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Annual Report 2015
Executive Summary
1
Market/SWOT Analysis
3-4
Customer Analysis
3
Brand Plan
4
Marketing Objective
5
Product Strategy
6
Promotion Strategy
7
Pricing Strategy -T
8
Distribution Strategy
9
Master Budget
10
Controls & Feedback 11
Table of Contents
PorTable 1
According to a survey we conducted, almost 90% of students believe that desk space is too
small in lecture halls, and it doesn’t give them enough room to work. This new desk
attachment will provide students with the space that they need with an easy to use set-up.
These students will feel academically prepared and more inspired to achieve when they use
our desk, which is why this is such a huge opportunity. The number of students in higher
education only grows every single day, and our target market is one of the largest and most
active in terms of self-marketing and innovation. Once introduced into the classroom or lecture
hall, this product will easily sell itself through the huge amounts of gossip and word-of-mouth
that happens on college campuses.
We plan to release this product in January of 2016 at a starting price of $30. Our primary
means of promotion will be social media marketing, in order to capture the attention of our
main target market. This market has been identified as “University students” which includes
about 10.5 million people, mostly aged from 18-25. We plan on advertising through music
streaming sites, podcasts, and other Internet media. Our offline marketing will include high-
end displays in bookstores. In order to effectively sell to this group, we will sell our products
through e-retailers (Amazon) and through campus bookstores in a manufacturer to retailer to
consumer relationship. The PorTable will also be sold at http://www.theportable.weebly.com,
which creates a manufacturer to consumer relationship at the same retail price of $30. As it
stands, the PorTable will be a highly customizable and low price product that can compete with
desk manufacturers, office supply stores, and niche stores like PB Teen. It will create a new
type of market that won’t have any direct competitors to start with, which is beneficial for
knowledge, awareness, and liking of PorTable.
In the first year, we expect to sell around 5,000 PorTable units, with 1,000 of those being from
the website and 4,000 being through our retailers. We would theoretically hold 100 percent of
the market share, but that would be in theory as we are creating the new market of “Desk
attachments for increased space”. We hope to raise awareness of our product to 50% by
November of 2020 and have a learning/knowledge rate of 40 percent by November of 2021.
By 2022, we hope to have a liking rate of 30% and a preference rate of 7% by Mid-2022
(assuming that competitors create similar products by that time period or substitute products
are available).
Our first year marketing budget will be $16,550 which includes personal business expenses
(travel/gas), advertising with online media, and offline marketing. This amount of money will
help us achieve that 5,000 unit goal and to secure a large market awareness percentage.
Executive Summary
PorTable 2
PorTable 3
We plan to take advantage of the new market and the large market size in order to quickly
spread this new product through advertising and simple word-of-mouth.
We also plan to eliminate or minimize the future risks from the outside market by securing a
large market share/preference and increasing the product line size in order to appeal to more
customers. This, along with patenting any design changes, will help make PorTable a success.
Competitive Advantages to capitalize on:
A need to eliminate/minimize by:
• Leveraging advertising opportunities with high product visibility
• Seeking large market preference
• Leveraging a new product with a large market in order to gain market share
• Increasing product line size
• Use inside perspective for the large market
• Patenting product design
Strengths: New Product
No Limitations High Quality
Easy to Distribute and Market
Weaknesses: Limited Resources
Narrow Product Line Luxury Item, not a Necessity
Target Market is Less Wealthy
Opportunities: Large Market/Demand
Advertising Opportunities Lack of Substitues
Can influence Customer Wants
Threats: New Market Entrants
Changing Consumer Needs Carrys a stigma of nerdy/unusual
Future Substitutes
Market Analysis
Market & SWOT Analysis
PorTable 4
Major Competitors in our Market Office Supply stores could take note of our ideas to copy them, or create a product that is very
similar. Patents will definitely help prevent this, but won’t completely eliminate the need to
defend the Portable against this type of competition.
Desk Manufacturers could become aware that their desk sizes in college lecture halls are too
small, and they could charge a premium for larger desks or simply increase the desk size of all
the desks that they build. This would allow them to gain more business due to student’s
improved satisfaction in terms of comfort and productivity in the classroom.
