What is the Strategic Issue or Opportunity (Project Overview)?:

Note that projects must:

(1) allow students to evaluate different options

(2) make a recommendation to the organization about what decision they should make and how that decision will add value

(3) and provide the organization with an implementation plan to realize that value.

Please describe your strategic issue accordingly.

Background:
WW (formerly Weight Watchers) has been the trusted weight loss partner for many women 45+ for almost 60 years. Despite being powered by science and behavioural psychology that is relevant for all ages and genders, many younger people who have heard of WW, would consider us to be an 'old lady' brand/product. There are also myths/misconceptions that you must attend meetings, and eat strange frozen foods - both are untrue.

Opportunity:

We know that younger people, including university students, may be struggling with healthy habits, and ultimately, their weight. The opportunity is for our IMF team to provide a recommendation on how we can tap into the University market - to expand our relevance to a younger market.

• Company website: ww.ca
• Industry: [Weight loss/wellness]
• Number of employees: [~80 in Canada]
• Year founded: [1963]
• Revenue range: [~$100M CAD/year]

Deliverables:

1. What are your desired deliverables?:

Provide a recommendation on how WW can appeal to, and recruit university students.  This recommendation would include:
1) Size of prize
2) Marketing plan that includes a view on the Marketing P's as well as rough budget.

Ideally, this plan would be at a stage where if approved, it would be straightforward to implement.

What are the key tasks you want to complete to produce these deliverables? (Share 2 - 5 key tasks):

1) Consumer understanding: what are current barriers and triggers to join WW as a university student? What are the most compelling messages students would need to hear? WW includes a long list of "features" (food tracking, recipes, activity, etc), what elements are most important to emphasize? Also, WW can credibly focus on weight loss, healthy eating and/or wellness - what is optimal? What are the key seasons for us to market WW to students?

2) What marketing and sales channels are most important? Is there a role that the universities could/should play?

3) Financial analysis: what would the costs be to execute the recommended plan.  What would the expected ROI look like?

4) Who are the key competitors for WW to consider, if we target students?

5) Are there companies with whom WW should partner to address the student opportunity?