Campaign Part I

Advertising Campaign Project Part I
Due: Wednesday Sept. 30
Length: 4-5 pages double spaced (30 points)

The first thing to do is to pick a company to base your report (and project) on. I would suggest one of these companies (but if you have another idea, let me know)

Coke, Microsoft, Pepsi, IBM, GM, Ford, Chrysler, GE, Nokia, Disney, Toyota, McDonald's, Google, Louis Vuitton, Marlboro, Nike, Apple, Sony, Budweiser, Kellogg's, Canon, Nintendo, Harley-Davidson, L'Oreal, Proctor & Gamble

For this first part, your goal is to give a comprehensive report on the current state of affairs for your company to plan for future advertising.
You will end up combining your findings for the final project you hand in.

1. Company Review
A. Complete (summarized) history of the company: Location, CEO, stock trends, profits, how many employees, any other relevant information you can find about the company
B. Advertising budget last year: how much did they spend in each medium? Are there trends for spending more or less in certain media?
C. Their top brands and products: What products help define the company? What unique selling proposition do they have? What demographics do they aim for? What price points do they use? How do they brand themselves? Hip? Useful? Do they depend on added brand value?

2. Competition Review
A. Who are your company's main competitors?
B. What are their profits and media spending?
C. What are their top products and brands?
D. What appears to be their advertising strategy?

3. SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) for your company's products and market.
A. What is your strongest brand or product and why?
B. What are your weakest areas? Where do your competitors have you beat?
C. Are there any potential markets (by age, location, demographics, psychographics, etc.) for you that you don't currently have? What offer the most profit potential?
D. What threats must you watch out for? For example, could a weak economy help or hurt you? Would new environmental regulations be a threat? Smoking bans?

Now.. for your company: It's up to you to decide. It is strongly recommended you pick a public company, as it is easier to find information about it.
You can also check out:
http://www.adbrands.net
http://adage.com/datacenter/
http://finance.yahoo.com/
And Yahoo! finance for information about publicly owned companies.

Don't rely just on Google for your research. Talk to campus librarian (or me) if you need help finding sources.