Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Assignment
Final Project: 95 Points. Submitted to Turnitin through the Assignments in myCMU.
Note to students: This is an IMC Plan, NOT the marketing plan section of a business plan. If that is what you turn in, no points will be given. This is also NOT a product or a company business report.
General Information:
The purpose of this project is to apply your understanding of the marketing concepts that you have been exposed to during this class. This assignment provides you with the opportunity to prepare an introductory IMC plan for a product or service of your choice. The product may be an existing product or you may create your own. When you are selecting your product, remember there must be a “need”.
If you use an existing product, the campaign needs to be new; use new ideas and be creative! You’ll need to step away from what “is” and look at what could be.
You cannot do any products that are associated with the following companies: Nike, Anheuser-Busch, Apple, Pepsi or Coke.
Your plan will need to be detailed and use at least 7 research sources.
Your report should be organized in the following manner:
You will need to include a title page: with a running head, page number, the title of your paper, your name, the name of the institution, and the date of your research report. (Often in marketing, we will also place the logo of the product/company on this page.) and a table of contents. If your paper does not have these requirements, 10 points will be deducted.
You will need to use headings and subheadings for your concepts. Your plan should be logically ordered and must be professional in appearance. In order to successfully complete your plan, you will need to follow the requirements outlined below for this assignment. Be sure to include pictures of your print ads.
As for your final recommendations, you must be specific. You will want to review the marketing concepts learned in class; be sure to use the terminology and concepts learned both from the book and in class.
The finished paper should contain a formal written plan in APA style, not to exceed 12 pages in length (not including cover page, references and other supporting materials.)
Finally, get a proofreader, use professional terms, and when appropriate use headers, sources, and cite your sources. You will need to submit your assignment in the appropriate written form; see the guide on “How to Write for Marketing” under handouts on myCMU. If you do not use the proper form (including APA), 25% will be deducted from your grade.
Your finished paper will be submitted to Turnitin.com through the Assignments page on myCMU. Your similarity content on turnitin.com should not exceed 20%. If you exceed 20% similarity, the minimum penalty for this infraction will involve a deduction of points from your grade.
IMC: Plan Criteria and Rubric
Use the following criteria for your headings:
Criteria and points possible
Your points
Introduction: 8 points
Introduce your product, your parent company, and the overall “need” for your product. You should have a realistic view of your product and company through your research.
Product: 15 points
Describe your product’s lifecycle and development, product strategies, product classification and product mix.
Who is your competition? Is competition a factor? You will need to have a realistic view and appropriately determine all elements of your product/service.
Target Market: 15 points
Who is your target market? Think demographics, psychographics, behavioristics, and geographics. Why are they your target market? What social class/group are they? What are their buying habits (think about consumer behavior)? Look at segmentation, targeting and positioning. Make sure your target market is appropriately determined, identified and correctly researched.
Price: 12 points
What pricing strategies are you using? Why? What are your prices? How were your prices determined? Your prices need to be realistically determined and justified through your research.
Distribution (Place): 10 points
Explain the marketing channels your product will go through, from beginning to the final customer. Where would it be sold and why? You will need to correctly identify your distribution channels
Promotion: 15 points
Develop a brand image for your product including an appropriate name and slogan. What type of strategy will you use? Determine types of promotions/messages and strategies that will be used and why those will appeal to your target customer. How will you use a web and social media presence? Samples of your ads should be placed in the appendix, and should be well thought out and appropriately fit your target audience.
Conclusion: 8 points
Explain how you intend to create overall value. Think about the professional details you would want to know if you were receiving this IMC plan. Be sure to completely wrap up your plan.
Overall professionalism of the assignment and attention to detail: 12 points
This includes your table of contents, use of headings, grammar, and proof reading, appropriate items in your appendix. Be sure to use a formal voice, and use professional terms and phrases.
Total points possible (95 points possible):
Failure to use APA style: -10 points
Remember to use APA style, if you do not 10 points will automatically be deducted from your grade
Final Point Total (95 points possible)