Apple brand auditing project:Find out the information that list in the following and write your answer in the same order or just directly write after each line. You are free to use link or picture

  Apple brand auditing project:

Find out the information that list in the following and write your answer in the same order or just directly write after each line. You are free to use link or picture to support your answer(you can put right after your conclude of each question ). 

Answer each question in couple sentences is fine. 

Point of Sale

1. Promotional package provided to retailers

2. Identification (inside store or for online purposes)

· Sign

· Decals

· Banners

· Camera-ready art/photos

3. Incentives for consumers (two for one signs or BOGO signs)

4. Sales aides for retailers

· Catalogue

· Buyer’s guide

· Selector/cross-reference

· Etc.

5. Outside store promotion

· Signage

· Window display

6. In-store promotional

· Floor display

· Counter display

· Wall displays and banners

· Digital displays and signs

· Television/Online displays

· Audio/Syndicated or Online Radio

· Shelf talkers

· Racks/dispensers

· Demonstrator

7. Cooperative advertising plan for retailers

Merchandising

1.  Pricing

2. Allowance, deals for retailers and online retailers 

3. Financing made available (example—automobile leasing and rentals for name brand riding mowers, etc.)

· Trade-in

· Financing plan

· Leasing 

4. Sampling programs provided—such as having merchandisers sampling new ice cream brand

5. Premium offers—in store

6. Servicing policy—how manufacturer will provide in-store assistance (example—using a food broker for:

· Installation—installation of displays, floor decals, j-hooks, etc.

· Repair—of displays, refrigerated units or racks provided by manufacturer

7. Returned goods policy for retailer

8. Couponing—annual programs for retailers

9. TPRs—annual programs for retailers

Distribution

1.  Present channels

· Road map of distribution (how the product gets to market, including all the “hands” that touch it—wholesale, transportation, retail, Amazon and online retail)

· Trends

· Level of distribution (percent of all stocking/selling products nationally and regionally-by market—example: do wholesalers, retailers, online retailers stock all types, sizes, flavors, etc.?)

· Quality of current distribution

2. Policies

· Franchise arrangements—if this applies

· Consignment—if this applies

· Stocking

· Returned goods

3. Importance of line (a) food/non-food broker, (b) wholesaler, (c) retailer (d) online retailer (e) other

4. Discount schedule for wholesalers and retailers (example: 10% wholesales and 40% retail)

5. Average stocking order—may be hard to find

6. Turnover—by brand and/or type-size—etc.

7. Shelf life

8. Dealer identification (example—Beer and Alcohol manufacturers provide these to bars, clubs, etc.)

· Signs 

· Decals

· Wall plaques

9. Deals, allowances, incentives of any kind to intermediaries (example—spiffs, vacations, etc.)

10. Sales training for intermediaries

11. Sales aids for intermediaries

12. Wholesaler/Distributor promotion plans (how they move products to retail)

· Materials

· How distributed

· How paid for

13. Cooperative advertising plan (how manufacturer helps intermediaries to advertise their brands)

14. Quality and quantity of intermediary cooperation—this is extremely important (example—Walmart often pressures manufacturers and even establishes adversarial relationships; this is especially true when retailers sell their private labels against major brands)

15. Communications methods between manufacturer and intermediaries

16. Changes

· New intermediaries sought

· New methods of distribution sought

17. Intermediary acquisition plan—does manufacturer vertically integrate or plan to do so? 

18. Most important wholesalers

19. Most important retailers

20. Most important online retailers

Consumer Relations

1.  How does manufacturer maintain good relations with consumers

2.  Does manufacturer use ad agencies or public relations firms for consumer relations? If so, which firms do they use and in what capacity

