Promotional Strategy

Promotional Strategy

Spalding NBA Dual Action Infusion Street Basketball

Introduction

The Spalding NBA Dual Action Infusion Street Basketball is a product which is capable of revolutionizing outdoor basketball play. Our goal is to create a promotional strategy which supports the effective launch of the product. This strategy includes identifying the appropriate target market, our promotional objectives, approach to budget, selection of promotion strategies, and a mechanism to measure the success of our strategy.

Our product is a basketball which contains an internal pump, improved synthetic leather, and a new grip design. This ball contains an internal pump which allows for inflation and deflation of the ball without the need to carry an external pump or needles. This feature allows players to increase or reduce the amount of air in the ball at a moments notice. This particular model is a "street" ball which is made of synthetic material which has a leather feel but withstands the rigorous of outdoor play. The ball also has an upgraded grip pattern that allows for better ball handling and reduced wear, which will lengthen the life of the product.

The Spalding NBA Dual Action Infusion Street Basketball will carry a manufacturers retail price of $24.99. The ball will be available through sporting goods stores, discount warehouse stores, and retail outlets with an actual price range of $16.99 - $21.99. The stores carrying this model of ball utilize on-line stores which expands the availability of the product.

Collectively, the above product, price, and distribution channels make the product extremely desirable and accessible for outdoor players who are predominately youths between the ages of 16 -19. This plan will emphasize how we intend to penetrate this market and increase sales of basketballs.

Target Market

After researching the current marketplace, product mix, and customer needs, we have determined that alternative market opportunities exist. In order to grow overall basketball sales for Spaulding, we have designed a product that satisfies a current, unfilled customer need. Our research indicates the following:

Sales of outdoor basketballs are stagnant

Current product mix is heavily slated towards low quality rubber balls

Customers are not satisfied with currently available product offerings

Customer feedback indicates desire for a product that closely matches characteristics of a leather ball

Municipal government spending on parks and recreation has increased

Primary user of outdoor courts are youths age 16 - 19

Based on our research, we have decided to utilize a demographics driven segmentation approach targeting youths ages 16 to 19. We chose this particular group because they are the largest users of outdoor basketball courts and their demographic group is experiencing a growth period. The recent increased emphasis on physical fitness for youths will enable us to strategically tie in to initiatives that encourage youths to increase the amount of time dedicated to exercising.

We feel confident that we have a product that will be of great interest to the 16 - 19 year old youth market based on the technological advances we have added to the product. This group is very sensitive to product features and branding, which is a plus since our product will feature robust and unique features. (Namiranian, 2006)

Recent company research also uncovered an increased spending pattern by local municipal government across the country on parks and recreation. A sampling of municipal government plans consistently revealed features such as indoor and outdoor basketball courts, indoor and outdoor swimming facilities, tennis courts, soccer fields, baseball fields, and hike/bike trails. Other divisions within Spalding have begun to capitalize on this trend for future product updates and releases and we are also capitalizing on this with our plans.

We will utilize our product attributes and benefits as the key points for positioning our product in the marketplace. We feel that our features are superior to those of our competitors and our customers expect a higher quality product. This market has been underserved and we feel that our product will revolutionize outdoor basketball play.

Promotional Objectives

Our marketing objective is very closely tied to our communications objectives. We will leverage the attributes of each in a manner that supports our company's direction for increasing it's market share in the sporting goods industry. For our product, we seek to:

Realize a 40% increase in sales of outdoor basketballs within the first 6 months of product release.

Create communications that emphasize the new and enhanced features of our product.

Educate the consumer on the benefits gained from the use of our product versus products available from our competitors.

We feel that a 40% increase in sales of this ball versus the previous model is a reasonable target during the first 6 months of release. We anticipate that the greatest buzz for the product will occur during the first 6 months, and would be supported by communications which emphasize the new and enhanced features along with the benefits of those features. Our sales goal can be measured against the sales figures during the same period for the product's predecessor.

Through effective communications, we intend to emphasize that the product's new and improved features will have a positive impact on the consumer's playing experience. The new grip design, which makes ball handling easier, will help players enjoy a better game experience during play. Second, the ability to quickly add or reduce the amount of air in the ball during play will alleviate any problems associated with dribbling and shooting, which can negatively impact player performance. Third, we will share that our products durability makes for consistent play which also impacts the product's performance. Last, but not least, we intend to