Don't write: "We recommend using the technique of closure for all of our advertising messages, particularly those we will be placing in the higher class magazines, because we know that the schema in our customer's head with respect to the organization of his or her thoughts about the relevance of crossword puzzles and the conflicting issue of lack of time creates a climate in which the customer will be susceptible to our message." (too long and wordy)

Write instead: 
"Closure: use in ads because customer's schema makes immediate link between crossword puzzles and lack of time" 

I will then know that 
a) you know what closure is
b) you can use the term 'closure' correctly in terms of an actual product
c) what you are proposing for your product seems valid (I may not know all the ins and outs of your individual products but I can tell when something doesn't make sense or is inconsistent)

Choose one print ad for your company's current product and attach a copy of it to this report; make another copy - you will need it later. In not more than 2 pages for this first part, identify the customers for your current product and describe them in ways specifically relevant to the course material in Chapters 1 and 2 of Solomon and in ways that clearly relate to how the product and the attached advertisement appeal to those customers. Put the material relevant to each chapter on a separate page, one page for each chapter, and label them. Do not overlap or overrun pages and stick to margin etc. limits. Be specific; think of this partly as an outline of what is most important in these chapters. 

Realize that while you are in essence being asked to follow the outline of the chapter, you don't have room to list absolutely everything. Use the BLUE TOPICS as your guide, and look at the bolded terms below those. For example, in Chapter 1 there are 15 Blue Topics (The first is Consumer Behaviour: People in the Market Place) and in Chapter 2 there are 13 (the first is Smell, but note that you don't need to write down all the senses, just the one main one that is relevant to your product and/or ad). Write in true point form and you will have room to cover all of them. Be sure you use the terms in ways that show me that you understand what they mean. You may relate the term to the current product, the target market, or your advertisement. Do not yet use the new proposed product. Note that most terms will apply in some way to any product. You cannot for example say that "schema" is not applicable or that "positioning" is not relevant. There is a schema in every human thought, and no marketer would start any marketing project without some idea of how to position the product in the market. For example, while one of the five senses might not seem directly relevant for a product, it may be relevant simply in the fact that it is NOT part of the product (think about Clinique's line of scent-free cosmetics). You should have almost no items listed as "N/A" (not applicable).  

In another two pages, choose the five most important points of the chapter and write further at length (point form or prose) describing specifically how that point relates to your product and its ad.

One of the purposes of this course, and a way in which it differs from other Marketing courses you may have taken is that instead of asking you for the typical academic final product of a 40 to 60 page paper detailing all there is to know about your subject, this course follows the more common practice in business where your boss says, "I need a half page summary of the marketing plan for our new product introduction, and I need it on my desk by 3:00 pm" and you know s/he won't read more than a page. You still have to know your subject just as well; you just have the added challenge of presenting it in as few words as possible. 

Part 3 (15 marks) 
LENGTH - 6 pages total, single spaced, See General Format
Due - Wednesday in the first 15 minutes of class

Do some informal research for this part - interviews or survey of a small group of current users of the product or a product similar to yours, and use the information in the first part of this Part, which is done the same way as Part 2. Try to gather some simple information on demographics and psychographics that might be helpful to you when you introduce your product extension. You're looking for some early clues to whether or not your extension would be popular with your current target market. In not more than 4 pages, further describe your current customers in ways specifically relevant to the course material in Chapters 3 and 4 of Solomon, making specific reference to what you found out in your limited market research and again using the Blue Topics as a guide.Put the material relevant to each chapter on two separate pages, two pages for each chapter, and label them. Do not overlap or overrun pages. Do not include a separate analysis of the information you find out in your research, but rather make sure it shows up in your writing to illustrate the terms and theories you are explaining (example: "57% of our respondents said they liked the symbolism in the ad"). As with Part 2, think in terms of your customer, the current product, and the advertisement that reaches that customer. Ultimately these three things should be inextricably linked: a good ad will target the reasons that the customer buys the product.

Remember the basic rules of ethical research with human participants, even informal research as this is: you must identify yourself and tell them what you are doing and why, you must assure them of confidentiality, and you must tell them that they are free at any time to stop the interview. The sample need not be large enough to be statistically significant - I'm more interested in how you use your results than that those results be statistically significant, I do not need to see your questionnaires or summaries of data, and I don't want to see any statistical tables.

In another two pages, choose the five most important points of the chapter and write further at length (point form or prose) describing specifically how that point relates to your product and its ad.

Although you are writing about your current product and its consumers, you are already beginning here to think about your new product: what you're doing here is playing amateur psychologist, and trying to wrap your mind around the learning processes and motivation that drives these people to buy this product, for the express purpose of selling them something similar -- the very worst of what Marketing is often accused of doing! Your main focus here is on the current product, but use this opportunity to ask them briefly about their reaction to your proposed new product - Would they be interested? How much would they expect to pay? Where would they expect to find the product? 

In this test, you will be asked to apply the techniques and theory you have learned in your group work so far to a new consumer behaviour case. You will be given a brief description of the original product and the proposed new product, just as you have been working with in your group work. You will be asked to apply what you have learned so far, giving the most emphasis to Chapters 1-4.

In not more than 4 pages, develop further the concept for the line extension of the product that you identified in Part I (repeat briefly your original reference to it, or a rewrite if you've changed direction, so your reader knows what you're talking about). Explain why this product would be appropriate for your target market and why you expect them to buy the new product, specifically in terms of the course material in Chapters 7 and 8 of Solomon on Attitude and Attitude Change. Put the material relevant to each chapter on a separate page, 2 pages for each chapter, and label them. Do not overlap or overrun pages. Be specific; think of this partly as an outline of what is most important in these chapters, but be sure to cover what you are planning as changes. 

In another two pages, choose the five most important points of the chapter and write further at length (point form or prose) describing specifically how that point relates to your product and its ad.

Here, explaining is primary, but be sure to still include all the important terms

Part 6 (15 marks)
LENGTH - 6 pages total, single spaced, See General Format 
Due - Wednesday, in the first 15 minutes of class

This final part of the project serves as your final exam substitute. Using what you learned overall, in not more than 4 pages, describe how you expect your current customers to go through the process involved in moving from being loyal users of the original product to (you hope) being loyal users of your product line extension  including attempts you make to change their attitude toward a new product. Be specific; think of this partly as a summary of what was most important to you in the book, in terms of your project.  

In another two pages, choose the five most important points overall and write further at length (point form or prose) describing specifically how that point relates to your product and its ad and the process you have gone through to market a new product.