MKG 420 Integrated Marketing Communications

Find trade publications and other sources to determine how your brand is doing. Articles and reports may also tell what your brand is and is not doing well with its promotion and IMC plan. You might start by simply doing a search to see what is being written about your brand and then narrowing your search to a specific problem once you have identified one.

Search for information about your brand's consumers and for deeper insight into how they might be responding to your brand's IMC. Reports address topics such as what media they consume or the consumers values have.

Look for articles which will tell you about your brand's products, distribution, and your brand's strengths and weaknesses. You will find a list of your company's brands in the Company Profile report. Hover your pointer over More and select Company Profile. Note: You may have to clear your web browser's cache to see the arrow.

See the Company Dossier for, among other things, a list of the company's brands. Do a Company Dossier search by clicking on Menu near the top of the page and select Company Dossier. Enter your company name or ticker symbol and press Search. Select your company from the list and look for Brands under Company Information.

This database contains detailed reports with data and graphics related to products, brands and consumers. To find reports, enter your brand name or product type in the search box. See the Brand/ Company tab on the report to discover things like who the key players are, how consumers react to the brands, and what the preferred brands are. If you click on a report and do not see the Brand/ Company tab look for the Go to Report Summary link below the title within the report.

Find reports to learn about consumers and consumer needs as well as what influences their purchasing decisions. Search for your brand or product type and combine with words to describe your consumer (e.g. Gen Z, low income, lower midscale, middle Americans). Consider using the suggested keywords the database provides as you enter your search terms. Once you locate a report, see the Consumer tab. Another option would be to click on Consumer Data under Analytics above the search box and then selecting a category that relates to your brand.

Search for articles about your brand, its consumers, and the product type, as well as demographic, economic, political, and social-cultural trends that may effect your brand. Combine your brand or company with words like consumer, customer, or marketing. You might also search using terms to describe types of consumers. Examples of useful search terms could include, millennials, green consumers, and demographic change.

This database also contains market research reports. Search for your brand or product type and select Market Research Reports under Source Types in left column of the results list.

Also use the Company Profile to find a list of competitors which you can then research.

Use the Company Dossier to find a list of the competitors. Do a Company Dossier search by clicking on Menu near the top of the page and select Company Dossier. Enter your company name or ticker symbol and press Search. Select your company from the list and look for Competitors under Company Information.

Search for articles about your brand's target market strategy and segments.