There are also companies, such as PB Teen, which specialize in niche products that are more
expensive than some people can afford. They offer a higher level of customizability but are
pricier than a lot of consumers, and our target market, are willing to pay.
Although these companies are technically our competitors, they do not have any direct
products or fixes that will currently hinder us. Our portable desk is unique and there are no
retail products that do the same thing. Desk manufacturers also tend to be less responsive to
market change because they have contractual business with whole schools rather than student-
by-student business.
PorTable 5
The lower-left hand corner is desirable as it is cheapest with highest customizability
PorTable
Office Depot
Desk Manufacturers
PB Teen
Gene
ric
Inexpensive
Gen
eric
Inexpensive
Expensive
Cus
tom
Workspace & Office Supply Market
PorTable 6
PorTable 7
PorTable has a few large audiences with substantial potential interest in its product. The main
segments identified are university students, community college students, and the parents of all
college students collective.
Community college students are very diverse. The most common ages of this market
range in between 16-40. According to the most recent data from the US census in 2013,
current enrollment of community colleges is roughly 5.3 million students. This number is also
predicted to grow 12%-20% in the next 8 years as well according to the NCES. Community
college students have varying attitudes and goals, depending on if they are in school for a
university head start, money issues, GED, strictly educational, or other reasons.
The majority of this market is expected to be more technologically involved than the older
generations, and they are also more likely to work part-time, in addition to school. It is also
most likely that these students commute to campus daily and are located in suburban and
urban areas. These users would most likely be using the product almost every day of class.
This market seeks to maximize desk space, comfort, productivity, self-expression, and
convenience. This segment is also less willing to make purchases.
College parents are also very diverse, with typical ages ranging between 40-65. Most
parents are married, divorced, or remarried. This number is expected to grow proportionately
with the population of college students. The majority of parent’s attitudes consist of supporting
Market
University Students
Similarly aged Lower Income
Medium Sized Market
Great self-advertisers
Community College Students
Diverse in age Smallest market
Lower Income Diverse in
personality and lifestyle
Parents of students
Older More Wealthy
Very large market
Poor product "savvy"
Customer Analysis
PorTable 8
their children both morally and financially. Products that could assist their children’s learning,
such as the PorTable are highly values to this demographic.
Geographically, parents are extremely diverse and specific locations for the majority of the
populace are unidentifiable. This market seeks to support their children to academic success
and also obtain secondhand benefits of their success. They are most likely to have the highest
disposable income compared to the other market segments, and therefore the highest
purchasing power.
University students are the most promising market of the three. Most students are under
the age of 26 and typically single and unmarried. According to the most recent data from the
US census in 2013, current enrollment of universities is roughly 10.5 million. It is also expected
to grow 12%-20% in the next ten years according to the NCES. These students are most likely
to live on or near campus and work either part-time or not at all.
It is also likely that they do not have personal office space in their own residential area. This
market is defined to be technologically inclined, expressive, trend seeking, as well as academic
and experience orientated. The geographic profiles of university students are college towns,
and other urban or suburban locations. This market seeks to maximize space, comfort,
productivity, self-expression, and convenience. The most attractive market segment is the university students. Their segmentation
variables were weighted the highest when comparing the markets was size, depth of consumer
pain, willingness to pay, and usage rates. The size of the market, although not the largest, has
the highest incentive to pay, which increases the probability of capturing a higher percentage
of the moderate size market as opposed to capturing smaller percentage of a larger
population.
This segment will most likely experience the most pain regarding the problem that PorTable is
intended to solve. The value of PorTable becomes greater for this segment because the users
from this segment will typically experience these difficulties to potentially five days a week. This
implies a greater desire to take an action to fix the issue.
Although this segment has lower income, they also have resources that they can branch out to
for a quick influx of income. University students have a low perceived amount of purchasing
power; however, these students make purchases daily or weekly based on wants, not needs,
and are perceived as low or moderate purchasers. The largest hurdle to overcome with this
primary market is the willingness to pay, as their willingness is low relative to the other
segments.
