Instruction
G. Competitive Environment
1. Name your brand's TWO most significant competitors. For each, cite a specific, dated source (last 12–18
months) establishing their approximate market share or relative market position.
2. Cite ONE specific, dated piece of competitive evidence — a new product launch, price move, ad campaign, or
strategic announcement from one of these competitors — with source and date, and a direct quote or figure.
3. Using the two competitors' positions from step 1 and the evidence in step 2, judge how attractive this industry
currently is and how favorable your brand's position is within it. Your judgment must reference specific figures
from steps 1–2.
4. Cite ONE specific, dated source discussing an emerging substitute or new entrant threat in this category.
5. Make ONE specific, measurable recommendation for how your brand should respond to the competitive
picture in steps 1–4.
C. Natural Environment
1. Identify TWO separate, specific, dated development in raw-material availability, energy costs, or
environmental/sustainability pressures (each from the last 12–18 months) relevant to your industry — they
should be genuinely distinct developments, not two angles on the same story. For EACH, cite the exact source
(publication or organization, title, date, and link) and quote its single most important sentence directly.
2. For EACH of your two trends, find ONE piece of primary evidence — an annual report, investor call/earnings
transcript, press release, or official company statement — showing how your brand is responding to it (two
pieces of evidence total, one per trend). Quote each directly and cite it (source + date).
3. Name ONE named competitor and describe, with its own citation, how that competitor's response to at least
one of your two trends differs from your brand's.
4. In 4–6 sentences, judge whether your brand's response to BOTH trends is sufficient. Your argument must
reference a specific number, date, or quotation from steps 1–2 for each trend — general statements with no
cited evidence will not receive credit.
5. Make a specific, measurable recommendation addressing EACH of your two trends (two recommendations, or
one combined recommendation that explicitly covers both — either is fine, as long as both trends are
addressed).