Instructions: 1. Answer all four parts. The grade weightings for each part are indicated in parentheses. 2. Each part contains a short case, or situation, with questions following. Please answer all the questions using your understanding of the concepts covered in the course lectures, discussions, assignments and textbook. Remember to clearly state any assumptions you make. 3. You may refer to your marketing text, readings/cases discussed during the course, and any of your personal notes. 4. This is an individual assignment. 5. You may research what the companies have actually done, but your grade is based solely on your analysis and recommendations, using concepts from the course. There are no ‘right’ answers. 6. Page Limit: You are limited to 2 double-spaced pages (including any exhibits) for each of the four questions. Use 12 point font, 1- inch margins all around. 7. Clearly state the question number and number all of your pages. 8. Have a cover page containing your name, student number, course section, and date submitted.   Question 1 Gatorade REPLAY The Gatorade brand, owned by PepsiCo, launched a web site called Mission G dedicated to brand entertainment. The idea was that Mission G would be an online portal offering original content, entertainment programming and social networking catering to anyone with an interest in sports, anywhere at anytime. What if you could re-play the biggest sports match or game of your life? That was the simple idea behind Gatorad’s REPLAY campaign Launched in April, 2009, the concept was a re-match event supported by an accompanying video series (initially distributed via the web, subsequently on network TV). According to its advertising agency, the goal was to broaden the appeal of Gatorade, a brand first created for and consumed by athletes to combat dehydration, by broadening what it means to be an 'athlete'. The agency’s campaign was built upon a single insight: "Anyone who's ever done sport will have a moment from their past they wish they could replay - it's a universal truth with a universal draw." The series was characterized as a success. More information can be found here: https://www.dandad.org/en/d-ad-gatorade-replay-case-study-insights/ Questions: Since the Gatorade initiative launched in 2009, many brands have attempted to use branded entertainment as one element in their marketing strategy, but many have not worked as well as REPLAY, and been abandoned after a short time (see, for example, Nike’s YouTube series for women, Margot vs. Lily). 1. Why do you think the Gatorade entertainment concept worked? 2. Can branded entertainment work for any any type of product or service? If so, how might it need to change with specific categories, products or brands? If not, what are the conditions necessary for success? Support your answer with concepts from the course.   Question 2 Recently, one of the major marketing consortiums, the American Marketing Association, issued a report titled, “7 Big Problems in the Marketing Industry.” The authors described Problem #4 is as follows: There is a fundamental debate that is unfolding concerning the role of Big Data and analytics within firms. However, this data orientation (or obsession) may obscure the differences between data, knowledge and insight. Question: 1. Comment on the differences between data and insights, and what it might mean to have one without the other. 2. We usually refer to “consumer insights.” However, should we extend our insight focus to include competitors, suppliers, and channel members? Why or why not? Question 3 Marijuana industry faces challenge in gaining Canadians’ trust, survey finds Susan Krashinsky Robertson - MARKETING REPORTER Special to The Globe and Mail Published Wednesday, Mar. 29, 2017 5:00AM EDT Marijuana stocks may have leapt higher on the news of Ottawa’s plans to legalize the drug by next year, but the industry is facing an uphill battle in building trust with Canadian consumers, according to a new survey. When Environics Communications asked whether they trust companies in each sector to “do what is right for Canada, Canadians and our society,” survey respondents ranked marijuana dead last among roughly 20 sectors – giving it a lower trust rating than such sectors as pipelines, social media platforms, and pharmaceutical companies. Just 13 per cent of roughly 1,500 people gave marijuana companies a rating of five or higher on a seven-point trust scale. The findings differ somewhat by age group, but trust is an issue across the board: Just 10 per cent of people over 50 trust marijuana producers, while only 17 per cent gave a rank of five or higher amid the highest-trust group, those between the ages of 18 to 24. To some extent, this is to be expected with an industry that is still illegal in Canada for recreational use, Environics acknowledges. However, even the sanctioned side of the business, medical marijuana, has been plagued with problems of trust, raising questions about how the industry will be managed as it expands. Three class-action lawsuits have been launched recently over tainted marijuana that contained banned pesticides. The Globe and Mail revealed in December that medical marijuana containing myclobutanil, which is not approved for use on plants that are smoked – including tobacco and cannabis – and can emit hydrogen cyanide when heated, had been sold by Mettrum. Similar recalls were then issued by Organigram Inc. and Aurora Cannabis, had purchased bulk product from OrganiGram for resale. The recalls raised questions about Health Canada’s oversight of the sector, since the regulator had not been testing for any banned chemicals. Now, the cannabis business is set to grow amid reports this week that the federal government is working on legislation to legalize recreational marijuana use as early as next year. Whom Canadians trust to distribute marijuana (medical or recreational) In its survey, conducted in January, Environics asked Canadians whom they would trust to distribute marijuana, whether medical or recreational. Drug stores and pharmacies ranked highest, with just more than half of people scoring them at five or higher on a seven-point scale of trust, while