Kresge Research Guides: MKT 603 Strategic Brand Management (Fall 2022): Company Resources

Finding Company & Industry Information

To get good information on the company and industry you are researching, be sure to visit these resources.

D&B Hoovers
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
D&B Hoovers has public and private company profiles for US and global companies. Profiles include company descriptions and history, financials and ratios, hierarchy/corporate family tree data, SWOT analysis, news, competitors, SIC industry codes, NAICS industry codes, SEC filings, and annual reports. The “Build a List” function allows users to create a company list based on numerous parameters
and filters. Industry content includes constituents and analysis that include RMA Industry Norms, MarketLine Industry Profiles, and Fredonia Focus reports.
Technical notes: Company lists downloads are limited to 100 records. If you encounter a login screen, all seats are in use. Try connecting using the “UM users” link or at a later time.

Technical note:If you encounter a login screen, all seats are in use. Try connecting at a later time. Subscription includes 25 seats which are shared across all 3 UM campuses.
Mergent Online
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Current and historical (past 15 years) firm descriptions, statistics, financial information and ratios, annual reports, mergers, acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, long-term debt, bond ratings, capital stock, insider trading and supply chain for US and foreign companies. Mergent Online also provides access to Investext analyst reports.
Help guide

Technical notes: Company reports and financials can be exported to Excel.
Help guide
Statista
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Statista includes ready-made statistical charts, graphs and tables on marketing, demographics, communication, technology, politics, health, leisure and public opinion polls.
IBISWorld Industry Reports
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
IBISWorld is a database that has industry research across an extensive range of industries. Reports include main industry activities, key statistics and ratios, SWOT analysis, key external drivers, industry performance and outlook, competitive landscape, products & markets, major companies, supply chain influences, market share concentration, cost structure, key success factors, operating conditions, and trends. iExpert reports are brief executive summaries of broader reports. Risk Ratings reports highlight structural risk, growth risk, and sensitivity risk.

Technical notes:Downloads are limited to 30 reports per session. Exceeding this limit blocks access for the entire University. If you have a research need beyond this limit, please contact us at kresge_library@umich.edu.

Finding Company Advertising Spending

If you are searching for how much a company spends on advertising, there are a few key resources.

REDBOOKS on Winmo
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Content access is limited to Advanced Search and Creative options.
REDBOOKS contains information about advertising agencies and other commercial firms. For advertising agencies, the database includes information on an agency's specializations; its key personnel; its accounts and their associated brands; and its corporate hierarchy. For other commercial firms, it includes information on how much a firm spends on advertising, an extensive list of executives, including those in marketing; its advertising agencies with contact information; and a list of the firm’s brands.
Vivvix
- This link opens in a new window
Vivvix from Kantar Media provides access to spend and media mix trends for brand investment analysis. Vivvix tracks advertising spending by companies, products, and brands across media channels including Network TV, Cable TV, Internet, Syndication, Magazines, Spanish Language TV, Outdoor, and Local Radio.

Use the Explore > Create New Report to:
Understand brands’ investment strategies in detail
Compare campaigns on specific competitive sets
Focus on campaign detail through a wide range of metrics (spend, Share of Voice)
Techncial Note: Vivvix uses a pooled login. Set the Sharing option to 'Share with all users' to access them on your next login.

Finding Company News

You will want to get into the news resources to find what people are writing about in major advertising and industry newspapers and other news sources.

Factiva
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Originally a joint-venture between Dow Jones and Reuters, Factiva contains articles from thousands of international newspapers and key business magazines such as the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Forbes, Newsweek, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Reuters Newswires, Dow Jones Newswires, and thousands of others.
Technical notes: Downloads are limited to 100 documents per PDF.
Use policy: When using material from this database in reports and presentations, vendor contract requirements dictate that you must include the phrase, "Used with permission of Factiva." Traders may not use this database.
ABI/INFORM Collection
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
ABI/INFORM contains articles from thousands of newspapers and key business magazines such as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Barron’s, the Economist, and the New York Times. It also contains papers from leading academic journals across all major business disciplines.
- Help Guide
Email and RSS feed alerts available.

Other Company Resources

Company Research
by Danguole Kviklys Last Updated Aug 27, 2024 1312 views this year
Company, Industry and Consumer Research for Business Planning
by Celia Ross Last Updated Jul 9, 2024 1049 views this year

Managing Your Research Project

Here are some steps for you to take to complete your project for MKT 603.

Some general hints to make your life easier:

Start early - Some items may not be as easy to find as you think.
Before you decide on a particular aspect for this project - it might be good to check and see if there is enough information.
Ask for help - we are here to help you.
- Use the chat feature on the Kresge website or submit a request here
- or email Corey (cseeman@umich.edu) anytime!
Question the numbers - if they look odd or surprising - they might be wrong.
Use news resources - this is going to be very important for looking at what they are saying, especially in the trade publications.