Scenario
Acadia Park Equipment Co.
Slogan
Company History
Vision
Primary Customer Demographic
You work in the marketing department of Acadia Park Equipment Co., a seller of high-quality outdoor products, and recently sales have flattened then decreased on your top-selling product. The product is a two-person camping tent that protects campers from the elements and folds up easily to be carried or packed into a small space. Your manager has asked for your help to increase sales of this product and believes that the primary issue is a lack of proper distribution channels to various customer segments. She needs your help to conduct market research then propose a communication plan. First, read a bit more about the company where you work:
- : "Your adventure, your world."
- : Acadia Park Equipment Co. was founded by a brother and sister who were inspired by their love of the outdoors. They decided to start Acadia Park Equipment Co. in response to all of the overpriced outdoor products in the big box retail stores, and sought to create high-quality products at a price anyone can afford. The company's mission is to spread the love and appreciation of the outdoors to all of its customers and beyond.
- : As Acadia Park Equipment Co. moves toward its goal of making it affordable for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy nature, we will support organizations whose main efforts involve research to continue preservation efforts toward the environment. We regularly encourage employees to engage in preservation and clean-up efforts to help the environment.
- : Adventure seeking adults ages 18-40
Your manager wants you to take a look at three customer segments and determine the best distribution channels and methods to reach them. Specifically, you'll provide a distribution channel analysis with recommendations for each of the following customer segments: 18- to 24-year-olds, 25- to 34-year-olds, and 35 and older. While customers can be segmented by any number of characteristics, your manager is confident that starting with segments by age will help remedy the recent decrease in sales. Your manager intends to use your report to make multiple changes to marketing, but plans to focus first on the previous top-selling product: the two-person camping tent that protects campers from the elements and folds up easily to be carried or packed into a small space.
Directions
Your distribution channel analysis will contain recommendations for each of the following customer segments: 18- to 24-year-olds, 25- to 34-year-olds, and 35 and older. In order to effectively do the analysis, you will need to first analyze each customer segment then recommend distribution channels and communications. You will answer who, what, when, where, why, and how in your analysis. More specifically, your manager has asked you to complete the following:
Customer Segment Analyses: In order to effectively make marketing channel recommendations, you will first need to conduct research on the target customer segments. You will need to include the following information about each of the three customer segments:
Who: Describe the needs, interests/activities, and attitudes/values of each segment as they relate to high-quality outdoor products.
Digital and Traditional Media: Your manager would also like you to explain how each segment interacts with digital and traditional media, as this will be essential to the success of the product.