Paper instructions:
(2) Evaluate the appropriateness (i.e., pros and cons) of each current marketing strategy; (3) Recommend marketing strategies the company should adopt, and justify these suggestions; and (4) Prepare a detailed implementation plan for each recommended marketing strategy.
Company and product (or service) selection will be on a “first come, first serve” basis. That is, once a particular firm and product (or service) have been selected, they can not be selected again by another graduate student. Company and product (or service) selection are subject to instructor approval.
Articles chosen may come from any secondary source, including company websites, trade
publications (e.g., Advertising Age), professional and/or academic journals (e.g., Journal of Marketing), professional magazines and newspapers (e.g., Business Week and Wall Street Journal), government publications, etc. These articles should have been published within the past two or three years. Personal interviews of relevant executives of the firm are also acceptable sources of information.
As a means for facilitating the timely preparation and completion of the CMT, this assignment will be divided into two individual papers–Paper # 1; and Paper # 2. In preparing these papers, the graduate student should follow this outline: (percentage weight/importance of each section of each paper is indicated in parentheses)
I. Summary of Relevant Company and Product/Service Information (20%)
II. Identification and Evaluation of Five Marketing Strategies Currently Used (60%)
A. What five specific marketing strategies does the company currently use?
B. Evaluate the appropriateness (i.e., pros and cons) of each marketing
strategy currently used.
III. Five Recommended Marketing Strategies
A. What five specific marketing strategies would you recommend the
company adopt? (20%)
1. NOTE: While “hire a Marketing consultant”, “conduct Marketing
research”, etc. are viable recommendations in the real world, these suggestions will NOT be accepted in this course.
marketing strategy. For example, continuing the “Advertise on TV” recommendation from III.C., what would be the nature of the advertisement itself? What would be the specific contents of this ad? What percentage of the total promotion budget would be allocated to TV advertising? What TV channels would be used? On what TV shows would the ad appear? What days of the week and hours of the day would the ad air? How frequently would the ad be shown each month in a year’s time? In what geographical areas would the ad be aired (e.g., Midwest)? What states and cities within the Midwest? Etc.
i. For a sample media schedule, see “Resources” in Oncourse.
It is acceptable to make an assumption or two, if necessary, in order to adequately complete one of the papers in the CMT assignment. But, this (these) assumption(s) must be relevant as well as stated within the text of the corresponding paper.
There is no minimum or maximum length for each paper of the CMT assignment. Each paper must be typewritten, double-spaced, on only one side of 8 ½” by 11” paper, use 1” margins all around, and be free of grammatical and spelling errors. Two copies of each paper are required–one copy will be evaluated and returned while the second copy will be retained by the instructor.
If the graduate student wishes, he/she may revise Paper # 1 taking into account the instructor’s comments and suggestions for improvement. Two copies of the “revised” Paper # 1 will be due two weeks following return of the original evaluated Paper # 1. However, revisions of Paper # 2 will NOT be permitted.
For purposes of this CMT assignment, the class will be divided into two cohorts of about equal size. On 10/6/15, each member of Cohort # 1 will submit two copies of his/her own individual CMT Paper # 1 to the instructor for evaluation. On 10/13/15, each member of Cohort # 2 will submit two copies of his/her own individual CMT Paper # 1 to the instructor. On 11/17/15, two copies of CMT Paper # 2 will be due from each member of Cohort # 1 as well as a class presentation followed by a Q&A period. On 12/1/15, two copies of CMT Paper # 2 will be due from each member of Cohort # 2 as well as a class presentation followed by a Q&A period.
In general, each paper of the CMT assignment will be evaluated on the basis of quality and thoroughness of analysis; logical reasoning; organization; use of appropriate marketing and marketing strategy planning topics, concepts, and terms from the textbook; quality and relevancy of outside information used; quality and thoroughness of conclusions; and quality of writing. In addition to the above general criteria, the first CMT paper will be evaluated on quality, thoroughness, and applicability of current marketing strategies; quality, thoroughness, and applicability of evaluation of the appropriateness of these current marketing strategies; and quality, thoroughness, and applicability of recommended marketing strategies. In addition to the above general criteria, the second CMT paper will be evaluated on quality, thoroughness, and applicability of the justification of recommended marketing strategies; quality, thoroughness, and applicability of the discussion of details of the recommended marketing strategies; and quality, thoroughness, and applicability of the implementation of recommended marketing strategies. Papers collected in one class will be evaluated and returned in a subsequent class.
The CMT assignment will provide the graduate student an opportunity to analyze “in depth” the marketing strategies of a company for a particular product (or service), recommend marketing strategies the firm should adopt, and develop a detailed implementation plan for these recommended marketing strategies. As a result, the graduate student will be able to better relate and apply textbook material to the practical aspects of marketing. By listening to other students’ CMT presentations and participating in class discussions, the graduate student will maximize his/her learning experience, which will broaden his/her understanding of marketing management.
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