You are going to assume that you and your team have recently been hired by Zaxby's Corporate Marketing and Communications department as consultants to the new Director of Marketing. When you were hired, you were told that your primary objective is to advise the client's Marketing Department. You will advise them on the best way to increase sales, awareness, enrollment, etc. in the Jacksonville, FL community this year over last year by helping them develop a new IMC campaign with a budget of $200,000. (Hint: You will have to critically evaluate media channels and marketing promotions to maximize campaign effectiveness per dollar spent. Marketing decisions must be based on facts and evidence, not instincts, opinions, or personal experiences).

Given that this is a new client for your firm, you know that your first step is to review existing market research and conduct a situational analysis in preparation for developing your recommendations for the upcoming IMC campaign this year. It is always important to first take an appraisal of where we are at today, how we got there, the competitive environment, and the marketing climate. This is where you will present the information, research, and analyses that establish a clearer picture of the business situation, opportunities, needs, and challenges that ultimately shape your strategies, plan, and tactics. Your situation analysis should paint a brief portrait of the company and provide information relevant to the IMC plan.

Hence, you decided to prepare:

An Organization Overview (pertinent historical information, industry, core values, mission, size, market share, sales, key success factors, critical issues facing the firm like major sales decline, bankruptcy, scandals) A SWOT (strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats) analysis An overview of the current marketing and communications plan (objectives, target audience, market size, growth rate, relevant trends, product mix, sales margins, current positioning in the customer's mind, current brand personality, and current marketing communications and advertisements) The key marketing problem or opportunity