PorTable 9
The most efficient use of distribution would be getting the product into campus retailers such
as bookstores and school supply shops. Using this avenue as well as the Internet for direct
shipping to the customer seems to be the most efficient. Using on campus retailers would be
the most beneficial because the product will be located in an area that sees high traffic in the
primary target market daily and can present the product to the customer immediately. With
over 3,000 4-year colleges in the country, we can effectively spread our product. We are also
planning to distribute to online retailers such as Amazon, which has 270 million active
costumers*, as well as directly to consumers through our website.
*Statista.com/statistics/237810
PorTable is for people who, on a daily basis, have to deal with undersized desks that make working/taking notes difficult and are inconvenienced by the lack of space. PorTable is the desk accessory that gives the user more space and convenience compared to traditional lecture hall desks because it easily attaches to those that are too small, providing more space by extending an existing desk’s surface area.
10-‐20% increase
in popula>on in
next ten years
0
2,000,000
4,000,000
6,000,000
8,000,000
10,000,000
12,000,000
14,000,000
University Students
2013 XXX
2023 XXX
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PorTable 11
Mission
Our mission at PorTable is to keep all of the ideas on one table, while still giving elbows the
space they need.
“‘Keeping all ideas on the table’ is really more
than just our mission statement. It is the
lifeblood of our business and stems out of the
fact that we collectively and spontaneously
thought of this product while trying to think of a
way to address a very large issue that is present
in college lecture halls.”
– Alyssa Jacobson, Co-founder of Portable
“By creating an innovative product that helps to
increase the productivity of college students, I
believe that we have stayed true to our mission,
and to who we are as students. If anybody is
going to see the problems that college students
have, it's most likely going to be another
college student.”
– Jacob Berry, Co-founder of PorTable
Brand Plan
PorTable 12
Values As college students, PorTable’s founders share the same business values as the ones that they
do in everyday life.
These values are held to the highest standards when it comes to product design, marketing,
and almost every other aspect in PorTable’s business.
PorTable Values
Improving college life
Self-Expression
Quality
Reliability
Portability
Productivity
Preparedness
Individuality
PorTable 13
Story
PorTable’s story begins with the meeting of five strangers one afternoon in a Marketing class
the first day of a new quarter. The students sat down in the lecture hall and began getting out
their supplies only to discover that the “tables” attached to these lecture hall chairs were
substantially smaller than any they had encountered before. So small, in fact, that when asked
to take a pre exam the students found that they couldn’t fit both the scantron and packets of
exam questions on the same surface.
“A lot of people knocked things off of their desk,
especially with people having more and more stuff
as technology improves. People have sunglasses,
water bottles, and phones that are a huge hassle to
balance on these small desks”
– Lucas Takeuchi, Co-Founder of PorTable.
The students were forced to balance the exam on their knees while keeping the scantron on
the minuscule table. Brought together by a common enemy, the five strangers united in the
fight against impractical desk designs leading to the creation of the PorTable.
One of the desks that inspired PorTable
PorTable 14
Brand Principle
To provide an inexpensive, customizable, and portable work surface for students that will allow
them to feel comfortable and prosper in the academic environment.
“Creating an affordable and personal work
station that attaches to existing lecture hall desks
really lets students feel like they have more
control over that aspect of their education. I know
that if I had this sort of product when I started
college, it would have made things much easier”
– Sophia Samson, Co-founder of PorTable
Brand Personality
• Individualistic We want students to feel that they can express themselves in new and
exciting ways. • Practical
Small size and fold-up design allows students to be able to carry this
wherever they go. • Challenging the status quo
College students have always been on the forefront of new ideas and
innovations. With PorTable, they will be able to change the way they
perceive education. • Student-oriented
College student founders understand and innovate based on current
trends, not generic trends from marketing research companies.
PorTable 12
>
Brand Associations
• Productivity Increased productivity leads to higher grades and a more positive outlook
on education.
• Preparedness It’s always better to be prepared for anything that comes your way.
• Academics Academics shape your future, and this product will help make academics
a little bit easier and more exciting.
