Week 2

This week, we had our first joint class with the Honors Engineering students.  After discussing our many "bugs" and choosing six, we split into six groups.  My group consists of three business students and two engineers. For our "SMART Project", my group is to create a prototype of and market a breathalyzer controlled locker.  These lockers would theoretically be placed in bars and would hold the car keys of those who are drinking. At the end of the night, they would blow into the breathalyzer and the door would unlock only if the BAC level is below the legal state level.  If it is not, then an Uber or taxi ride home would be set up.  This would save the lives of countless people, who would then not make the mistake of drinking and driving.

This week we also discussed key points from Chapter 4 of our textbook.  My takeaway from this discussion was the importance of the 5 C's of Marketing.

The 5 C's:

• Company
• Consumer
• Competitors
• Collaborators
• Context

We spent most of the time discussing Context and the factors within it that will affect the market.  These include Social, Demographic, Economic, Technological, Political/Legal, and Competitor.  The Social aspect includes cultural factors, such as trends.  The Demographic component includes race, age, households, and generation gaps, while the Economic component simply means income.  Technology explains the increase in robotics and automation, while the Political/Legal component describes differences in ideologies, beliefs, and laws. Competitors include different competitive advantages that companies can have, such as low cost(Walmart) and differentiation(Apple).

In addition to the SMART Project and concepts from the textbook, we also watched another Shark Tank clip about the product DDP Yoga. They pitched their DVD-at-home-yoga company to the sharks, asking for $200,000 and 5%.  The duo tried to reinvent yoga, and make it more manly.  They argued that it not your typical yoga, and could rehabilitate while combining strength training and flexibility into the program. All five sharks ultimately denied their requests and backed out.  One of the sharks raised a point when she said, "I don't like to invest in companies that are based on trends". 

I both agree and disagree with the Shark's claim.  I believe that if created and marketed strategically, a product based on a trend could succeed.  I also believe that this is very rare, and is a big risk to do so.  More times than not, trends fade away as quickly as they came.  Back when I was in middle school, every had or wanted Silly Bandz.  These bracelets were on the wrists of everyone in school; they were collected and traded in classes and during lunch.  Everyone had them...for about three weeks.  This fad quickly became a thing of the past, and although they were popular, everyone quickly forgot about them.  Silly Bandz were extremely successful for a short while, but as soon as everyone caught on to them, they began to fade away. Trends are this short lived because our culture is ever-changing. It is difficult to know what is going to be the "new thing" next and what is going to go out of style.  Although, if done correctly, I do believe that companies based on trends can succeed.  Companies, like DDP Yoga, with a lot of work could succeed.  If the product was marketed in a way that lead the customer to believe that this product is not just a fad, and could last, it is possible. This would require the right marketing strategy, though.

Week 1

In class this week, we were introduced to the purpose of business as well as the thoughts of Peter Drucker.  Peter Drucker states, "the purpose of business is to create and keep a customer".  As long as the customers are satisfied and keep coming back, they will be happy, in turn creating a happy business. We were also introduced to the definition of marketing, according to the AMA.  Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and  society at large.

This week, we also watched part of an episode of Shark Tank in class. We watched as Kimberly Cayce, creator of Kaylx Technologies, presented her sports bra company to the Sharks. Kimberly wanted to revolutionize the sports bra industry with her brand, but ultimately fell short in the eyes of the Sharks. 

Kimberly's sport bras are activity-specific so each bra is engineered depending on what type of activity the women takes part in.  There are a set of bras for light exercise, medium paced exercise, as well as for women who play extreme sports. They are designed to work with a woman's body to relieve breast pain while exercising, and also look fashionable while doing so.  The target market for this product seems to be women from ages roughly 18-40, based on the appearance of her models. Kimberly strives to provide women with comfortable, yet stylish sports bras.

The sports bra industry already has many large competitors, such as Nike, Adidas, Under Armour, and Champion.  Not to mention indirect competitors such as lingerie stores like Victoria Secret and Aerie. These leading companies have an upheld reputation in the sports bra industry.  Many women enjoy their designs, the support, and their prices.  The image of the company might even be what draws some women in to purchase their products. At the end of Kimberly's pitch, Robert Herjavec asked her the question, "How in the world are you going to compete?".  Although this may seem like a simple question, there is much at stake here. Kimberly could attempt to compete by doing the following things:

Online/In-Store
Nowadays, having an online store is almost essential for large companies.  Although Kaylx is no where near a large company yet, selling their sport bras online would certainly help them get up and going. Not only is it efficient for customers to buy online, but Kaylx would then not have to worry about getting their products on the shelves in other stores. They would be able to establish their brand, while reaching a larger amount of customers.

Marketing/Social Media
Using Social Media is an extremely efficient way to market nowadays. Considering that the target market is around the ages of 18-40, it would be a great way to reach these women.  Using apps such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to market their products is crucial in establishing their brand.

Niche
Because there are already so many brands that sell sports bras, it would be difficult for Kaylx to get up and running.  They need to develop a niche and be able to differentiate themselves from the large successful brands such as Nike and Under Armour. Possibly, this could be achieved by not only segmenting their products into activity-level, but maybe by sport as well.  This would differentiate them from their larger competitors.


Although in order to compete, I would advise Kaylx of handling the above tasks, I do not discredit what Kaylx Technologies has going for themselves already. According to the Elements of Value Pyramid, there are four kinds of needs: functional, emotional, life changing, and social impact. Kaylx Technologies definitely encompasses some aspects of the functionality sector.  They contain variety in their types of bras, and reduces risk of breast pain. In the emotional sector, it hits the attractiveness, design/aesthetic, and wellness categories, while in the life-changing sector this product may motivate women ready to exercise.

Although difficult, with the right market plan and strategy, Kaylx Technologies could succeed, despite the fierce competition.

Introduction

My name is Emily Elliott and I am a second semester freshman at Western New England University.  I am an Arts and Entertainment Management major and part of the Honors Program, as well as the Five Year MBA Program. I am also on the WNE Women's Swim Team and work on campus as a lifeguard. Throughout the next 14 weeks, I will be using this blog to write posts on all things marketing as a part of my Marketing Concepts course.