You have recently been hired to lead the Marketing Team for a Medium sized public company involved in retail products. You have come from a competitor.

The CEO of this company hired you to fix the marketing strategy with which he is unhappy as he had fired your predecessor. He wants a report from you outlining what suggestions and ideas you have had at this early stage (you have been there only 60 days)

The company has a target audience of 16 to 30 year olds in North America

The company is the third largest in this market place, and has 20% of the market share but it has been declining for 5 years.

The product line is sold in large retail stores across Canada and also direct to consumer via mail order and via eCommerce through the company website.

The products are considered in the high end of the quality spectrum, and price is mid-range compared to competitors.

Costs for advertising are high with the most being spent on tv and radio ads; magazine ads; promotions; and a small amount of digital advertising on the internet.

You have a team of 8 members. 2 are considered stars (and in danger of leaving for a competitor) and 4 are standard performers. 2 are sub performers, who attend work and meetings late, contribute very little and generally do not seem to pay attention when you hold a team meeting. If anything, they are disruptive in the meetings holding separate conversations. You have a person from your previous company that you would like to recruit to join this team.

The goal of the CEO is to increase sales by 10%, increase marketshare by 5% and reduce marketing costs by 10%.

What are the potential changes and ideas you would present to the CEO at this early stage?