For this Shared Practice, consider the impact of global markets, especially for large companies with resources. For example, although the General Motors (GM) Buick brand had a market share of 62.6 percent in 1980, by 2009 it was in the decline stage at less than 20 percent. This was primarily because the market demographic had aged and younger buyers ignored the brand in favor of brands with which they could identify. So, the product life cycle continued while the brand declined. Buick decided to re-position the brand in the United States for baby boomers and to make it the primary brand of GM in China. Today, the Buick brand is the number 1 selling U.S. brand in China, and its brand life cycle has been extended and will likely shift into the growth mode again

• Identify one product or brand that you think is in the growth stage of the PLC. Describe the product industry and provide support for your position.
• Identify a product or brand that you think is in a mature or decline stage or beyond. Describe the product industry and provide support for your position.
• Describe the impact of the product or brand’s life cycle on the role of marketing mix variables (product, price, promotion, and place/distribution). In other words, how do these variables change over the product or brand’s life cycle?