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Pages:
10 pages/≈2750 words
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Style:
APA
Subject:
Business & Marketing
Type:
Research Paper
Language:
English (U.S.)
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Topic:

Conducting a Brand Audit. Business & Marketing Research Paper

Research Paper Instructions:

-To carry out this assignment, you need to understand Slate’s competitors’ brand strategies, their consumers, how to acquire market knowledge through primary and secondary research, and how to use that knowledge to build and support a brand.
To start your research, visit the websites of Slate’s two biggest competitors and review both scholarly and reliable nonscholarly sources to explore their branding decisions. Your research of the two companies should focus on the branding elements discussed in the previous step.
Consult a minimum of two scholarly sources and eight reliable nonscholarly sources (10 total). Make sure that you use reliable, nonscholarly sources such as Reuters, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, Barrons.com, Morningstar.com, Money, Forbes, Fortune, Financial Times, theWall Street Journal, and the Harvard Business Review, as well as the UMUC Library databases such as Hoover’s and ABI/INFORM.
In addition, explore the following branding websites for relevant content:
www(dot)adage(dot)com
www(dot)adweek(dot)com
www(dot)brandchannel(dot)com
www(dot)ama(dot)org
www(dot)cmo(dot)com
www(dot)marketingprofs(dot)com
-Provide a reference list derived from your research that has a minimum of two scholarly and eight reliable, nonscholarly sources (10 in all).
I suggest using reliable nonscholarly sources, such as Reuters, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, Barrons.com, Morningstar.com, Money, Forbes, Fortune, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Harvard Business Review, as well as UMUC Library databases, such as Hoover's and ABI-Inform.
All sources should be referenced using APA formatting.
-Based on your research of the two companies’ brands, write an eight to nine-page report (four pages on each company under its own heading, and each brand element discussed and supported separately under its own subheading) that addresses the following branding elements:
brand personality
brand image
brand identity
brand differentiation
brand positioning
brand communication
brand loyalty
brand equity (including financial equity)
As you examine these branding elements, your report should also answer the following questions:
How strong are the companies’ brands in the market?
What are the factors contributing to their strengths and weaknesses?
How are these two brands competing against each other? How strong is their global performance?
How do consumers perceive their brands?
Are there any sub-brands? Are there any brand extensions?
Your report should contain a one-page executive summary (following the cover page) that highlights the most important findings of your analysis. Also include a one-page table in an appendix at the end of the paper that compares the brand elements for the two brands.
Support your work with course readings, scholarly sources, and reliable nonscholarly sources, such as Reuters, Bloomberg, Yahoo! Finance, Barrons.com, Morningstar.com, Money, Forbes, Fortune, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Harvard Business Review, as well as UMUC Library databases, such as Hoover's and ABI-Inform. All sources have to be cited using APA formatting, both within the text and in the reference list.
Your final report to Carlos should be eight to nine pages, excluding cover page, executive summary, the reference list, and appendices. Any graphs, tables, and figures should be included as appendices. Your report should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in size-12 Times New Roman font. The report should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability.

Research Paper Sample Content Preview:

Slate Inc. Brand Audit
Student’s Name
Institution
Executive Summary
This report was commissioned by Slate Inc. to examine the brand decisions and branding performance vis-à-vis Casio and Roland, Slate’s major competitors in the music instrument manufacturing industry, and to provide recommendations on the best branding strategies. The research focuses on specific branding elements of both companies, namely; brand personality, image, identity, differentiation, positioning, communication, loyalty, and equity. Through these elements, it is revealed that Roland has better branding strategies than Casio, especially in terms of brand identity, communication, and differentiation. Also, the audit reveals that Casio has been lagging on innovation, at least when compared to Roland. This is because Casio has mostly depended on its history as an early innovator, but has since been overtaken by other companies, such as Roland. Further, Casio has not been utilizing social media platforms as much as Roland and this has given Roland an edge because it has been able to enhance consumer engagement. Roland, thus, appears to be making better branding decisions than Casio. Both companies form a very strong case study as they point out what Slate Inc. should do and should not do in terms of making branding decisions.
This report recommends two branding strategies that Slate can adopt, based on how effective they have been on Roland’s brand. One, the use of social media platforms in predicting the market trends in the industry, which will enhance its brand. Two, enhancing customer engagement to strengthen Slate’s brand, especially by enhancing a two-way communication where customers can interact with Roland employees.
Slate Inc. Brand Audit
For millennia, music has inspired humans. For professionals and amateurs, music has redefined human experiences in numerous ways. With changing technology, apps are dominating the current music scene, but musical instruments are still a force in the music industry. For current purposes, music instrument manufacturers are of central interest. This is because whilst absorbing changes in the current music landscape, music instrument manufacturers still hold on to historical standards – and missions – to continue to make musical instruments and to survive. To better understand these manufacturers, an in-depth analysis of the current music instrument manufacturing industry is required. This will take the form of a brand audit for several reasons. First, audits usually identify the strengths and weaknesses of a given company rather than major industry players. Second, branding, as part of marketing efforts, is becoming increasingly important in current business practice. Third, brand audits offer a comparative way of analysis, whereby a company’s market positioning is well suited in the market compared to active and/or emerging competition. The central aim of this report is to offer a brand audit in order to situate Slate Inc., a music instrument manufacturing company, in the current market as opposed to select companies of choice operating in the same industry. This report, a brand audit commissioned by Slate Inc., aims to focus on a central question about ...
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