MGM 670

IMC Group Project

Fall 2014
Arun Lakshmanan

Your goal is to develop an integrated marketing communications campaign. You will

accomplish this goal by working in teams of three people. The campaign will be due in
five parts, all with different due dates throughout the semester.
Your first two steps involve
1. Form yourselves into teams of three (each team has the freedom to choose a name
for itself something to rally around ). A list of the people in your group is
due at the beginning of class on 9/17/14. This list must include student names
and e-mail addresses. Each group should decide on a group representative who
will be responsible for being the key contact to the instructor. Any person not on a
list handed in at the beginning of class on 9/17/14 will receive a 5% deduction on
their entire project grade. This is equivalent to a 15-point penalty.
2. Hand in a list of 3 ideas for your project (i.e., 3 brands). List your first choice for
a project as #1; your second choice for a project as #2; and your last choice for a
project as #3. This can be a simple hand-written list, but it must be handed in at
the beginning of class on 9/17/14.
Notes on the Selection of Product:
--Each team will select the product or service they want to promote. However, I will
have final approval.
--Two factors should guide the selection of product/service. First, the product/service
should be suited to national print and television advertising. Second, each team should
select a product/service that has room for improvement. In other words, the
product/service could benefit from changing its marketing communications strategy. Do
NOT choose market leaders as they do not demonstrate a lot of room for improvement.

Each of the 4 written parts of your project (explained below) must have a
cover sheet stating the name of your product, students names and e-mail
addresses.
PART ONE: Proposal
Due: Sep 22, 2014
Length: One to two pages (not including the cover sheet)
Points: 10
Each team should write a proposal for a product. The proposal should include:
1. your selected product
2. the problem the brand faces
3. its major competitors (be sure to indicate the market leader/s)
4. the general approach you will take to overcome this problem
1

PART TWO: Situation Analysis: Company, Product, Consumers & Competition

Due: Oct 1, 2014
Length: 2 to 4 pages (not including the cover sheet)
Points: 30
Perform the necessary research for developing an integrated marketing communications
plan for your chosen product. The following items should be included in your report. Be
sure to label each section of your report.
1. Your company
--brief summary of your company, division, location, mission, current events
2. Your product
--Describe your product. What is it? What brand name is it? What does it do?
What are its main features? What benefits does it offer the consumer? (Do NOT
compare it to the competition. Strictly define YOUR product.)
--attach a color picture of your product (if appropriate).
3. Your consumers
--Who is the target market for your product? Are any marketplace/consumerspace trends occurring that you need to be aware of?
4. Your competition
--Major competitors of your product and their positioning in the marketplace.
--Why do consumers buy competitive products instead of your product?
--Any trends occurring? Why are they relevant? Can you capitalize on them?
PART THREE: IMC Plan Outline + Creative Brief
Due: Oct 20, 2014
Length: 1 page creative brief + 4 to 5 pages IMC plan outline document;
Points: 60
Provide a description of your proposed message strategy and advertisement strategy.
1. Creative Brief: This is a one-page document outlining the basic elements of the
creative strategy. You will be given a sample brief after we have gone over this in
class.
2. Strategy:
a) What are the objectives of your communication plan? Why? (Note: you can
use information from Part 2 here).
b) Describe the message strategy of your IMC campaign. In other words,
what are you trying to communicate to your target market?
3. Execution:
List each IMC element and explain how it will communicate your
message strategy. Be sure that they all work together to support your
integrated marketing communications plan.

PART FOUR: The Actual Ads

Due: Nov 19, 2014
Points: 100
It is important that your group be creative with this assignment. Do not bore your
potential client or your professor!
Broadcast Mediaone TV ad and one radio ad
Print Mediaone newspaper ad and one magazine ad
Support Mediaone
Direct Marketingone
Internetone
Sales Promotion or Point-of-Purchaseone (whichever is most applicable to your pdt)
Public Relationsone
Sponsorship, Product Placement, Branded Entertainmentone (your choice)
Each ad must be presented in a professional manner. The TV ad must be videotaped or
created on the computer. The radio ad must be presented in two forms: printed script and
audio. The print ads must be presented on good paper. Each of the other items must be
presented in a professional manner that would be acceptable to a business client.
All materials must be placed in a 3-ring notebook using plastic sleeves. The cover (or
first page of the notebook) should list your groups product, students names, and
students e-mail addresses. In addition, each ad must be labeled. I will show you
examples of how to do this in class.
You cannot double dip your ads. In other words, you cannot create a cents-off coupon
that will be posted on a website and use that as both an internet piece and a sales
promotion piece.
PART FIVE: Oral Presentation
Nov 19Nov 24 (Dates for presentations will be assigned before Test 2.)
Length: 12-15 minutes
Points: 50
The presentation is not the time and place to show everything you have accomplished in
steps one through five. Your presentation should be brief and only include the following:
--your product and the general problem your product faces (from Part One)
--the message strategy (from Part Three)
--the ads (from Part Four)
Each team member must have a speaking part in the presentation. Visual aids, such as
videotapes, PowerPoint slides, handouts, ads, etc. should play an important part in your
presentation. A copy of your PowerPoint presentation, as well as any other visual aids,

