This is a mini marketing audit.
Details are outlined below:
a. Select a brand for the project. It should be a brand that has a lot of varied marketing
efforts that you can analyze.
b. Your next step is to identify and describe the target market for the products about
which you are writing. Do not say something like “young, mid-to-upper class women
who wash their hair,” but consider the target market identified and described. Try to
pinpoint the thing(s) that makes the target market respond to the firm’s marketing mix
in ways that are different from people who are not members of it. For example, “young
mid-to-upper class women who wash their hair, perceive that they might have a
dandruff problem, are motivated by prestige and glamour, and like to pamper
themselves and are willing to pay a little extra to do it.”
c.
Now you’ll discuss the brand’s marketing mix:
Product
i. Product Positioning. Write a positioning statement for the brand. Use the format
presented in the chapter 7 module.
ii. What are the distinguishing attributes of the product (features and benefits)?
iii. How is this product different from the competition? Use a Product Positioning Map to
illustrate product differentiation.
iv. Is it appropriate for the target market?
v. Where is the product in the Product Life Cycle?
Promotion
i. Describe how the company uses each of the four elements of the promotional mix for this
product.
ii. Describe/illustrate the promotional elements used by the firm (advertising, sales
promotion, digital/social media, public relations, etc.). Consider type, appeal and media
used. Include at least one example.
iii. Describe how the company uses the four elements of the promotional mix for this
product.
iv. Describe/illustrate advertisements used by the firm. Consider type, appeal and media
used. Include at least one example.
v. How is the promotion similar or different from that of the competition?
Distribution Strategy
i. What channels are used to distribute this product? Use a flow diagram to illustrate.
ii. How is the product distributed (Selective vs. Extensive distribution)?
iii. What types of outlets carry the product?
Pricing Strategy
i.
What is the pricing strategy for the product?
ii.
Is it appropriate for the target market?
iii.
Describe how the price compares with that of key competitors. Illustrate with a price
comparison table.
Overall evaluation
- look at the 4 Ps for your brand. Do pricing, promotion and distribution
strategies support the product positioning? Are the strategies developed for the 4 Ps consistent
with each other?
If you were the Brand Manager, is there anything you would change? Explain.
Sample Solution