Here is a short video to explain more about how the PorTable came to be
At PorTable, we believe that:
Generic, under-sized,
and overcrowded
University desks
PorTable 13
As a new product, PorTable is going to be unknown to the general public. That is why brand
awareness and knowledge are the two most important factors for the marketing objectives.
Liking, preference, trials, and sales will all come later, but increasing the consumer’s awareness
of this product comes first.
• Sell 5,000 units by end 2016 (4,000 through retailers and 1,000 through our website)
• Increase product lines from 1 to 2 by January 1st, 2018
• Increase awareness by 50% by November 1st, 2020 • Increase physical storefronts from 0 to 1,750 by January 1st, 2020 (25% of university bookstores)
• Increase knowledge by 40% by November 1st, 2021 • Increase physical storefronts from 0 to 3,500 by January 1st, 2022(50% of university bookstores)
• Increase liking by 30% by January 1st, 2022 • Increase preference by 7% by July 1st, 2022
• Increase trial usage rate by 2% by October 31st, 2022 • Increase rate of repeat purchases by 33% by January, 1st 2025
Marketing Objectives
PorTable 14
PorTable 15
Product Strategy
PorTable has a unique opportunity. We have seen a problem that many university students
have, and yet no company has directly addressed it. Due to this, we don’t have any real
competitors, and instead only need to differentiate ourselves from the university desk
manufacturers that build the desks that PorTable will attach to and improve on.
Currently, PorTable has two product offerings. The Classic PorTable has a lightweight
aluminum frame and an equally lightweight plastic work surface: these work in combination to
make the PorTable light and manageable, as well as sturdy and durable. Also, the aluminum
frame has hinges so that it can fold and reduce its length, in order for it to fit into a backpack or
messenger bag.
According to a survey we conducted, 70% of students would be willing to carry around something the size of a collapsed PorTable in their backpack so that they could get more desk space. Our customers need something that is lightweight and
takes up minimal space – because they’re likely carrying a laptop and books – but something
that is also durable so that it will stand up to years of daily use. PorTable solves our consumers’ widespread problem of university desks being too small by
increasing the amount of desk space with its 20” by 11” work surface. By increasing available
desk space, Portable will give students the emotional benefit of increased satisfaction in the
classroom, as well as increased comfort and ease of mind that they now have enough room to
work. PorTable provides students with the workspace they need, eliminating frustrating
environments to allow students to focus on their academics.
Marketing Mix
PorTable 16
Additionally, the universal clamp allows the PorTable to attach to nearly any existing desk,
allowing users to increase the workspace of any desk, anywhere they go. Versatility is one of
the selling points of the PorTable, and our target demographic wants a product that will work
for whatever classroom they are in, as each new term brings a whole new set of undersized
desks into our target demographics’ daily life.
Different plastic color options allow our customers’ to express themselves, something that is
very important to them. Our research found that a variety of colorful offerings would be a hit
(Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green), as well as offering a white color for those who want a color that
is less intense. However, these bright colors help our product pop in the classroom
environment, increasing brand visibility and possibly spreading awareness of our product
through word of mouth.
Multiple color options give personality
while enticing buyers into choosing
their favorite.
PorTable 17
50% 50%
Yes No
The Premium version expands on the Classic PorTable by adding a thin layer of clear plastic to
the top of the PorTable, which creates a void and allows users to slip their own designs into it,
similar to the front of many binders. Although this won’t be a selling point to all of our
customers, we believe that some of our more artistic customers will like this feature and be
willing to pay another $5 to get it. According to our survey, 50% of students who would
purchase a PorTable at normal price would also pay or consider paying the extra $5 for the
premium version. The Price point at which 65 percent of the consumers are willing to pay for
the product is $30, which would make the premium version $35. We hope to launch the
premium edition within two years.
*Survey taken of 20 Western Washington University students
In the future, PorTable may branch out by creating add-ons to the PorTable, like a cup holder
that attaches to the side in order to hold pencils, a phone, or a water bottle. However, this is a
ways down the road and is still in the development phase.
