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Promotion
Case Assignment

>The format of this assignment is similar to that of the previous case assignment, as you will again be giving recommendations based on a series of situations that a company might face.  Of course, make sure to thoroughly review the background materials and make sure you have a strong familiarity with the five main promotional strategies and advantages, disadvantages, and challenges of each.  

>You should also familiarize yourself with the advantages and disadvantages of different types of media.

>For each of the following situations below, give a recommendation for A) which one or two of the five main promotional strategies should the company emphasize, and B) one or two types of media should the company emphasize in their promotions, and C) at least one reference from the background materials in support of your recommendations.  Your paper should be four to five pages in length: 

>>1.    A company has developed some advanced new animation software for use in making professional quality animated television shows and movies.  This company’s customers will be small in number overall – the major movie and television studios, a few independent studios, and some of the larger animation schools.

>>2.    A new toy has come out shortly before Christmas which is based on a popular TV show for kids.  The producer of the toy is hoping for big sales during the holiday season, as Christmas is when they make most of their profits for the year.  But due to licensing issues they had faced delays in releasing the product and only have a short time before Christmas to get the word out about their new toy.

>>3.    A major food manufacturer is planning to come out with a brand new fiber drink designed to promote colon and intestinal health.  The target market is senior citizens.

>>4.    You are running a small airline that connects a few regional cities.  Your sales are generally high which indicates that there is a strong market for flights that connect these cities.  However, your research department has found that you have a low rate of repeat customers compared to similar airlines.

>>Assignment Expectations
•    Answer the assignment questions directly.
•    Stay focused on the precise assignment questions, don't go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
•    Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references. Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are preferred.  If you find articles on the internet, make sure it is from a credible source.
•    Reference your sources of information with both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 13-14 on in-text citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide”, which is found under “My Resources” in the TLC portal.

****Required Material
The following tutorial will give you an overview of the five main promotion strategies – advertising, public relations, sales promotion, direct marketing, and  personal selling: 
Marketing communication. (2014). Pearson Learning Solutions. New York, NY.
The following book chapter provides a solid overview of the five main promotion strategies along with some real world examples:
Paley, N. (2006). Chapter 11: Promotional strategies: Plan a total communications mix. Manager's Guide to Competitive Marketing Strategies. Thorogood, London, GBR. [Ebrary]
The following reading goes into even more detail about the pros and cons of specific choices of media and other choices in promotion strategies:
Cheverton, P. (2004). Chapter 27: Promotion. Key Marketing Skills : Strategies, Tools & Techniques for Marketing Success. Kogan Page, London, GBR. [Ebrary]
Finally, for an overview of the latest trends in marketing promotion – including social media and other internet tools – read the following section of Chapter 7 from the following book.  Pay special attention to Table 7.2 on the pros and cons of different types of old media (e.g. newspapers, television) and new media (twitter, blogs, Facebook, etc.):
Kolah, A. (2012). Social media and PR strategy. Guru in a Bottle: High Impact Marketing That Gets Results. London, GBR: Kogan Page Ltd., pp. 260-275. [Ebrary]
Among the Optional Readings, Table 8.1 listing the advantages and disadvantages of different promotion strategies in Chapter 8 of Richardson and Gosnay (2010) is recommended but not required. There is also a BizSkill promotion interactive simulation that will help reinforce the concepts from this module.