privately-owned dispensaries ranked lowest. Fully one-third said that they would not trust any of the options – from government-run dispensaries to private stores – to do the job. “While legalization over all enjoys popular support, the devil will be in the details and there is abundant room for missteps as the marketplace is created and governed,” said Environics chief executive Bruce MacLellan. “It will not be an easy win for anyone.” Question: 1. If you were a consultant, what marketing tools or tactics would you recommend to leaders and entrants into the cannabis industry to build the trust of Canadians regarding their products and/or services? Explain. Question 4 Tchotchkes, tote bags and T-shirts: How marketers are selling Canada 150 Susan Krashinsky Robertson - MARKETING REPORTER The Globe and Mail Published Thursday, Mar. 02, 2017 5:38PM EST On a sunny, frigid Thursday morning in Toronto, when Olympians Simon Whitfield and Mark Oldershaw paddled a Hudson’s Bay-branded canoe in Lake Ontario, it was more than a bit of marketing Canadiana: It was also the latest launch of a vast range of merchandising around the 150th anniversary of Confederation. Hudson’s Bay Co. is launching a 58-piece collection of souvenirs in all 90 of its stores across the country and online, including Canada-themed keychains, mugs, iPhone cases, beach towels and apparel. The retailer’s Canada 150 campaign will focus on raising funds for the Great Trail project, which will connect 24,000 kilometres of trails across the country into one route by the end of this year. Ten per cent of the products’ sales will go to the project, and two products – a $20 mini-canoe paddle keepsake and a $5 paddle keychain – will direct 50 per cent of sales to fundraising for the trail’s completion and future upkeep. Hudson’s Bay has a keen understanding of how valuable such moments of Canadian pride can be: Its red mittens featuring a white maple leaf became a must-have item during the Vancouver Olympics – with $3.90 of the $15 sale price going to the Olympic team – and have sold more than seven million pairs since. “Having that iconic item as an anchoring moment within the assortment has been hugely beneficial,” Hudson’s Bay president Liz Rodbell said. “As the teams were thinking through how to celebrate the 150th … it was a chance to activate in a meaningful way.” When it comes to the sesquicentennial, the Bay is not alone in recognizing the sales opportunity. The official Canada 150 logo is free to use, even on items for sale, as long as companies apply for a license from the Department of Canadian Heritage. The department said in an e-mail that it has granted “hundreds” of commercial licences. Kitchen Stuff Plus is selling water bottles with the official logo. Home Hardware is selling commemorative tulips in Canada 150 packaging. New Waterford, N.S.-based online store monkeysandmore.com is offering sock monkeys and moose decorated with the logo. A number of e-commerce websites are offering everything from hats to pens, frisbees, mugs and bumper stickers adorned with commemorative images. The Royal Canadian Mint, naturally, has souvenir coins on offer. And Roots Canada has both a “Canada Collection” of apparel and leather goods marketed around the celebrations, but is also selling a line in partnership with the City of Ottawa, featuring its Ottawa 2017 logo sold in stores there to mark celebrations in the capital. “Canada’s in a renaissance,” Roots co-founder Michael Budman said. “The culture, our great prime minister, our diversity – all these things are adding up to make Canada one of the most desirable places in the world. Canadians are proud of where they’re from.” Of course, all the tchotchkes, tote bags and T-shirts won’t be an easy sell with everyone. Many people – in native communities in particular, but also beyond – who are keenly aware that the inhabited land we now call Canada is far older than 150 years, could see the celebrations as more complicated. There will be an appetite for celebratory souvenirs, however. While the narrative about Canadian identity has often focused on the country’s unassuming, humble characteristics – whether accurately or not – there are signs that narrative may be shifting. In a study conducted last year by ad firm Havas, which surveyed nearly 12,000 adults in 37 countries, three-quarters of Canadians agreed that they are proud of their country; only slightly less than 77 per cent of people in the United States who said the same. And in recent years, brands including Tim Hortons, Molson Canadian and Air Canada have shifted the tone of their advertising to tap into a more unabashed sense of patriotism among consumers. “We’ve often been apologetic, and I think we’ve grown out of that. … We’ve been slowly transforming as a nation where we can stop trying to prove ourselves and be proud of what’s happening here,” said Tom Koukodimos, partner and executive creative director at ad agency Sid Lee in Toronto. The agency is currently working on designing a line of Canada 150-themed T-shirts, and possibly other products, for the Drake General Store. The line will launch in late spring. Sid Lee will choose a group of Canadians who have influenced the culture in some way, and will base each design on what being Canadian means to them. “We can all imagine what a lot of the 150 merchandising might look like. We’re trying to do something more authentic, and fashionable.” Roots is also mounting a challenge for authenticity: While the company’s leather goods are still made in Canada, the majority of its clothing is not. But the company says that all the manufacturing for the “Canada collection” for the 150th will be done in Canada. (Hudson’s Bay says its collection was designed in Canada, but manufactured overseas.) “You’ve got to have really great products” to appeal to shoppers around the sesquicentennial, Mr. Budman said. “Because it’s a very competitive marketplace.” Question: 1. How would you recommend Canadian companies embrace Canada’s 150th birthday in their marketing campaigns? 2. What do you see as the advantages and risks associated with linking marketing initiatives to Canada150? Provide examples to illustrate your points.