To market to our younger audience, Music in Motion will print promotional stickers. Stickers have several advantages as a marketing tool. To begin with, they can be printed in bulk for a relatively cheap cost. Companies such as U-Printing (http://www.uprinting.com/sticker-printing.html) Offer 1,000 stickers for a $78.00 charge. Also, stickers virtually create walking advertisements as soon as they are placed on clothing, backpacks, etc. The more exposure our name gets in the community, the more probable people will be to purchase our product. Music in Motion will distribute the stickers to agencies such as doctor’s and dentist’s offices to offer as prizes after checkups. We will also offer the stickers after our parent-child demonstrations, as free takeaways.
In an effort to reach our parental audience, we will print and mail brochures providing information about how to get one’s child involved in the arts. These brochures will contain information about different artistic genres and about how to introduce basic artistic concepts into a child’s everyday life. We will establish a joint promotion relationship with local community centers and school-funded programs; we will plug their names into our brochures if they return the favor by posting our flyers at their locations. The brochure will also suggest Music in Motion as a great way to get kids interested in the arts and will include a flyer for our free parent-child product demonstration. The 8 ½” x 11” brochures and flyers on Printingforless.com (http://www.printingforless.com/brochures.html) cost about $390.00 for every 250 printed. These materials are printed in four colors and have a front and a back side. Music for Motion would then mail these flyers and brochures to potential customers after purchasing a mailing list. According to an estimate on http://www.alescoleads.com/index1.cfm?StartFuseAction=SysCommon.StartNewList&listcode=ACC, a mailing list of 5,000 names in our target audience would cost about $450.00, or $22.50 for every 250 names. A single stamp is currently sold at 41 cents, which translates to $103.00 per 250 brochures mailed. Overall, the brochures would cost $515.50 per 250 copies mailed.
To attract both attention and potential customers, Music in Motion will host a free “Music, Motion, and You” workshop for both parents and children. The workshop will target two groups, both children in the appropriate age group and the parents of those children. The workshop will last for 90 minutes and will take place in a local community center. During the workshop, parents and children will be divided to participate in separate activities. Parents will attend a 45-minute speech about Music in Motion and will receive advice on how best to work with their children. The speech will be delivered by a member of the Music in Motion team and will focus on the benefits of concept based learning and parent-child interaction. During this time, the children will be in a separate area where other members of the Music in Motion team will lead activities and games. Of course, all these activities will center on the product and will focus on getting kids excited about the CD/book set.
The second half of the workshop will reunite parents and children. Together, they will travel to stations that have been set up around the room. Each station will be lead by a Music in Motion team member and will demonstrate one of the more difficult activities (as seen in our product). This allows the parents to see how the system works in real life while the children will have fun and get excited about the product. As some families may not have time to stay, we will offer the second half of the workshop as a strongly encouraged option. As an incentive for staying the full 90 minutes, the potential customer will receive a coupon for 10% off the CD/book set. Conveniently, the CD/book set will be available for purchase throughout the workshop at a table near the exit. After the workshop, to encourage parents to stay and talk with each other and with Music in Motion team members, we will provide juice and healthy snacks. The goal of the “Music, Motion, and You” workshop is to get 30 to 40 parents to attend and to sell at least 15 CD/book sets. We also hope to get at least 20 people to sign up for our e-mail list.
The total cost of this workshop would be $150.00 and 29 hours of work by Music in Motion team members. The breakdown of the cost is as follows:
-Space Rental: approximately $100
Source: http://www.urbanaparks.org/facilities/47.html
-Juice and Healthy Snacks: approximately $50 (unopened juice can also be stored for future events)
Source for prices: http://www.peapod.com
2 veggie platters with dip + 2 bags of pretzels + 6 big bottles of juice (3 apple, 3 grape) = $47.70
-Planning- 3 people, 3 hours each = 9 hours
-Set Up/Clean Up- 4 people, 1 hour each = 4 hours
-Workshop- 8 people, 2 hours each = 16 hours
Teachers are another very important audience for Music in Motion. One way to market this product to teachers is to place advertisements in educational journals and magazines. The cost of placing an advertisement can vary depending on the publication and the size of the ad. For example, a half page advertisement in Education Week, a weekly publication that reaches teachers and administrators across the country, costs $5,811.00 for a one time appearance. The cost can be less if the ad is scheduled to run more than once. The same half page advertisement in the Illinois Music Educator, a publication that reaches all Illinois Music Educator's Association members, only costs $205 for a single appearance or $185.00 per ad if it appears in three issues. While advertising in the Illinois Music Educator is much cheaper, it also only reaches a very specific group. Advertising in Education Week reaches a vast and varied audience. The additional costs involved with advertising in Education Week could be worth the investment since the ad would reach a much larger group. In addition to the cost of placing the advertisement, the cost of hiring a graphic designer to create the ad also must be factored in. Overall, placing advertisements is a very expensive undertaking but has the potential for huge returns.
