Your manager was impressed by the detailed rese

Your manager was impressed by the detailed research you conducted about the industry, your company’s competitive advantage, and the competition. While you appreciated the acknowledgement, you also realize that you still have quite a bit of work to do. After all, how can you successfully launch a new product if you don’t have a full understanding of the brand’s current situation?

For this week’s project submission, you will conduct a thorough situation analysis of your brand and outline the marketing objective(s) for your marketing plan to launch a new product. Please note that this is a two-part assignment. Both parts will be completed as one paper with headings (e.g., “Situation Analysis”) that clearly identify each part. To complete the assignment, do the following:

Part 1 – Situation Analysis

1. Thoroughly research the company and product you’ve selected.
   1. Conduct a custom query in one or more of the databases available in Rasmussen’s E-Resources and identify any relevant digital resources on your company or product.
   2. Review any other resources you can find about the company, e.g., the company’s website or annual report or other internet resources.
2. After you have completed your research, create a SWOT table that lists at least five (5) of each of the following (remember that these should be specific to marketing):
   1. Strengths
   2. Weaknesses
   3. Opportunities
   4. Threats
3. Evaluate the content of the SWOT table and address the following questions:
   1. Why are the strengths important?
   2. What potential risks do the weaknesses present?
   3. What would need to happen in order to pursue the opportunities?
   4. How might the threats be minimized?
4. Compare the list of strengths you created this week to the competitive advantages you identified last week. Discuss any research gaps or areas of conflicting information you see that may warrant additional research. If there is an aspect of the company’s competitive advantage discussed last week that is not reflected as a strength this week, explain why that is the case.
5. Analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats you’ve identified. Synthesize the results into a detailed discussion that addresses the following:
   1. How can the strengths be used to overcome the weaknesses?
   2. How can the strengths be used to capitalize on the opportunities?
   3. How can the strengths be used to minimize the threats?

Part 2 – Objectives

1. Create 2-3 options for marketing objectives for your marketing plan.
2. Cite at least five credible sources in your paper, with at least two from academic databases. Feel free to use the Rasmussen Online Library databases like Business Source Complete via EBSCO and Business via ProQuest for your academic research. Include in-text citations, a title page and a reference page formatted according to APA standards. Your paper should be a minimum of three (3) pages.