The idea is to write a marketing plan for a new hospitality franchised operation to be built in the future, at a location of your choice within the United States. (See the “Marketing Plan Information” tab for information on selecting a franchise.) Your project should contain the following sections, in the following order.

1. Introduction (15 points, 2 – 3 pages)

Include a description of the franchisor (parent company) and what it does. Use your own words here; paraphrase and summarize. Also include the company mission statement, the location of your chosen site (including the address and documentation that the property is available), and the reason for choosing this location. Finally, provide an introduction to the rest of your paper by providing a brief overview of what you will discuss

1. Market Analysis (35 points, 3 – 4 pages)
2. Target Markets. Describe your target markets (at least three). Identify each target market as geographic, demographic, or psychographic. Use information from the franchisor, but also consider new targets for your business. Support your descriptions with research about the markets. (25 points)
3. Positioning Statement. Describe the position of your product in the minds of your target markets. In other words, what will your customers and potential customers think of when they think of your operation? How is this different from the competition? Review Chapter 5, Section 5.4 of the textbook if you need help with the concept of positioning. (10 points)
4. Environmental Analysis (45 points, 4 – 7 pages)
5. Analysis of competition. Who are your three or four primary competitors? Where is each located? Focus on the competitors of your specific unit in your specific location (not those of the parent company). How will they affect your new business? (20 points)
6. Describe all of the other external environmental factors that will affect your business.  Identify, research, and explain the types of factors and how they will affect your business and/or your target markets that you identified in Section 2. Identify each factor as a threat or an opportunity. Chapter 2, Section 2 of the textbook should help you a great deal with this section. (Do not do competition here. Cover this separately in Section 3a.) (25 points)
7. Works cited/Grammar/Spelling/Format (5 points):
   Use the MLA method, making sure to cite your sources throughout your paper. Significant deductions will be made for grammatical errors.