“As a graphic artist and designer, I hope that
we are able to create designs that integrate
other functions, such as extensions or a
modular design to expand storage area. This
will be very helpful for students who need an
even more customizable product in the future”
- Tristan Tosland, Co-founder of PorTable
65%
35%
Yes No
Students willing to buy PorTable
for $30
Students willing to buy PorTable
Premium for $5 more
PorTable 18
Promotion Strategy To promote PorTable, we will be focusing on advertising on the Internet on various websites, and through visibility in the classroom. Given the younger age of our target market, a significant portion of our promotional strategy will be focused towards the Internet, where they spend a lot of their time.
We will advertise on Internet media frequented by our target market, such as Spotify and various podcasts, in order to bring awareness to our product and company. We can use our first-hand experience to make the ads relatable, and use our brand personality to gain consumer interest in the product. For offline media, we plan on using high-end displays in bookstores.
Additionally, we want to maintain a strong social media presence on social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. All of these are social media that we know our target demographic frequents, so we will know our advertisements will reach them.
Also, we will work on advertising through the PorTable itself. We will create a memorable logo on our products that will stick out in the classroom environment and will be part of our brand association. The bright colors options will increase our visibility in an often drab, beige classroom. This increase in visibility will result in an increase in brand recognition, and hopefully praise of PorTable that will pass through word of mouth in the classroom. For our promotional budget we are allotting $16,550, which is 13.3% of our revenue.
Visit our website HERE http://theportable.weebly.com/
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Full Page Advertisement
PorTable 20
Problems that PorTable may face and solutions to overcome them Starting off is difficult for any company, and if our advertisements do not get the sales numbers that we need, we would be willing to do some promotions. We would be willing to offer a discount on the purchase of 2 or more PorTables, so that parents could buy them for their kids and receive a discount, or friends could buy them together.
Through our website we could offer free shipping, which would match our website’s prices with those of Internet retailers with free shipping and the cost of buying one in a bookstore. This would be manageable because of our higher margins on website sales, and would help have a price similar to our other retailers.
PorTable 21
Distribution Strategy
Since this is an innovative product, we may start with a conservative or selective distribution at first, and then push to an intensive distribution when the product becomes more popular with students and consumers. Our selective distribution strategy is based on where our target market shops the most. We will distribute to online retailers such as Amazon, as well as selling through our own website. For brick and mortar retailers, we will distribute PorTable through university bookstores.
We are aiming for a pull-type distribution channel, where the consumer is pulling the product to them rather than the retailer or us pushing the product onto them. Since PorTable is innovative, we believe that
This is the most efficient way to reach our target market, as many of them shop online while their shopping at physical locations is limited, so we feel that university bookstores would give us the best visibility and for them PorTable would be an easy sell.
As popularity and demand increases, we see ourselves expanding the distribution channels of PorTable to big box office supply stores, and other big box retailers that carry a sizeable amount of office supplies, such as Target.
In the future, we may offer exclusive colors or designs for the PorTable, but nothing has been decided yet.
PorTable 22
Pricing Strategy
PorTable will use a cost-based pricing strategy. Due to the manufacturing that goes into
PorTable, this is the most appropriate strategy because it allows us to account for materials and
manufacturing cost and then add a markup so that we can create an appropriate amount of
revenue.
However, we do want to keep our prices low enough to interest university students, so we
would like the price to stay at $30. Our target market has indicated that $30 would be low
enough to entice a high range of buyers without losing too much markup. Although we have
minimal competition, university students have fairly limited spending money, and in order to
attract their business the price needs to remain that low.
As mentioned earlier, we will likely offer free shipping through our website, so that our prices
are in line with those of our retailers.
Sales Analysis We anticipate 4,000 PorTables to be sold through retailers, and 1,000 to be sold directly from our website.