Another way to reach teachers, especially local ones, is to have in-house demos. A Music in Motion team member will go into a classroom and will introduce the program with the students. This will give the teacher an opportunity to see the students engaged and excited about Music in Motion. The benefit to this type of marketing is that there is no cost involved at all. In terms of time it is a relatively small investment, as it would take one person about an hour plus the time spent traveling to the school. If each team member gave 5 in-house demos a week, Music in Motion could reach 60 teachers and all of their students within a month.
Collaborators: Alyssa Schoeneman and Meagan Roloff
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Music in Motion: Pricing/Business Plan and Surveys
Music in Motion will produce a CD and book set that provides a way for anyone, even those who have little to no music or dance background, to comprehend and to teach music to children. The CD will consist of tracks that focus on specific elements of music, such as pitch and tempo. The accompanying book will provide a variety of movement exercises that embody the musical elements in each track. The CD-book set will provide an easy, inexpensive way for parents, teachers and childcare providers to introduce music to children at an early age. In an age where children are overly sedentary, this kinesthetic way of learning is unique.
The target customers for this product are married individuals, both male and female, between the ages of 30 and 50 who live in the state of Illinois. These individuals have completed college with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher and average household income ranges from $50,000 - $100,000. These families, on average, have 2 children who attend daycare, after-school activities, park district programs, and dance classes weekly. The targeted families spend money at bookstores and all-purpose stores such as Meijer, and are prone to spend money on educational children’s products.
Music in Motion has several close competitors, but no exact counterpart in today’s market. Baby Einstein creates their products from a baby's point-of-view with the overall goal of promoting real-world discovery. With a product line that ranges from books to DVDs and CDs, Baby Einstein products promote parent-child interaction through an interactive media experience. On average, they charge $6.99 for a CD and $3.99-$7.99 for a book. The Brainy Baby Company produces videos, books, music, toys and games for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. The basics of the alphabet, the number system, and the world of arts and language are emphasized in their products. This company charges an average of $7.99 for a book and $7.95 for a CD. Elmo’s World and Sesame Street DVDs teach life skills regarding personal care and safety, as well as academic lessons in counting and real world exploration. These DVDs are sold for $15 each. The Leap Frog company produces a wider range of multi-media children’s products which focuses on teaching simple academic skills through educational video games and other electronics. While their video game systems for preschoolers cost approximately $89.99, Leap Frog also produced educational videos and DVDs ranging in price from $8.99 to $14.99. V Tech, which makes a similar game system called V Smile, also has a wide range of products which are designed to teach basic elementary reading and math skills. Their least expensive products, learning workbooks, sell for $8 each and their game systems sell for $80-$175, with the cost increasing as children get older.
To research Music in Motion’s target audience, surveys were distributed to parents who have enrolled a child in the Saturday morning Creative Dance for Children Class, which takes place at 9am and is run by the University of Illinois Dance Department, and to teachers at Lincoln Elementary School in St. Charles. All of the survey participants lived in Illinois and, though all participants had at least one child, 82% had 2 or more children. Of those surveyed, 91% have at least a Master’s degree and 91% live in a household that makes at least $50,000. All of these attributes show that the participants researched are directly in line with Music in Motion’s target audience. This audience can be reached, not only through demonstrations at their child care providers, but through the stores that they frequent and the periodicals that they read. Most of our participants shop at Target (64%), as well as various book stores (64%). The News-Gazette is the most popular print source, reaching 45% of our surveyed audience.
Music in Motion shares a target audience with non-profit and commercial child care programs, such as daycare (54% participate) and after school programs (36% participate). Every adult surveyed enrolls his or her child in daycare or other extracurricular activities, such as fine arts classes (82% participate). The sites of these organizations provide strong marketing opportunities for our CD-book set.
Research revealed that a large portion (over 60%) of our surveyed audience has recently purchased educational, interactive products for their children from potential competitors such as Leapfrog. This demonstrates an existing market for Music in Motion. Educational and active products are desired by our target audience; instead of parking their child in front of the television, parents can exercise their child’s mind and body with Music in Motion.
Surveys showed that over half of our target audience (64%) would be willing to pay $20-30 or more for a product like Music in Motion. However, many of our competitors sell videos and DVDs for less than $20. To appeal to a larger amount of consumers, each CD and book set will cost approximately $20. This price allows us to make a strong profit and to be a viable competitor within our product market.
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Link to surveys: Music in Motion Surveys
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Collaborators: Alyssa Schoeneman and Meagan Roloff
The target customers for this product are married individuals, both male and female, between the ages of 30 and 50 who live in the state of Illinois. These individuals have completed college with a Bachelor’s Degree or higher and average household income ranges from $50,000 - $100,000. These families, on average, have 2 children who attend daycare, after-school activities, park district programs, and dance classes weekly. The targeted families spend money at bookstores and all-purpose stores such as Meijer, and are prone to spend money on educational children’s products.
