This assignment consists of two (2) sections: a marketing plan and sales strategy, and a marketing budget. Note: You must submit both sections as separate files for the completion of this assignment.

For the first six (6) months your company is in business—to give you time to perfect your product and to learn from actual customers—you will start marketing and selling in your own community, a radius of twenty-five (25) miles from where you live.

For most non-alcoholic beverages, marketing (as opposed to the actual product itself) is key to success. Cola drinks, for example, are fairly undifferentiated, as are many energy drinks, juices, bottled water, and the like. Companies producing these types of beverages differentiate themselves and attract market share through marketing and brand awareness—both of which are critical to success.

Section 1: Marketing Plan & Sales Strategy (MS Word or equivalent)

Write the three to five (3-5) page Marketing Plan & Sales Strategy section of your business plan, in which you:

1. Define your company’s target market.
   • Analyze the types of consumers who will be drinking your beverage in demographic terms (i.e., age, education level, income, gender, ethnic group, etc.). Support your analysis with actual data on the size of the demographic groups in your local community (nearby zip codes).
   • Outline the demographic information for your company specified on the worksheet in the course text (p. 107 | Demographic Description). Click here for help accessing a specific page number in your eBook.
     • Hints: At American FactFinder (http://census.gov), you will find demographic information on potential consumers in your area. If you are selling through other businesses (such as grocery stores), indicate the number of those businesses in your local area. You will find information about such businesses in your local area at County Business Patterns (http://www.census.gov/econ/cbp/). Check Chapter 2 of Successful Business Plan for more research sources.
2. Assess your company’s market competition.
   • Use the factors listed in the course text graphic (p. 123 | Assess the Competition) to assess your company’s market competition.
   • Defend your strategy to successfully compete against market leaders in your segment.
     • Hints: For example, in the soft drink market, it is intimidating to try to compete against Coke and Pepsi. Newcomers in mature markets typically must pursue niche markets or even create new market categories, as Red Bull did with energy drinks.
   • Defend your plan to differentiate yourself from the competition using the information detailed on the worksheet in the text (p. 131 | Market Share Distribution).
     • Hints: Every business faces competition and the non-alcoholic beverage market is an especially crowded market.

1. Clarify your company’s message using the information provided on the worksheet in the text (p. 160 | The Five F’s).
   • • Hints: Before you choose your marketing vehicles, you must determine the message you want to convey through those vehicles.
2. Identify the marketing vehicles you plan to use to build your company’s brand. Justify the key reasons why they will be effective. Provide examples of other non-alcoholic beverage companies that use these tactics effectively.
   • • Hints: If you plan to use online marketing tactics, refer to the worksheet in the text (p.171 | Online Marketing Tactics) to aid your response. Remember that even if you’re selling through grocery stores you need to build your brand and social media is a major part of that in regard to beverages. Some of the marketing tactics that beverage companies use include: sampling in grocery stores, building a following on social media, sponsoring events, exhibiting at trade shows attended by retailers, and so on. You will use a combination of these tactics. For example, if you decide to give out samples in grocery stores, promote your sampling on your social media networks and those of the grocery store.
   • • Hints: If you are planning to distribute through resellers, describe how you plan to reach them, for example, through industry trade shows or by establishing your own sales force. For information on trade shows, visit the Trade Show News Network (http://www.tsnn.com). You can exhibit or network at these shows.

1. Format your assignment according to these formatting requirements:

1. Cite the resources you have used to complete the exercise. Note: There is no minimum requirement for the number of resources used in the exercise.
2. Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
3. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

Section 2: Marketing Budget (MS Excel worksheets template)

Section 2 uses the “Business Plan Financials” MS Excel template (see: Course Required Files in Week 1). Use the “Business Plan Financials Guide” (see: Course Required Files in Week 1) to support your development of the Marketing Budget.

