Marketing Strategy

Chapter 1 Marketing in Today’s Economy

Exercise 1.1 CarsDirect http://www.carsdirect.com

1. Explore the CarsDirect website, including pricing a vehicle of your choice. How successful is CarsDirect in reducing the hassles associated with buying an automobile?

2. Does the design of the CarsDirect website convey confidence and trust in the car buying process? How has CarsDirect answered consumers’ concerns over the lack of a human element in their marketspace?

Exercise 1.2 Daytona 500 http://www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com

1. What is the product offered by the Daytona International Speedway and the Daytona 500? How does the Daytona 500 create and deliver customer satisfaction through the five types of utility?

2. How does the Daytona 500 website enhance the marketing of the speedway and its events? In what sense does the website serve as a metamediary for all things NASCAR?

Chapter 2 Strategic Marketing Planning

Exercise 2.1 Viacom http://www.viacom.com

1. Identify Viacom’s strategic business units. What are the major competitive advantages of each SBU?

2. Follow the links to the various MTV networks (MTV, MTV2, mtvU, and Tr3s) and read about their different audiences and marketing strategies. How do the MTV networks fit into Viacom’s strategic planning process?

Exercise 2.2 American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org

1. Based on the Red Cross’s website, can you discern the agency’s marketing strategy? Is this strategy consistent with its mission?

2. Does the Red Cross appear to be a customer-oriented agency? How is the company using its website to build relationships with customers?

Chapter 3 Collecting and Analyzing Marketing Information

Exercise 3.1 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company http://www.rjrt.com

1. Describe the internal, external, and customer environments that influence R.J. Reynolds’ marketing strategies. Which issues seem to be perennial problems for the company?

2....