must be printed and handed in before your actual presentation. Professional, business-like
attire is required.
PROOF READING WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS
It is your responsibility to proof read your written assignments before they are turned in.
Once the assignment is turned in, you may not make any changes to it.
RULES ABOUT DUE DATES
Assignments must be handed in at the beginning of class on its due date. Any assignment
handed in after the beginning of class on its due date will receive a 10% deduction. An
additional 10% deduction will be taken for each additional day the assignment is handed
in late.
For example:
The proposal is due 9/22/14. Any group that hands in the assignment after the beginning
of class on that day will receive a 10% (or 30 points) deduction. If the proposal is handed
in the next day (9/23/14), an additional 10% deduction will be applied. If the proposal is
handed in the NEXT day (9/24/14), an additional 10% deduction will be applied. And so
on
There are no exceptions to this rule.

COMMENTS ABOUT WORKING IN GROUPS & EVALUATION

Groups with good working relationships and equitable contribution from members tend
to produce the best projects. Managing relationships with peers is an extremely important
business skill. If your group is missing one of the above characteristics, it is your
responsibility to work at finding a solution that everyone in the group is comfortable
with. Please contact me only if the problem is serious or if the problem persists despite
repeated attempts by the group to sort it out.
Grades on the project and presentation will be based on my evaluation of the assignments
and presentation, as well as student evaluations of their group members. A form used for
grading each group member is attached. All members of the group will not necessarily
receive identical scores.
Oral Presentation: As with the assignments, presentation grades will be based on both
individual and group performance. All members of the group will not necessarily receive
identical scores.
Individual Components knowledge of material; clarity; voice volume; eye contact;
presence / confidence; and handling questions
Group Components - inclusion of all material as listed in project guidelines; clarity; focus
of group; flow / transitions; professional quality of materials; readability of materials;
and handling questions.
Group Project Peer Evaluation:
The attached form is available for download from the course website for you to assign
points to other group members on the basis of the degree to which they contributed to the
project for both the assignments and oral presentation. These evaluations will be used as
part of the assignment of individual grades. An individual who makes a less than equal
share of contribution than his/her peers in the group will be penalized with a grade lower
than those members in the group who contributed more. You will need to complete this
form and hand it in on or before 12/03/14. Any student that does not hand in this
peer evaluation form on or before 12/03/14 will receive a 5% deduction on their
entire project grade. This is equivalent to a 15-point penalty.

MGM 670--PEER EVALUATION FORM FOR TEAMS

INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN
PURPOSE:
Each team member must rate all members of the team, considering their
individual contributions to the total team effort. The total team effort
encompasses any of the following activities that might apply: leadership;
arranging and participating in team meetings; gathering and analyzing
data; contributing creative ideas ; arranging, preparing for, and/or giving
oral presentations; as well as writing, coordinating, and editing each of the
five steps involved in this project.
MEASURES:
(1) Grade. Based on the relative team effort, what grade would you assign to each member on your team,
including yourself. Assign an A for excellent performance, a B for very good performance, a
C for acceptable performance, a D for poor performance, etc. You may use the following grades
in your evaluation of yourself and your team: A, B, C, D, and F.
(2) Optional Remarks. Not required. However, you may offer a brief explanation that you think might
help the instructor put your peer evaluations in proper perspective. You may use the back if you need
more room.
GROUPS PRODUCT_______________________________________________________________

Team Members
(include yourself)

CIRCLE YOUR
NAME

Letter
Grade

Remarks (optional)

Your own name:

Member 1 name:

Member 2 name:

This form must be handed in on or before 12/03/14.

This grading sheet is provided so that you can keep track of your project grades during
the semester.

ITEM

SCORE

List of group members

N/A unless late

List of 3 project ideas

N/A unless late

1. Proposal

__________/10

2. Situation Analysis

__________/30

3. Message Strategy

__________/60

4. Actual Ads

__________/100

Total of Parts 1- 4

__________/200

(This equates directly to the 20% project report component of your grade - ref. syllabus document for
details)

Presentation

__________/50

(This equates directly to the 5% project presentation component of your grade - ref. syllabus document
for details)

Peer Evaluation

N/A unless late

Total Project

__________/250