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MKTG 381: Group Assignment #1: Using Secondary Data: Questions 1 & 2

Question 1 - Select a Company and Brand

Using the industry you selected with your group e.g., mountain bikes, radio, financial services, beer, computers, soft drinks) select a specific product/brand from a publicly-traded company in that industry (e.g., Budweiser in the beer industry)--if available. Make sure to pick an industry in which a publicly-traded company exists to study.  This industry should be the same industry as you are researching in your Consumer Behavior Class (MKTG 382). All the research done for this assignment can and should be applied to the MKTG 382 Group Project.

1a. Who owns the Brand? Your brand may be made by a much larger company. Find out who that is. How? Google the brand—it will often take you to the corporate site.

1b. Is it a publicly-traded company? If it has a ticker, it is public. This may come up in the initial Google search. When on the corporate web site, look for a link that says something like, “Information for Investors” or “About Us.” These links will usually tell you whether the company is public or private.

Determine the following information for the company you chose: (Note: Use the sources listed below and under Competitive Analysis (Question 4) to find the following information):

  • Name
  • Ticker symbol (if publicly traded)
  • Total revenue and net income for the last 3 years. Put this info in table format
  • CEO (or equivalent) and compensation


Use these sources to find some of the above information:

Question 2 - Industry Classification Codes

Identify the primary NAICS classification assigned to your industry, and report it. Provide a brief description or identification of the industry (what products/services does it consist of?).

What are industry classification codes? They are codes created by the US government used to collect industry-wide statistics.

North American Industry Classification (NAICS)
Created by the Census Bureau in 1997, NAICS replaced the SIC. NAICS includes many newer industries in addition to being a uniform classification system for Canada, the U.S., and Mexico. Like the SIC, it is hierarchical and classifies each industry by broad group and then subdivides each into smaller, more specific classification. Each industry is assigned a unique number. The NAICS is updated every five years and was last done in 2017 (updates: 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012). Most changes happen in the technology sector.