IMG Group

MKT 4465 Strategic Marketing Capstone Term Paper

Choose a public company in an industry you wish to research.

(Be sure there are many secondary sources (articles) of information on the chosen company and industry.)

Find articles on the company and its competitors and industry that relate to its business strategies and marketing activities. You should be able to find a minimum of 20 references from a wide variety of sources (Go beyond the Internet!)

Based upon the information contained in the articles or from other resources, choose, develop, or analyze a key marketing decision the company will have to confront within the next one to two years. This focal strategic marketing decision (e.g., introduce a product line, enter a market, use a new distribution strategy, target a new segment of the market, etc.) will then become the basis of your marketing analysis.

From class and external material, prepare a paper (minimum of 20 pages excluding references and appendices) that discusses in-depth how the company being investigated should confront the selected issue.

FORMAT FOR THE STRATEGIC MARKETING CAPSTONE TERM PAPER

I Executive Summary (The executive summary should include a concise statement of the problem, a short summary of the major points arising from your analysis, and the major recommendations from your analysis.) (OR: What I know, What I sought, What I found, and What I learned)

II Table of Contents

III Situation Analysis

— The Internal Environment

— The Customer Environment

— The External Environment

IV SWOT Analysis

— Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

V The Focal Strategic Marketing Decision You Wish to Confront (The Marketing Decision)

VI Decision Criteria

— Objectives associated with the decision

— Relevant factors influencing the decision

VII Development and Evaluation of the Marketing Strategy

— Include the selection of what you will do and the proposed implementation

VIII Expected/Anticipated Competitive Reactions

IX Conclusion

Appendices and References