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