FICTITIOUS PRODUCT

SPELECK THE SPELL CHECK PEN

INTRODUCTION OF THE PRODUCT

After thinking of many products our company BMS COPRORATION LTD. finalised a very unique product which we named SPELECK. The product is basically a spell-check pen (thus the name: Speleck = spell + check). According to the Oxford dictionary a pen is a writing tool with a point from which ink flows. We wanted to take this to a whole new level and increase the utility of a pen. Although computers and other electronic devices have replaced handwritten memos to a great extent, pens are still popular. We need a pen to write different things and they are used by everybody young and old. We wanted to incorporate electronics in the simple pen to increase its capability to compete with modern gadgets. This pen is very useful as it checks for spelling errors and corrects them. In todays world people are used to writing everything in the short form and as a result sometimes, the opposite person does not even understand what is written, so this pen helps in writing everything in proper English language. SMSlanguage has become very popular amongst the youth. This includes many abbreviations and slang words which are not accepted in any formal statement, so this pen will help them correct those errors. It will greatly benefit students of all ages in their examinations and also corporate managers in writing different reports and statements.

WORKING OF SPELECK

The basic theme of the product is a pen which checks misspelt words. This pen looks like any other ball pen but is very different in terms of its features. It has a steel body with a grip for support. Along the body, there is a display screen, about 5 centimetres long, which shows the correct spellings. The display will be powered by a single solar cell. Just behind the display panel, a memory chip slot is available. The memory chip is the life-line of the pen. It consists of all the words in the English dictionary. At the rear, there is a vibrating device which indicates if any word is wrongly written. Finally, the end is marked by a red light bulb fitted to blink at any wrong spelling. When a person is writing, if any of the words are misspelt, then the pen will vibrate and the red light will blink for approximately 5 seconds. The display screen will show the correct spelling as per the dictionary. In case of any homophones, eg: son and sun, the screen will display both the spellings, and it is up to the writer to choose which one he wants to use according to the context. The memory chip also has different synonyms for each word. Thus, when a word is spelt wrongly, the display not only show the correct spelling but also synonyms which can be used as a replacement. Even if a sub-script or superscript goes wrong, the pen will vibrate and the light will blink. If the writer feels he is right then he can ignore this or correct it if he is wrong. On finishing the document, he can move this pen along each line to highlight any grammatical errors. The screen will display errors if any and correct it accordingly. Thus, if the paragraphs or numbering goes wrong then he can correct it and improve the quality of his document.

THE MARKETING MIX (The four Ps of marketing) Marketing decisions generally fall into the following four controllable categories:
y y y y

Product Price Place (distribution) Promotion

These four P's are the parameters that the marketing manager can control, subject to the internal and external constraints of the marketing environment. The goal is to make decisions that centre the four P's on the customers in the target market in order to create perceived value and generate a positive response. The marketing mix for Speleck is as follows: Product The term "product" refers to tangible, physical products as well as services. A diagrammatic representation of our product: SPELECK

The idea of the pen is that it checks spelling mistakes. It will be steel-bodied and water resistant. At first it will be a ball pen, but we will introduce a gel-pen in the growth stage. There will be a warrantee period for nine months provided. The packaging will be attractive and appealing to customers. This will be a unique one-of-a-kind pen which one can consider as an asset. It has features which people have never even thought about. Writing will actually become fun with the use of this pen. Price The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. It is determined by a number of factors including market share, competition, material costs, product identity and the customer's perceived value of the product. The pricing of our product Speleck is as follows: y y y y y Place y Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on the Internet. y Our product will be initially available in all big outlets dealing in electronic goods like Croma, Vijay sales and other such retailers. y Then we would like to go for retail stationery stores located all around cities and towns but especially near schools and colleges since our target audience are largely youngsters. Promotion Promotion represents all of the communications that a marketer may use in the marketplace. Promotion has four distinct elements: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales.
y y

Suggested retail price - Rs. 750 Refill for the pen Rs. 100 Memory chip Rs. 250 Wholesale pricing Rs. 700 Production cost 250

Promotional strategy A push strategy will be applied for greater awareness of the product. Advertising advertisements through mass media like television (specially on channels like MTV, Channel V, UTV Bindass ) which are

y y

most viewed by youngsters. Advertisements behind college books (long books). Pamphlets to be distributed outside educational institutions and various classes. In the long-run celebrity endorsements will also be beneficial. We plan to have Darsheel Safary and Shahid Kapoor as our brand ambassadors since they represent the youth and are highly influencing. Slogan KEEP A CHECK WITH THE NEW SPELECK. This will be displayed in all advertisements and hoardings. We expect that this slogan creates a recall value for our brand. Freebies- Free refill with purchase of two pens. And also a discount of 15% on purchase of set of three pens. College festivals There are many college festivals and these are very popular amongst students. Having standees at such festivals will help increase the awareness of our product.

THE AIDA MODEL

The AIDA model used in marketing describes a common list of events that are very often undergone when a company/person is coming up with new product or service which is a new concept all together. AIDA comprises of Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. In our case the new product is a spell-check pen. A - Attention (Awareness). In order to attract the attention of the customers, a lot of promotional activities are planned. This includes putting up videos (which would display the entire working of the Speleck) on Facebook, Twitter and You tube. We would also show these videos in Home Shop18 and other such shows as they are famous for launching unique and new products in the market. Different out-of-home advertising techniques will also be used. All this would help in creating awareness among people of age groups. I - Interest We would raise customer interest by focusing on demonstrating advantages and benefits of Speleck instead of focusing only on the features. Benefits can be clarified by explaining the usefulness of the pen in improving spellings. There will be no need for spelling tuitions due to this unique spell check pen. We will give free demonstrations of the pen in colleges to create interest among students. Other public places such as malls will have counters where a person will explain the product and its benefits to customers using a sample dummy pen. Furthermore, a website will be created so as to enable customers to check for updates. D - Desire We will convince the customers about how useful the spell check pen is and how it will help them and satisfy their needs. As in desire, emotions and feelings are more important than the logical reason to buy your product; we would create desire among customers by introducing colourful and cartoonbody pens and also by improving the features. We will bring out gel pens and different colour pens as well as their refills to attract customers. Celebrity endorsements can affect them emotionally in favour of Speleck.

