business
format. You do not need to write in an official APA style, but please use citations and references
if you are using research to back up your points and claims.
Section 1:
What does your research/audit say about the target audience’s media consumption
behavior?
Here, describe the information that you found in Step 1. What were the most popular media for
the target market? What wasn’t as popular? Also add any interesting insight that you found
during your research.
Section 2:
A. Which platforms are you recommending? How do these work?
Describe the three platforms that you are recommending. Describe how they work especially if
they are social media or a newer technology. Would the client need to create a commercial or do
they need to create a print ad for the media vehicle? Is there anything else that they should keep
in mind?
B. Why would this work?
What is it about these platforms that will work for the client? Use the information that you found
during your research to back up your claims and to make arguments for your recommendations.
What are the positive and negative elements associated with each medium? Why do you
think the benefits will help the client?
Describe the advantages and disadvantages of using each type of media. No type of media will
ever be perfect for the client, but you will find that some media vehicle’s advantages will far
outweigh the disadvantages for some campaigns. After describing the advantages and
disadvantages, highlight how the advantages will clearly benefit the client.
Part 5: 600 words.
Product Attributes Assignment:
For this assignment, you will focus on understanding what the key attributes are of your product
for Aqua Jogger. You are going to be conducting a matrix, called ACE Matrix, to understand
what attributes are important to your target audience and what attributes of your product the
target market doesn’t care as much about. This will help you understand what is important about
your product idea and what consumers really value.
Step 1:
To begin this assignment, please read the article entitled, “Finding Important Attributes” under
“Assignment Resources” for this week. You will be creating your own ACE Matrix for your
product, so you want to make sure that you understand the concepts around the matrix.
Step 2:
Next, you want to start creating your own ACE Matrix. To do this, you will start by thinking about
what your product is and what if offers. Think about all of the most important attributes that it
may possess. What types of functions does it have? This is more of an art than science. There
is no correct answer. Just try to think critically about your product and list out all of the
possibilities.
Step 3:
Now that you have the list of attributes that you think are important, you are going to begin
testing them with your target audience to understand which ones go where in the ACE Matrix. If
this were a real marketing experience, you would actually conduct focus groups and other
advanced research procedures to understand what is most important. However, for this
assignment you will create a list of questions that you would like to use for a focus group so that
you can uncover your product’s most important attributes. You will then send those questions to
me at csilverthorne@nwcu.edu . I will answer the questions for you. This will count as your
focus group study results.
Step 4:
Now that you have your “focus group” results back, you are going to want to fill out the ACE
Matrix grid. Please refer to the descriptions of each product category from the supplemental
reading. Decide which attribute you think goes where.
What you need to write for this part.
Please write a two page minimum double-spaced paper that goes over the process, your ACE
Matrix and why you chose which attribute for each ACE Matrix slot.
Part 6: 1400 words
***҃҃҃҃You have completed most of these sections ( part 1-part 5) already. You will
still need to complete the following sections for this part :
1. Executive Summary :150 words.
2. Competitive Analysis : 300 words.
3. Marketing goals and objectives: 150 words.
4. Marketing strategy for Pricing: 200 words.
5. Marketing implementation, promotional materials, timeline of implementation: 600
words.
**************************************Providing subtitle for each section*****************************
Final Project Instructions:
Your final project is an accumulation of your previous written parts along with a few extra
sections that you will complete this part. With every piece together, you will have a finished
marketing plan for your client.
The plan consists of the following sections:
Executive Summary: ½ Page overview of company, preview of the new product offering,
target and goals
Competitive Analysis: 1 Page summary of external environment & competitive environment.