1. Complete the Marketing Budget worksheet for your company.
   • • Hints: The goal of the marketing budget is to help you determine how much it will cost you to reach your market and achieve your sales goals.
     • Hints: When filling out the “Marketing Budget” worksheet in the Excel spreadsheet:
       • Begin in the current year and complete a marketing budget for the first year of your business. The information you enter in the marketing budget spreadsheet will flow through to your “Income Statement” in the Business Plan Financials.
       • Leave the number at zero (0) for any marketing vehicles you do not intend to use.
       • Remember that all marketing activities involve costs. If social media represents a significant portion of your marketing, assume you will have cost of advertising and that should be reflected on your budget. Even if a social media site charges nothing to use it, you will need to use company resources to manage the site, pay someone to execute your social media marketing campaigns, and will most likely pay for ads on that site.
       • Do NOT leave the “Marketing Budget” blank, assuming you will not have any marketing costs

Two Pages (Body)

A leader in your firm has been studying the foreign exchange market for
a number of years and believes that she can predict several of the foreign currency
exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar. The firm has $500,000 to invest in
the spot, forward, or options markets. Assume that the spot rate is $1.3435 to
the euro and that the forward rate for 12 months is $1.3705 to the euro.
However, this leader is sure that the exchange rate in 12 months will be $1.41
to the euro.

In a Word document, include the following:

• Explain how this leader in your firm can speculate on the belief
  that the euro will be $1.41 in 12 months.
• Calculate the amount of profit (ignoring exchange rate fees) that
  can be earned and the percentage return achieved.
• Recommend whether this speculative investment or another investment
  with similar or higher returns at lower risk should be selected. Explain
  your reasoning.
• Be sure to consider how the inflation rate would affect the return.

In preparation for your trip to the Academy for Staff Development for probation officer training, the training staff has set up an Internet Discussion Board for attendees to discuss probation and parole. You are tasked with discussing the history and origins of probation and parole. You are asked to respond to the following questions:

• When, where, and how did probation first appear?
• How is probation different from parole?
• In examining the history of both probation and parole, discuss whether probation or parole has moved further away from their original forms.

Support your conclusions with at least 2 references using APA style.

– please make sure you follow all the guidelines in order to do this paper

– DO NOT PLAGIARIZE, DO NOT PLAGIARIZE.

– MY TOPIC IS: Brazilian Samba, the different kinds of samba throughout Brazil.

World Music Research Paper

Checklist – Formatting and Research

Formatting:

Write six to eight pages on an approved topic. The works cited or bibliography pages is in addition to the six to eight pages of research.

Please use the format seen above for name-course-date. It is right-justified, single-spaced and in 12-point type.

The title of your paper is in 14-point type, bold type-faced, centered. The font I used is Ariel, a sans serif font used for titles but not for text.

Text should be set in a serif type-face such as this one (Times New Roman), Baskerville or Bookman. Justify the left margin only. The text should be in 12-point type with double spacing.

Do not include a title page or added blank pages. The short bibliography necessary for this paper will go on the last page of the paper. If you require notes, place them at the end of the paper (endnotes). Then place the bibliography after the endnotes on the same page.

Use the MLA or APA style manual for research papers. You should have been introduced to this style in your English classes. DO NOT PLAGIARIZE. See the Student Handbook re: consequences of plagiarism. Any paper found with plagiarism will receive an F.

If you are unaware or have forgotten how to cite others’ works in your paper, please see below:

MLA style https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

APA style https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/

Research:

Use musical vocabulary learned in this course. Avoid using colloquialisms ( “vibe,” “in sync,” “upbeat,” “cool” ) in your descriptions of music, performers or performances.

Use at least two books as resources. You can find books in your local library, through Interlibrary Loan or through GoogleBooks.

Describe instruments using the Sachs-Hornbostel classifications. Describe in detail the sound and looks of non-western instruments or instruments unique to your research topic. This could include how the instrument is made, or what the instrument is made of. Also describe vocal sounds or how they are created.

Describe rhythms if they are different from those used in other musical styles or genres.

Explain the origins or influences of other musical genres or styles to your research topic.

Use at least three appropriate audio or video clips as examples of your research topic. Be sure that your clips choices correctly reflect your chosen topic.

Online documentaries or radio broadcasts can be used as a research source. Be sure to reference their URL in your works cited.