A - Action To lead the customers towards buying the product we will tell them that the best time is now as we are giving a refill free with the purchase of two spell check pens as an introductory offer. If our previous step proves to be successful, this step would help visitors desire to kill his hesitance. Also, the standees at the point-of-purchase will be attractive and will definitely encourage them to buy Speleck. S - Satisfaction We will satisfy the customers so they become regular customers by giving referrals to our product. We would give the customers proper guidance and after sale services, provide them a warranty of nine months in order to gain their trust. The pen would be accompanied by a brochure specifying its working, benefits and a 24 hour toll free helpline number where consumers can clear any doubts related to the product.

SEGMENTATION, TARGETING AND POSITIONING

SEGMENTATION y Speleck is a unique pen which can solve the problem of misspelt words. It will be available in urban as well as semi-urban cities in the introduction phase. As we progress to the growth and maturity phase the availability will spread to cover even the rural areas. y As a pen is used by everyone and anyone of all age groups, genders, incomes, and occupations as well as educational qualifications there will be no specific group segmented.

TARGETING y In the early phases of introduction and a part of growth we will target only the urban and semi-urban areas. As the product grows it will be made available in rural areas. Hopefully, positive word of mouth publicity will help in increasing the market share of this pen. We will concentrate on product specialisation and continuously try to bring out new features to attract buyers.

POSITIONING y The pen will be positioned as a must-have for people of all ages especially the youth. Marketing and promotional strategies will largely focus at grabbing the attention all children as they are likely to be the maximum users.

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE Product life cycle management is the succession of strategies used by business management as a product goes through its life cycle. The condition in which a product is sold changes over time and must be managed as it moves through its succession of stages. The exact order of event and tasks will vary according to the product and industry in question but the main processes are: 1. Introduction: While launching the product there are many things that we would concentrate on. Some of them being: y Specification: This involves the highlighting of specific features. In case of the Speleck the main feature is that it records the incorrect word on the spot. The red bulb activates causing a vibration which indicates the error and at the same time it flashes the correct spelling on the screen. y Concept Design: The design of the Speleck is very different as well. We not only have different colours of the pen but at the same time we also have designed the bodies of the pen as different cartoon figures, different floral prints, corporate themes to attract the all the age groups as well. To also provide comfort to the hand we also incorporated a soft rubber grip above the nib. y Price: As said above the promotional price of the product would be Rs. 750. During the initial stages, we would provide, along with our product, free refills with purchase of two pens. y Advertising: Initial advertising would involve advertisements behind college long books, distribution of pamphlets outside schools and colleges. Also advertisements through television, radios etc where people pay more attention. Videos will be posted on different websites. 2. Growth: y Price: As the product demand increases, the price will remain stagnant. Profitability will increase due to rise in sales. y Distribution: Intensive distribution in urban, semi-urban and rural areas. y Services: Consistent after sales-service will be offered. y Advertising: As the pen gains popularity, we could also approach different companies for free sampling so that the company per- se can

place their orders for their employees as well. Hoardings can be more intensive. Though marketing myopia is a potential threat in this phase we would do our best not fall prey to such a phenomenon as we will be very much aware of the fact that underestimating our competitors would ultimately harm us. 3. Maturity: y Price: though the product has established itself in the market, competition will cause a price was thereby forcing a price reduction. We hope it does not go under Rs.700. y Advertising: Induced form of advertisings would be used at this stage so as to compete in the market. Feedback forms will be given a lot of importance as we would like to keep in mind our customers preferences. y Competitors: As there would be more competitors coming in, we would further enhance the product by inducing a memory card which would incorporate various languages like Hindi and other regional languages. y Personnel differentiation: After sales-service will increase. The employees will be highly trained to deal with any problems a customer may have. Furthermore, a 24-hour service facility will be provided to ensure that any problem is solved as soon as possible. 4. Decline: A plan for this phase will be chalked out, depending on how our previous strategies work. Some of the assumptions if the product does not work out are: y Price: At this stage, we would lower the price of the product to Rs. 550 for it to re-establish itself again. y Distribution: Rural areas will be discontinued. Product will only be sold in urban cities. y Advertising: Promotional costs will reduce. Out-of-home advertising will greatly reduce. Freebies such as a pen free on purchase of two pens will also be provided.

CONCLUSION This product is well suited for the Indian market as it has customers in all walks of life. Even rural India is developing at an unimaginable pace and children in villages are also going to school today. Thus, the market for Speleck is wide and can be captured with the right marketing strategies. If this product works well in India we will think of launching it in international waters. This requires a lot of finance hence we want to first try it in our country for three years, earn a decent profit and then invest the same for expansion. In countries abroad people generally work electronically thus we can bring a change in their routine and encourage them to try different gadgets. In conclusion we would like to mention that the Indian market is so vast and adapting that any new product can easily become popular. All that is required is innovations and incentives at all levels.

GROUP MEMBERS y y y y y URJA MEHTA 8 DEVANSHI PATEL 21 HASMEET SAPRA 28 HIRAL SONIVIDHI PAVANKUMAR 52