The purpose of this assignment is to come up with an idea for a new product or service and use secondary data about the industry, consumers, and competitors to show that your idea will make sense. Your idea should include the target market for the product, a positioning statement, a brand name, and a basic description of your product or service and its benefits.
In order to better understand the goal of the assignment and what your final submission should look like, please start by reviewing this sample paper:
My Marketing Idea – example paper.pdf
What kind of idea will be appropriate for this assignment?
First of all, you do not have to come up with a Shark-tank-worthy big idea for this assignment! It will be sufficient to suggest a new brand in a well-known category that differs just a little from available brands. For example, you can launch a food product or beverage that has a different flavor or ingredient, or a personal care product with a different brand and packaging design.
Some of you may already have thought about a product that isn’t available and that you think would have potential. If so, your next step is to research the industry, competitors, and consumer preferences in your category (see next section). It is important that you come up with an idea for which you will easily find the background information you need. The Passport and Mintel databases cover a range of products and services but if your product category is not represented in either of these databases, it will be challenging to complete the assignment.
If you do not have an idea right away, start by doing some research about a type of product, or consumer trend that interests you. For example, if you are interested in healthy food products, start by reading the report about that category on Mintel.
Research
Your paper should include information about relevant consumer trends, the industry the product is in, and the competitive landscape. As you can tell from the sample assignment, you might be able to find everything you need in the Mintel database. Passport provides similar reports and can also be used. You are required to use at least one report from either Mintel or Passport, but are free to add additional valid sources (e.g., other databases or business press articles).
Keep in mind that you need to access Mintel, Passport, or other databases through the UIC library webpage. These instructions will help you get started. How to use Mintel and Passport for the My Marketing Idea Assignment.pdf
If you have problems finding the information you need, please reach out to the UIC librarians who are experts on these databases and more than happy to help, or come by during office hours.
What you will turn in
Your idea should be presented in a short paper that should look like the sample paper. It should contain the sections listed below, use headings, and be no more than 700 words (about 1 to 1 1/2 pages). The sources you use should be indicated in the text and listed at the end of the paper. You should use at least two different sources but it is acceptable that these come from the same database. You can use any reference style you are familiar with.
– Introduction
– Consumer Trends
– Industry Analysis
– Competitive Analysis
– Positioning Strategy for “brand X”
– References
Deadlines and Grading
This assignment will be graded on both content and writing. Please see the grading rubric for details on how this assignment is graded.
Content: your paper should include all sections, and relevant data for the research sections that are clearly explained. The product idea and positioning statement should be linked to the background information. The positioning statement should follow the format presented in class.
Writing: the paper should follow a clear structure, be free of grammatical errors, and use a concise business writing style. We recommend all of you to use the services of the UIC writing center to make sure the paper is well written.
Please note: For this assignment, you will turn in a draft version of the paper, which is due on Sunday, Oct. March 27, at 11:59 PM. You will receive feedback on both content and writing based on your draft version. Please note that you will receive a temporary grade of “0” once we have reviewed your draft, which is just an indication that we have read it. This will change when we grade your final version.
The final version of the assignment is due on Sunday, Nov. 24, at 11:59 PM. The time gap between the draft deadline and the final submission will give us time to review the drafts and you time to revise your papers. You will upload the final version using the same link.
