The Three ClientsYour first reading assignment: visit the websites associated with each of these ficticious companies to inform yourself about the competition, trends and marketing needs in these three industries. You must have these readings done before we meet again Week 2. Mount Rainier Mercantile Optional Tagline: Get out there already! Optional Info: Established 1968 OR: Est. 1968 Market: Budget-conscious, stylish and adventuresome outdoorsmen and women age 21 - 35. Primary Competition: REI, North Face, Patagonia, Rough Guide (for their online communities) Background information: Mount Rainier Mercantile has just secured the endorsement of crossover extreme sport celebrities Shawna Jacobs and Daniel Radcliffe to promote the new line of their in-house brand of sportswear called Flex, designed by internationally acclaimed fashion ingenue Kara Mia. The company is poised to take the leap from regional dominance to join the national market. Goal #1: To fill in the niche market for travelers and adventurists and sportsmen that prefer to budget generously for sporting experiences and international travel over spendy clothing and equipment. Goal #2: To promote ethical labor practices in the clothing industry. Mount Rainier Mercantile specializes in clothing with hand-crafted details such as embroidery, block printing and unusual fabrics, and have been known to employ womens’ economic cooperatives in Cambodia and Vietnam to compete with clothing companies that use unchecked child labor in India and Hong Kong. In the past they have tied in the theme of adventure travel with profiles of the exotic communities where their clothing lines are produced. This has been a successful tactic they wish to employ in future campaigns. Products needed: Recognizing the growing trend of internet retail and also the potential for community-building among consumers online via message boards, Mount Rainier Mercantile intends to ramp up its next stage of development with a stronger web site presence that includes not only a retail component, but also an online community. They will promote the website through full-page 4 color advertisements, television ads and on the side of their shopping bags. They expect an aggressive gift card merchandising champaign in the next season will help disseminate the website URL, and they plan to distinguish their cards from the rest by printing them not on plastic but a new recycled paper product with 40% post-consumer waste. Examples of gear that Mount Rainier sells: men’s and women’s sportswear, footwear, kayak gear and kayaks, cycling gear, mountain climbing gear, hiking gear, backpacks, skis and skiwear, hats and helmets, GPS devices, binoculars and other optics, two-way radios, tents, sleeping bags, portable cookware, gadgets, maps and books. Examples of gear that Mount Rainier does NOT sell: Bicycles, skateboards, Inline skates, surf gear, offroad vehicles, snowmobiles.
Sensorium Wetware Optional Tagline: We’re with you every heartbeat Market: High-bandwidth Internet users, children, hackers Primary Competition: The U.S. Military, IBVA, WarCorps Goal # 1: To provide friendly, affordable, disposable wetware gaming devices to young consumers. Goal #2: To quickly gain loyalty of the wetware market before WarCorps does. Background information: The PulseGoggle is the product being launched. Biofeedback affects gameplay performance in this disposable headset device. Police investigations led by InterPol have indicated that the device can also be modified and the performance upgraded to monitor data pathways including Air Traffic Control communications, sensitive satellite telemetry, and encrypted fiber optic-based banking networks. Growing political pressure has increased the demand and stock value of this corporation, as different market segments and law enforcement authorities (InterPol, FBI, NSA) have sought to limit the access of this simple device to would-be potential data criminals worldwide. Free speech advocates have used this product as a springboard for the discussion of free access of data around the world. Products Needed: Sensorium needs a web page to support their hardware, software and gaming forums. They need a print advertising campaign for technology and gaming magazines, a trifold borchure explalining thier product to be used in a direct mail campaign, and the PulseGoggle packaging. Because this is a campaign directed toward children, the themes may be edgy but non-violent enough for parents to embrace.
Trapeze Optional Tagline: How wide do you want your net? Market: Teenagers and their parents wishing to stay connected and enjoy a wide range of mobility. Individuals requiring connectivity and information at all times. Primary Competition: Cricket, Boomerang, Cingular, T-Mobile, iMode (View this interactive demo, too) Goal #1: To emulate the iMode technology so pervasive in Japan, made popular by the Japanese wireless company NTT DoCoMo, only tailored for the North American Market Goal #2: To infiltrate the Hispanic youth market and become the premiere bilingual content provider for mobile phone technology. (English/Spanish) Background information: Taking cues from the iMode technology so popular in Japan, Trapeze plans to transform the simple cel phone for the people into an all-purpose internet information device that earns users points toward rewards every time it is used. Products Needed: Separate web portals for adult and teenage consumers. Long Distance Minutes and Merchandise cards that let users earn points every time they use them (Minutos y Mercancia). Information kiosks that enable new subscribers to sign up and current members pay their bills or access enhanced internet content on-the-go.
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