FINAL PROJECT: CREATE AND MARKET A PRODUCT
This project will represent the culmination of all that you have learned during your stay in this economics course. As you might imagine, it is very extensive, and will require quite a bit of work and coordination on the part of your group in order to be successful. It incorporates all of the material that we have learned throughout the course. Some of the information has not been covered yet, but it will by the end of the course, so do not worry if you are not familiar with some terminology. The most important part of the project comes in the cooperation of all group members, so assign work accordingly! First, you will see a list or requirements for the project, then a description of how the presentation and paper for the project will be graded. This will count for 50 points toward this quarter grade, and it will also count for 1/2 of your final exam grade in the course. Good luck, but most of all, have fun creating and coming up with an EFFECTIVE product and marketing strategy.
REQUIREMENTS:
A. The product cannot have anything to do with the following: Alcohol, Tobacco, Illicit Narcotics, or Sexually Related material!!!!!
B. Any idea, except as noted above, is acceptable. Just make sure that the idea is something that people will actually be interested in buying. You do not have to invent anything here, but the product must be within the limits of modern technology.
C. You must create a name, slogan, and logo for your product. The logo should be a symbol of some type, and the slogan should capture the “essence” of your product.
D. Your group must make a presentation of your product to the class, as well as turn in a written description of the product and how it meets the criteria of the project. Your paper and presentation will meet the same essential requirements, and the presentation should closely follow the paper.
E. You must create each of the following items, each of which will be shared with the class during your presentation:
1. FOUR (4) television commercials of no more than 1 minute in length.
2. THREE (3) radio spots of no more than 1 minute in length.
3. FIVE print ads or some form of print ads. Billboard, magazine, newspaper, table tent, or other forms of print media are all acceptable.
INFORMATION: The following is a list of questions that you can use to generate your paper and group presentation. When you write your paper and present the information, you MUST do it in the order that the questions are listed below, this makes grading much faster for me. You must answer EVERY question on the list in a very thorough manner, and present it to the class in a very thorough manner.
A. What is the name, slogan, and logo of your product? What image are you trying to create with these items, and how do they help to create this image/idea for the product?
B. What type of market structure will you be competing in with your product, and why is it this type of market structure? Include any major competitors that you will have, and explain how this type of market structure will help or hinder you in selling your product?
C. How will you use non-price competition to sell your product, and differentiate it from the competition?
D. What price will you charge for your product, and why did you settle on the price that you did? Will you have any pricing power, why or why not?
E. Will you face any barriers to entry into the market, what types would be included here? If there are no barriers tell me why?
F. Who is your target market for this product? Include: age groups, gender groups, income groups, and any other relevant information possible.
G. How will you sell your product? Will you use your own retail outlets, or will you sell to existing retailers to distribute the project? Why did you choose the method that you did?
H. Are there any government regulations/guidelines that you will have to consider in the production and sale of your product? Include any legal items that you can think of.
GRADING: The project will be graded on how well you answer each of the above questions, as well as how well you do with regard to the different advertisements. I will base most of the grade on how well this information is provided in the ORAL PRESENTATION to the class, the paper is mainly for me to fall back on if I have any questions regarding any of the information. I will be looking for consistency between the images that you want for the product and how well your advertisements meet this image. Remember, a well planned and executed business plan will always win, make sure you are consistent in your planning and execution! The grade will count as follows:
QUARTER GRADE: 50 POINTS
FINAL EXAM GRADE: 1/2 OF YOUR FINAL EXAM GRADE
TIPS FOR THE PROJECT:
A. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! The end of the year will be here before you know it, get organized now and start outside work as soon as possible
B. KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid! (Do not take offense)! This simple rule has helped many products go from obscurity to a household name in no time. Try to be as direct as possible in your marketing strategy, and be sure to hit the groups that you wish to.
C. RESEARCH! Any successful product relies on thorough research of the competition. Go out and shop for similar products to see what gimmicks and ideas they have in their marketing, also be aware of the price that they charge and what type of market structure they exist in.
D. Divide up your work evenly, and assign tasks to the people who are best suited for that type of work. Example: If you have an artist in the group let them make print ads and such.
E. COMUNICATION: Establish CLEAR lines of communication with all members of the group and make sure that you are all informed about the progress of the other group members. I have seen groups fail miserably in this aspect of the project, and their grades have reflected it!
F. You can use anyone else outside of the group to help you get the job done. If you have friends who want to help or be in commercials use them. All members do not have to be present when you do your part of the work for the project, just keep them informed of your actions.
G. If filming commercials in public places be sure to get permission from wherever you have to! If filming random people, get their permission, they are usually happy to be able to help! Use common sense if in public, the last thing that you want to have to do is to explain your actions to the police or irate neighbors! Be safe and do not injure yourself or others when making commercials!!!!!
H. Make sure the presentation follows the information section in order. Be prepared to answer any questions that I or any other members of the class may have when you have finished your presentation, especially the ones that I may have!
I. Above all else, have fun making and marketing your product. You will find that this project is a lot of work, but in the end you will surely have a great sense of accomplishment when it all comes together.
SCORING RUBRIC FOR FINAL MARKETING PROJECT
CATEGORY / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1Overall quality of advertisements and congruency with product image / Ads were of very high quality and are thoroughly consistent with product image / Ads were high quality and were mostly consistent with product image / Ads were of average quality or somewhat inconsistent with product image / Ads were poor quality or very inconsistent with product image
Development of name/slogan/logo, and congruency in creating product image / All elements were well developed and thoroughly consistent with brand image / Most elements were well developed and mostly consistent with brand image / Some elements were poorly developed or inconsistent with brand image / Poor development of brand image through name/logo/ or slogan
Development of pricing strategy and congruency with market structures / Highly developed pricing strategy that is realistic within market structure / Well developed pricing strategy that is somewhat realistic within market structure / Weak pricing strategy that may be unrealistic within market structure / Weak pricing strategy that is unrealistic
Development of target market and congruency with product image / Target market is congruent with product image in all aspects / Target market is congruent with product image in most aspects / Target market is congruent with image in few aspects / Target market is not congruent with product image
Presentation and ability of group to answer instructor questions / Outstanding clarity in presentation and group responded to all questions / Presentation contained unclear elements or group responded to most but not all questions / Presentation contained several unclear ideas and/or group could not answer most questions / Presentation lacked clear focus and group was unable to respond to most if not all questions
Overall project quality and realistic appraisal of chances for market success
A. What is the name, slogan, and logo of your product? What image are you trying to create with these items, and how do they help to create this image/idea for the product?
B. What type of market structure will you be competing in with your product, and why is it this type of market structure? Include any major competitors that you will have, and explain how this type of market structure will help or hinder you in selling your product?
C. How will you use non-price competition to sell your product, and differentiate it from the competition?
D. What price will you charge for your product, and why did you settle on the price that you did? Will you have any pricing power, why or why not?
E. Will you face any barriers to entry into the market, what types would be included here? If there are no barriers tell me why?
F. Who is your target market for this product? Include: age groups, gender groups, income groups, and any other relevant information possible.
G. How will you sell your product? Will you use your own retail outlets, or will you sell to existing retailers to distribute the project? Why did you choose the method that you did?
H. Are there any government regulations/guidelines that you will have to consider in the production and sale of your product? Include any legal items that you can think of.