Music in Motion has several close competitors, but no exact counterpart in today’s market. Baby Einstein creates their products from a baby's point-of-view with the overall goal of promoting real-world discovery. With a product line that ranges from books to DVDs and CDs, Baby Einstein products promote parent-child interaction through an interactive media experience. On average, they charge $6.99 for a CD and $3.99-$7.99 for a book. The Brainy Baby Company produces videos, books, music, toys and games for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. The basics of the alphabet, the number system, and the world of arts and language are emphasized in their products. This company charges an average of $7.99 for a book and $7.95 for a CD. Elmo’s World and Sesame Street DVDs teach life skills regarding personal care and safety, as well as academic lessons in counting and real world exploration. These DVDs are sold for $15 each. The Leap Frog company produces a wider range of multi-media children’s products which focuses on teaching simple academic skills through educational video games and other electronics. While their video game systems for preschoolers cost approximately $89.99, Leap Frog also produced educational videos and DVDs ranging in price from $8.99 to $14.99. V Tech, which makes a similar game system called V Smile, also has a wide range of products which are designed to teach basic elementary reading and math skills. Their least expensive products, learning workbooks, sell for $8 each and their game systems sell for $80-$175, with the cost increasing as children get older.
To research Music in Motion’s target audience, surveys were distributed to parents who have enrolled a child in the Saturday morning Creative Dance for Children Class, which takes place at 9am and is run by the University of Illinois Dance Department, and to teachers at Lincoln Elementary School in St. Charles. All of the survey participants lived in Illinois and, though all participants had at least one child, 82% had 2 or more children. Of those surveyed, 91% have at least a Master’s degree and 91% live in a household that makes at least $50,000. All of these attributes show that the participants researched are directly in line with Music in Motion’s target audience. This audience can be reached, not only through demonstrations at their child care providers, but through the stores that they frequent and the periodicals that they read. Most of our participants shop at Target (64%), as well as various book stores (64%). The News-Gazette is the most popular print source, reaching 45% of our surveyed audience.
Music in Motion shares a target audience with non-profit and commercial child care programs, such as daycare (54% participate) and after school programs (36% participate). Every adult surveyed enrolls his or her child in daycare or other extracurricular activities, such as fine arts classes (82% participate). The sites of these organizations provide strong marketing opportunities for our CD-book set.
Research revealed that a large portion (over 60%) of our surveyed audience has recently purchased educational, interactive products for their children from potential competitors such as Leapfrog. This demonstrates an existing market for Music in Motion. Educational and active products are desired by our target audience; instead of parking their child in front of the television, parents can exercise their child’s mind and body with Music in Motion.
Surveys showed that over half of our target audience (64%) would be willing to pay $20-30 or more for a product like Music in Motion. However, many of our competitors sell videos and DVDs for less than $20. To appeal to a larger amount of consumers, each CD and book set will cost approximately $20. This price allows us to make a strong profit and to be a viable competitor within our product market.
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Link to surveys: Music in Motion Surveys
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Collaborators: Alyssa Schoeneman and Meagan Roloff
Personal Budget
| Monthly | ..Yearly.. | Income/Expense |
| 2,848.50 | 34,182 | Gross Income (of a teacher and part time dance teacher) Source: salary.com :Elementary School Teacher $34,182 I used the salary for an elementary school teacher because I hope to teach dance in elementary school. There is no salary for a dance teacher (choreographer does not describe a dance teacher in a school) so I used elementary school teacher. |
| -854.55 | -10,254.60 | Taxes: subtract 30% |
| -450 | -5,400 | Housing: apartment with roommate (Lauren Richardson) Source: Apartment Link |
| -156 | -1,872 | Health Insurance Blue Preferred by Care First Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, $500 deductible, coinsurance 20%, $25 office visit Source: quote from ehealthinsurance.com |
| -4.17 | -50 | Rental Insurance Source: quote from State Farm quoted $100 total per year, which will be split with my roommate |
| -40 | -480 | Cellphone Source: Cingular Wireless Website |
| -40 | -480 | Internet Source: This is what I currently pay for internet and people who live in the area say that it's comparable to rates there. |
| -75 | -900 | Retirement savings |
| -45 | -540 | Electricity and heat My parents, who live in a nearby area, pay 200 a month for electricity and heat and their house is 2-3 times larger than the rental unit. So I estimate heat/electricity will cost about $90, which is $45 when split between two roommates. |
| -200 | -2,400 | Food Source: My current spending on food/necessities (rounded up) |
| -356 | -4272 | Car Payment Source: My current car payment. |
| -91.67 | -1100 | Car Insurance Source: My current car insurance costs. |
| -75 | -900 | Gas Source: It costs about $30 to fill up my car and, even when in Maryland, I never fill it up more than twice a month. |
| -416.67 | -5000 | Student Loans Source: I will owe $5000 a year for four years. |
| -0 | -0 | Credit Card Debt Source: I currently have no credit card debt. |
| -25 | -300 | Other- Supplies to care for my bird (Eeyore) Source: My current costs. |
| -19.44 | -233.4 | Amount left over |
Note: both columns balance out to zero.
Living Area: suburbs outside DC, zip code: 20832
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