3. Does manufacturers have an in-house consumer relations group? If so, in what capacities are they employed

4. Present or future consumer relationship programs

Advertising

1.  Advertising department structure (if there is one)

· Organization

· Personnel

· Division of work and responsibilities

· Authority vs. responsibility

2. Ad Agency responsibilities—what are they doing for the manufacturer

3. Company policies

· Role of advertising

· Relationship to sales

· Use of advertising as a tool for leads generation

4. Management’s attitude toward advertising

5. Sales organization’s attitude toward advertising

6. Advertising strategy/positioning

7. Target audiences for agency

8. “Sacred cows” (what agency is not allowed to say or do or must say and do)

9. Graphics standards

10. Method of setting budget

· Competitive parity

· % of sales per unit, per task (zero-base budgeting)

· Objective-and-task

· Present budget for agency or in-house agency

11. Media used over the past five years

· Media strategy

· Media used

§ Newspaper

§ Consumer magazines

§ Trade or farm magazines

§ Outdoor

§ Trade shows

§ Catalogues

§ Trade directories

§ Yellow Pages

§ Direct mail

§ Electronic (radio, broadcast and narrowcast television, movie theatres, etc.)

§ Internet, Social Media, Blogs, You Tube, Watch, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

§ Email

· Any significant changes in emphasis over recent years

· Media testing

12. Seasonal factors for ad agencies due to seasonality of products or budgeting

13. Mailing facilities

· Outside services

· Lists

14. Inquiry-handling system

15. Photographic capabilities/facilities

16. Method of advertising evaluation

17. Competitive advertising

18. Recent and current performance of advertising

19. Advertising objectives for this year and into the future

20. Advertising strategy for brand(s) being studied

21. Advertising media tactics for brand(s) being studied

22. Ads presently being employed

· Magazines

· Airline or transit magazines

· Newspaper

· Journals

· Corporate newspaper

· Catalogs

· Direct Mail

· Transit (train,bus, subway, taxi, etc.)

· Outdoor

· Radio

· Television

· Online

· At Retail (example—Walmart in-store media)

· Email

· Any other medium

23. Pre-testing

24. Analytics---is there an in-house group or is there an outside analytics firm being used)

25. Google or Facebook Analytics—Key findings (example: stickiness, click-rate, etc.)

26. Behavioral Targeting—who handles it and how it is employed (example—which brands employ it and is it designed to get email addresses—if so, how are email addresses used)

Public Relations and Publicity

1.  Structure

· How PR is handled (in-house or outside PR company)

· Policies and procedures

· Press releases—is there a program for this in place

2. Product/brand publicity

· On-going programs

· Method of program delivery

· Measurement of effectiveness

3. Financial PR

· Specific goals of management

· External communications program already in place

· Annual reports

4. Special programs

· Customers, distribution, trade

· Employee

· Community

· Environment, consumerism

· External affairs, public affairs

· Disaster management plans

· Test marketing

· Marketing communications

· Institutions

· Government

5. Internal publications

6. How management’s appraises current communications

7. Changes management would like to see

8. Possible obstacles to effective communications (internal and external)

9. Probably image of the company among is key publics

10. Most important communications problem

· Today

· Tomorrow

11. Opinion leaders

12. Consultant’s past recommendations and whether any were adopted

13. International problems and opportunities

14. Anniversaries and other important milestones

15. Company policies on dealing with writers

· Policy on by-lines

· Policy on compensating writers

16. Speakers bureau

17. Clipping service

18. Archives, museums, repositories of historical materials, etc.

19. Industry PR program

Research

1. Management attitude on the role and importance of research

2. Research facilities and procedures

3. Inventory or bibliography of available research studies

4. Marketing research

· Budgeted

· Current studies

· New assignments 

5. Specific research subjects

· Advertising copy research (including pretesting)

· Distribution/trade research

· Field trips and store checks

· Sales forecasting

· Tracking studies

· Syndicated or special studies

· Retail store audits

· Consumer panels

· Consultant used

· Analytics of any kind for any marketing or general advertising needs

6. Biggest unsolved problem that research might help solve now