• Yearly Overhead: $20,800 • Per Unit
o Manufacturing Cost: $17.37 § Our Margin: $6.32 (21%)
o Wholesale Price: $23.69 § Retailer Margin: $6.31 (21%)
o Sale Price: $30.00 • Revenue: $124,760 • Cost: $107,646 • Profit: $17,114 • Break-even point: 3291 units sold • ROI: 15.9%
PorTable 23
Pricing Outline:
Dimensions: 11” x 20” x 3/8” thickness (.375”)
The PorTable’s base will be made with Polyethylene. (This is because Polyethylene has a lower melting
point than other plastics; it can be reshaped and is therefore recyclable, and is easy to add custom colors too.) Will be cut into two sections one 11”x 7” and the other 11” x 13”
Connecting these two pieces will be three small “butt hinges” which operate the same as a
basic door hinge. On the underside of the 11” x 13” piece will be one (1), 4” x 9” silicone
sheet for grip so the PorTable won’t move when attached.
Hinge: $0.39 each
Three hinges per PorTable = $1.17 http://www.dlawlesshardware.com/smsobrhi1x3l.html?utm_source=googlepepla&utm_medium=adwords&id=18283950120&gclid
=CjwKEAjwqLWrBRC-_OaG-IfL0kASJAAbzKsV2FZXCTmNqgYRpfPy3mVshj7yHm1qeyH_Eq69G1LK9BoC4wLw_wcB
Polyethylene Sheet: .375” thick by 12” wide by 24” long = $19.94 per sheet
= $19.94/ 288 square inches
=$.069 per square inches
Need 220 square inches per PorTable
220*$0.069 = $15.18 per PorTable http://www.amazon.com/Polypropylene-Opaque-Standard-Tolerance-D4101-0112/dp/B00CPRE77I
Silicone Backing: 1/32” thick X 12” X 36” = $8.11
Will be cut into 4” X 9” sections (will make 12)
One 1 sections will be used for each PorTable
$8.11/12=$0.68
$0.68 per PorTable http://www.zoro.com/value-brand-rubber-buna-n-132-in-t-12-x-36-in-5313-132hgc/i/G2386456/
Aluminum Clamp: the price of aluminum changes weekly, the price on May 28, 2015 was $0.78
per pound but is has been higher in the past. To accommodate for the fluctuating prices we
will assume the price is $1.35 per pound on average. Also since our clamp will be a custom
design that will also increase the price. By researching the weight of other aluminum clamps we
can estimate that our clamp will weight roughly ¼ of a pound. We can then estimate that that
each clamp for a PorTable would be about $0.34. http://www.vincentmetals.com/Daily_Aluminum_Prices.html
PorTable 24
SUPPLIES FOR ONE (1) PorTable:
3 hinges = $1.17
Silicone = $0.68
Polyethylene = $15.18
Clamp = $0.34
TOTAL COST:
$17.37
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Marketing Budget for Year ended 31 December 2016
Budget
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To assess our progress, we will use the following criteria:
• If only one product line is released by 2018, then a cost/benefit analysis of pursuing the
second line will be conducted.
• User awareness, knowledge, liking, preference, and repeat purchases will be measured
by an assessment survey of the customer quarterly for the first 2 years, and then
biannually for the following year if the first eight assessments show evidence of success.
The objectives’ success for each survey is determined by assuming the results will, at
minimum, follow a linear progression towards the specific market objective. The
objective to increase awareness in the next five year by 50 percent would mean that in
order to be successful at the one year mark, there would be at least a 10 percent
awareness increase. By year two, results should yield a minimum of 20 percent
awareness. If less than six of the first eight assessment survey objectives are not met,
then the marketing plans and actions will be re-assessed and evaluated for further
action. If the biannual assessment shows results that do not meet standards twice in a
row, then quarterly assessments will be applied again for the next year and must meet
¾ of the objectives from the following year.
• Physical storefront locations are to be counted annually. Storefronts will also be
assumed to grow, at least, in a linear progression. If a number of physical locations is
less than 75% of the target objective, then the objective, actions, or combination of the
two will be subject to change pending a review and identification of problem areas. If
the count of stores is between 76 and 99 % of the goal, strategy and actions may be
subject to minimal adjustments.
• Trial usage rate is to be measured and evaluated using the same method outlined for
physical storefronts.
Controls & Feedback
PorTable 28
Thank you for supporting our product.
Sincerely,
The PorTable Team
(Tristan Tosland)
(Jake Berry)
(Alyssa Jacobson)
(Lucas Takeuchi)
(Sophia Samson)
