instructions
The group project you will undertake is designed for you to explore and understand the marketing strategy of a company you choose to research. The project involves a written report and a presentation to the class. The presentation is designed for the purposes of discussion and developing insight. You will select your own groups of four people (no more) and must advise me of your groups by no later than end of class on Saturday, June 9. Choosing a group is your responsibility, and I will not facilitate group formation.Your task is to choose any company you wish, either US or Canadian based. I would recommend you choose a publicly traded company, as you will have access to information from annual reports and 10-K publications. If you wish to choose a company with which you are employed, that is also fine.What you want to explore is what marketing strategy and tactics the company has used in order to achieve its current market position, and what its future strategy could be. Each team must review a different company, and so I ask you advise me of your choice so I can approve it. I would ask you not to choose Apple, McDonalds, Google or Blackberry.You are not restricted to sources of information, and you may refer to company websites, articles, reviews, videos, and even case studies. If you wish to ask for guidance on this I will be more than pleased to help. You must use a variety of sources and your final report must include a reference of your sources.Project ReportYour report, which will account for 20% of your overall total grade for the course, must include the following sections (distribution of grading is also indicated):1. Description of the company, the market in which it operates in, its products, competitive strengths and advantage, and possible market share (15%). (This is not a conclusive requirement – you may include other details you believe to be important)2. Discuss its target market(s) and positioning strategy, and its general marketing strategy, referring to the 4P’s of marketing (40%). You should assess how successful the company has been by referring to specific marketing and/or corporate measures.3. Discussion on future challenges and what you would recommend its future marketing strategy should be (30%)The remaining 15% of the grade allocation for the report will reflect overall style and presentation, clarity, sentence structure and grammar, and use of appendixes. A ½ point grade is deducted for each grammatical error up to a maximum of 10% points. The report must be at around 10-12 pages in length, 1 ½ spaced, 11 font, Times New Roman. The page length does not include a required cover page (which should include your topic, course, and group
member names) and appendixes that include supporting data, charts and other material you feel is relevant. These requirements must be met, or marks will be deducted at my discretion. The report will be due at the beginning of your presentations.Presentation. The group project presentation will take place during the last class on Wednesday, May 6th. These presentations will account for 10% of your final grade. The presentation must include a series of questions put to the class for discussion purposes. The presentation should be as much of a seminar as it is a formal presentation. You will be allocated 30 minutes for presentation and Q&A. The presentation should be around 15-20 minutes, and will be assessed by both the professor and the class. Dress for the presentation will be business casual – please dress appropriately.The breakdown of grading for the project will be as follows:Slide Presentation – 10%Description of Company – 10%Discussion of Marketing Strategy – 30%Discussion – 30%Classmates Assessment – 20%