(be sure to incorporate your competitive analysis from part 2)
SWOT Analysis: 1 Page SWOT for the company, with brief explanation of how new product is
expected to create new strength from opportunity or create barrier to threats (simply incorporate
your SWOT analysis from Part 1)
Marketing Goals & Objectives: ½ Page overview of how the new product offering will create
gains for the firm, including goals for sales / market share / growth relating to the product (may
include PLC)
Marketing Strategy: 3-6 pages, to include [Targeting Strategy], [Product Strategy], [Pricing
Strategy], [Distribution Strategy], [Promotion Strategy]
Marketing Implementation: 2 pages, to include examples of promotional materials, product
development process, timeline of implementation, needed developments for sustainability (if
any)
References: List of references used in research
***҃҃҃҃You have completed most of these sections already according to part 1-5. You will
still need to complete the following sections:
1. Executive Summary :150 words.
2. Competitive Analysis : 300 words.
3. Marketing goals and objectives: 150 words.
4. Marketing strategy for Pricing: 200 words.
5. Marketing implementation, promotional materials, timeline of implementation: 600 words.
Below I will list each required section in greater detail.
Executive Summary: 150 words.
This section serves as an exciting preview of the rest of your paper. It should be no longer than
one page. I would recommend writing this last after you have your paper in front of you, so that
you can look at what you need to see. Make sure to make this exciting and fun, so that a person
feels compelled to read more about it.
SWOT Analysis: you did in the part 1.
You have already completed this section. Please make sure to summarize the most important
points from it and include your SWOT matrix.
Competitive Analysis: This is a new section. : 300 words.
This is a critical element for your marketing plan. It looks at your competitors by assessing their
products while analyzing how your product recommendation will be better positioned to meet
your target audience’s needs.
You will start by researching at least three competitors. Here are some questions that you will
want to think about:
Who are my top three competitors?
On what basis am I able to compete?
Are their products or services aimed at satisfying similar target markets?
How long have they been in business?
What are their positive attributes in the eyes of customers?
What are their negative attributes in the eyes of customers?
How do current customers view us compared to the competition?
How can I distinguish my company from my competitors?
Do they have a competitive advantage; if so, what is it?
Have there been any changes in their targeted market segments?
How do they rate on quality of product/service?
You can look for this information online and in Amazon reviews.
Now, briefly summarize each competitor and also include a photo of their products.
Next, focus on one of the competitors and research various market information, such as the size
of their market, the success of the product and anything else that will be relevant to fully explain
the current competitive environment.
Finally, you will briefly assess why your product offering better positioned to meet the needs of
the target market than the competing products.
Marketing Goals and Objectives: 150 words.
How do you think that this plan will help Aqua Jogger reach their goals and objectives? Explain
why your product recommendation and plan will be a success for the company given their goals
below.
1. Increase brand visibility
2. Increase sales
3. Create products that stand-out from competitors
Marketing Strategy:
Here you will explain what your marketing strategy recommendations are. You have already
completed all of the sections except for the “Pricing Strategy”.
Targeting Strategy: this is your target market assignment from part 2
Product Strategy: this is your Product and Product attributes assignment from part 5
Distribution Strategy: this is your Channel and Place assignment from part 3
Promotion Strategy: this is your Promotion Assignment from part 4
Pricing Strategy: In this section, you will recommend a pricing strategy. 200 words.
You will want to think about your product, your competitors and what life cycle stage your
product is in. Then take a look at Chapter 21 in your textbook.
What price do you recommend? First recommend a base pricing strategy such as price
skimming. Then include if you are going to offer any tactic to help fine tune the price such as
discounts, rebates or allowances. Finally, give a general price that you are recommending and
explain why you think that will work. Did you match the competitor’s price? Provide research
and justification for your recommendation.
Marketing Implementation: 600 words.
This is the final section. So far, we have focused on strategy, and now you are going to show
how you would actually implement your plan. Please include the following elements in this
section:
Element 1. Timeline: explain when each part of your strategy will be developed.
Element 2. Promotional Materials: please create at least three examples of promotional
materials. I recommend creating a free account or a free trial account at Canva: https://
www.canva.com/ . You can then create different promotional materials that you would
recommend using. Make sure to look at pages 301-303 of your textbook and explain why you
chose certain appeals and advertising styles. Support your decisions with rationale and
research.
Element 3. Any additional elements to keep in consideration: if there is anything else that
you think is important for the reader to know, please explain it here.