Complete one of the following assignments and turn in a report (a minimum of five double-spaced, typed pages) by Friday, April 29, 2016. Please include an additional listing of any references or supplemental materials used. If you reference information from the Web or from any other sources (e.g., journal articles, library books, textbook), make sure that you do not copy the material verbatim (i.e., copied exactly from the original word for word). You should paraphrase (i.e., write in your own words) the information. Please e-mail me your completed report via the Messages link on Blackboard. 1. Analyze a consumer or business product or service. To what segment(s) of consumers/businesses do you think it is targeted? Discuss the positioning of the product or service relative to competitors. How successful or unsuccessful has this positioning been? Would you suggest an alternative positioning or a repositioning? Why or why not? Identify any niches that might lend themselves to new products or services in the same category. 2. Write a “biography” about a product or service icon. Trace the icon’s origin, and track its image over time. Has it been modified to more accurately reflect social conditions? How fervent is consumer loyalty to the icon—has the marketer ever encountered consumer resistance after trying to modify or eliminate the icon? 3. Get permission to follow several different shoppers through a grocery store, asking them to “talk through” the process of selecting brand alternatives. What information do they look for, and how do they appear to be integrating this information to arrive at a purchase decision? How influential are the price, advertising, promotions, coupons, personal preference, etc.? Briefly describe each shopper (e.g., age, sex, occupation). Compare and contrast the different shoppers. 4. Assess current marketing efforts toward a specific ethnic group (e.g., Hispanics). What marketing potential does this group of consumers offer? Are these consumers really all that different from other consumers (i.e., what impact does culture have on their consumer behavior)? What types of products are specifically targeted to this group? How are these consumers most effectively reached? What are the messages being communicated? 5. Review 10 company Web sites within one or two industries. One possibility is to examine Web sites in the travel industry. How do they induce consumers to place an order or book a trip? What seem to be the key elements of a Web home page and the entire Web site which are designed to grab and hold consumers’ attention? Provide suggestion for creating a company Web site that will encourage purchases/orders. How can you assure consumers that this is a good way to buy your product or service? Propose a Web site design for a fictitious or a real company, detailing the critical elements.
