MRKT 310 Principles of Marketing; Considering your new target market and any modifications, new product line extensions or new products you may have developed to serve the new target market needs, create your ‘Big Idea” to be the basis of the message strategy for all your marketing communications.  

Week 8 Writing Assignment

Part 1 – Integrated Marketing Communications, and the Changing Media Landscape

Learning Outcomes

1. Integrated Marketing Communications.  Student understands how integrated marketing communications can add value for customers.
2. Marketing communications objectives.  Student can develop marketing communications objectives using the AIDA framework.
3. Promotion mix.  Student can select the appropriate promotion tool to be used for different marketing communications objectives.
4. Media strategy.  Student can design a simple message and media plan for a product or service offering.

Directions

• This assignment assesses your ability to relate integrated marketing communications concepts to your product or service offering and the target market you selected.   Here you will let your creative side shine as you think through how you would design the marketing communications for your product or service to effectively and efficiently communicate a clear, consistent and compelling message to your target market over the next year.

• The course content does not cover IMC in great detail and you may want to refer to some open source references for more information on message design.  A good one is:  http://www.caad.au.edu/attachments/article/43/Class%207-Creative%20IMC%20Message%20Strategies.pdf

• Prepare your assignment beginning with a title page with your name and the name of your product or service.  Then answer each of the following eight questions (four in part 1 and four in part 2) in order and number the beginning of your response to each question.  Although you do not need to repeat the question, headings should be used to separate the sections.  The paper should contain a minimum of 5+ pages of analysis for the responses to the eight questions.

1. Integrated Marketing Communications.  Considering your new target market and any modifications, new product line extensions or new products you may have developed to serve the new target market needs, create your ‘Big Idea” to be the basis of the message strategy for all your marketing communications.
2. Marketing communications objectives.  Write at least three marketing communications objectives using the AIDA framework discussed in the course content.
3. Promotion mix.  For each of the three marketing communications objectives written in number 2, discuss which of the promotion tools would be the best choice to reach each of the three-marketing communications objective.   One tool must be advertising (traditional or online) You may have more than one promotion mix tool for any given marketing communications objective.
4. Media strategy.  Discuss at least two of your media choices that you believe will best reach your target market with your advertising.  Be specific with your choices, e.g. HGTV, Rehab Addict, because the product or service is targeting a do-it-yourself target market, or Home Depot website banner ads for the same target market.  Or Morning TV National News, Good Morning America and The Today Show, 1st hour because your target market is educated urban workers.  If using social media, discuss which social media and how they will be used to accomplish which objective.

Part 2 – Special Topics in Marketing

B2B Marketing, Marketing Information Systems and Measuring Marketing Activities

Learning Outcomes

1. B2B marketing. Student can differentiate the differences in marketing strategy between consumer markets and business markets.
2. Segmenting B2B markets.  Student can identify the B2B market segments involved in a product or service offering
3. Marketing Information Systems.  Student can identify at least three sources of input to a marketing information system for a product or service offering.
4. Marketing Metrics.  Student understands the purpose of Return on Marketing Investment for the company, and can identify at least three metrics that should be used in a product or service offering to measure the effectiveness of marketing strategies.

Directions

• This part of the writing assignment closes the loop on strategic marketing planning in that it identifies the types of marketing strategies the company might employ to market its offering through the value chain prior to its final customer.   Also, strategic planning is useless unless there are reliable and useful sources of inputs and a way to organize the data to be used in the planning process decision making. Metrics need to be in place to measure how successful (or not so successful) the strategies to reach marketing objectives have been.  Strategic marketing planning then becomes an ongoing process of measuring and adjusting to new information and current conditions.

• Many of your responses to these questions will be your best educated and informed (as much as possible) information on your product or service offering’s company.  Where concrete information is not obtainable, you should use your judgment and describe why you made your judgment call.

• Respond to each of the following four questions in order and identify the number of each response. There is no need to repeat the number of the question.

1. 1. B2B marketing.  Consider your product or service offering.  Based on the categories of B2B markets discussed in the readings, name at least two of the B2B markets that could be a target market for your company.  Why?
   2. Segmenting B2B markets.  Using the Harrison, Hague, and Hague behavioral-based segment model in the readings, which of those segmentation schemes might be most appropriate category for your company?  Why?
   3. Marketing Information Systems.  Identify at least three types of information your company should use in a comprehensive marketing information system for decision making purposes.  Why did you choose each of them?
   4. Marketing Metrics.  Identify and discuss at least one financial metric and three performance metrics that would be important to monitor your company’s strategic marketing planning for the marketing efforts you identified for your new marketing mix strategies.

General Submission Requirements

• Prepare as a word-processed document (such as Microsoft Word). Use a simple 12-point font such as Times New Roman. Use black ink for majority of your work and only use colors if it enhances your ability to communicate your thoughts.
  • Your assignment should be the equivalent of approximately five pages of double-spaced text (although more are acceptable), approximately 1/2 page for each of the eight questions (four in Part 1 and four in Part 2).  You may attach exhibits that will not be counted towards the page count of double-spaced text. The cover page and References page are not part of the written analysis.
  • Be sure your name, writing assignment number, and the name of your product or service are on the cover page of your writing assignment.
  • Include a References page, which includes references that explain the concept and references to the actual product.
  • You should use a minimum of six (6) references, four (4) of them dated 2015 to the present.
  • You should use APA style for a paper which includes formatting for page numbers, page margins, etc. More information about using a style guide can be found in the UMUC’s virtual library accessible from your LEO classroom in Content “Learn to Use APA” or at umuc.edu/library.
  • Upload your word-processed document in your LEO assignments folder by the due date in the LEO calendar.

Refer to the grading rubric for these assignments.  Be sure to note that 20% of your grade on this assignment will be based on your grammar, composition, adherence to the submission requirements, and use of an appropriate college-level style guide for writing and referencing.