Discussion 1: due on 5/24Introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Every product has a life cycle story waiting to be told. In this interactivity, you’re going to document the story of a product, product category or brand that has progressed through the four product life cycle stages.Guided Response: Review section 3.2 in our text regarding product life cycles. Identify an appropriate product, product category or brand. One that has moved through all phases of the life cycle Do a web search for dead brands or product fads. Or use this article about bygone tech (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for inspiration. Research your brand/product/category to answer the following: The approximate timing of each life cycle phase. The key events that marked the start or end of each phase. Use at least three sources. Post this information to the discussion forum below. In the title of your post identify your product/brand/category. Your response must be at least 300 words and also refer to your textbook. Use at least three sources in addition to your textbook. Respond to at least three classmates for brand/products/categories other than the one you picked. Discussion 2: due 5/24Gender as Market Niche Market niches: Digital Show and TellBrands carve out niches in the marketplace by targeting a specific audience. And two of the most powerful tools a marketer has for making their target feel the brand is ‘for them’ is how they position and package their Product and how they make use of Place — relative to both physical and virtual places of business.You’re going to select either the male targeted Sport Clips (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (a retail hair cuttery) or the female targeted Sister Snog (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (a London business social network) and describe how they target through the use of place and product. Guided Response: Pick one of the two brands and visit their website Sport Clips (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. or Sister Snog. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Identify a site page – landing page or otherwise – where place and/or product is featured. Remember; place encompasses physical and virtual locations In the post title identify whether you picked Sport Clips or Sister Snog. Copy the webpage link from your browser. In the body of your post, use the ‘Link to URL’ tab to include the link to the page you are seeing. Identify at least three examples of how place and/or product is used to reinforce the gender targeting. Use at least 300 words and refer to your text to support your ideas. Your response should contain details about niche marketing. Feel free to use more than one page of the website to explain your ideas. (Add the link to all the pages you are talking about). Compare and contrast the physical appearance of the two brands. Hint: color, layout, features, and etc. Explore the website of the brand you didn’t pick. Respond to three of your peers, at least one of which must be for the brand you didn’t pick. Comment on market niche strategies that those brands used/failed to use in promoting their website. Then answer this: Which brand do you think uses product and place more effectively to differentiate itself? Cite at least one reason why relative to both product and place. Male Targeting Example View the site (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. Female Targeting Example… View the siteAssignment:Week 2 – Assignment-due 5-26-2019 Marketing Plan: Product Identification and SWOT AnalysisWhat to DoThis week, you will be creating components of your capstone marketing plan assignment. You will then finish your plan in Week 5.Using the company you selected for your marketing manager internship, you will complete a situation analysis with the goal of identifying a new product/service to develop your marketing plan against.How to Do itCreate a minimum 750 word APA style formatted Word document that includes at least 1 scholarly resource from Ashford’s online library in addition to the course text.The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources table (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.Your document should contain paragraphs that cover the following topics: A description of your selected company/brand The core products/services they offer A brief history Key current competitors A SWOT analysis The product or service line you want to develop a marketing plan for and a SWOT based argument for why it warrants marketing investmentPlease see our sample situational analysis (completed for McDonald’s) for more details, including minimum lengths by topic.What Should I Market?The focus of your marketing plan can be a new product/service idea of your own or an existing product/service that you think deserves its own dedicated campaign. Just don’t pick something that you’ve already seen being actively marketed.For example, after completing a SWOT analysis for McDonald’s, one might propose marketing new concepts like a McVeggie burger or an adult happy meal. Further afield, one might propose a whole new chain of pay to visit indoor McPlayground Centers. Or, relative to existing offerings, one might suggest a dedicated marketing campaign for say ‘burgers at breakfast’ or after midnight snacking via the drive thru.Lean about your brand and then let your imagination run wild. It can be a big idea that will appeal to many of their customers or a very targeted effort. You decide. You can always adjust your idea after getting instructor feedback.Questions?Got questions about this assignment? Please post to our Week 2 Help forum so others can benefit!Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.
