Blog Post 3: Bikes

As bikes have become increasingly popular, the bike industry has evolved to appeal to different target markets. The cycling industry has developed new products based on trends in consumer buying and fads in our society. Every bike is made for a specific discipline and is designed for a specific consumer. A large section of the bike market is road cycling enthusiasts. A lot of these enthusiasts watch the Tour de France, the largest bike race in the world, in which the best cyclists from around the world race. A lot of companies sponsor these teams and new road bikes are released every year just before the race so that they can be showcased throughout the 3 week race.

The 2016 Trek Madone 9.9 used in the Tour de France by the
Trek Factory Racing Team

With road bikes, there are two materials the bikes are made from. Aluminum is the material used in a lot of the bikes with a lower price tag. This makes them more marketable to the beginning cyclist or a cyclist who is interested in getting better but wants a bike to get them started. As you get into the more elite road bikes, the frame is made from carbon fiber, a stiff, but very light material which can be used to help reduce the weight of the bike and make it stiffer so that the cyclist can get more power out of each pedal stroke. Typically the higher end road bikes are marketed to the cyclists who are competing or looking to compete. They tend to be at least $2,000 and most people don't want to drop this kind of money on a bike. That being said, with the newest models being released every year in time for the Tour de France, the top companies can get their best gear on tv for a month just by sponsoring a professional team. This advertising is brilliant because people will see these bikes used by the professional riders and automatically be interested in riding them.

Fat bike being used for racing in the snow

The newest addition to the bike industry is fat bikes. Fat bikes are bikes with extra-large tires. These can be used in snow, on the beach, or even just as a normal mountain bike. They have started to take off in the market lately and a lot of bike brands are starting to capitalize on this. Catamount Outdoor Family Center offers fat bike rentals. Catamount is a company with 500 acres of land and maintains more than 20 miles of trails. This is the perfect area to expose people to fat bikes and let them try them out for themselves. A lot of people have rented fat bikes and then after a couple times, gone out and bought their own fat bikes. While it could be argued that this is a trend or fad in the bike industry, a lot of bike enthusiasts don’t expect it to slow down.

While the bike industry has changed a lot in the past few years, a lot of research and marketing has gone into this change. The pricing behind lower end bikes favors the beginners by getting their interest and then getting them to upgrade their bikes. It also works because these bikes are very versatile and can be used on roads and trails. This helps beginning cyclists get more comfortable before they start upgrading. The marketing that goes into the design of the bike is huge. Just based on a simple hybrid bike, the consumer can decide which direction they want to go in and what type of bike they would want to upgrade to.

Blog Post 2: Smartphones

Smartphones have ruled the market in recent years with 64% of Americans and approximately 25% of the world’s population owning a smartphone. My contract expired in May and I have thought about getting a new phone. As I was thinking about this, I started to think about the battle between Android and Apple for the largest percentage of market share. When Apple first came out with the original iPhone in June of 2007, everyone was very unfamiliar with this technology. In 2011, HTC released the Thunderbolt, the first Android phone that had features that were able to challenge the iPhone with the release of 4G data connection. Ever since the HTC Thunderbolt, there has been a constant battle between Apple and Android companies to one-up each other with each new model of their phones. Windows has a line of phones as well made by companies such as Samsung, Nokia, and Sony among others. However Windows phones have had a rough start to their existence with powerhouse operating systems such as iOS and Android. With very limited apps in the app store, Windows has turned away a lot of prospective consumers.

Some of the most popular phones on the market are shown above.
(L to R: Samsung Galaxy S6 & S6 Edge, iPhone 6 & 6 Plus, Samsung Note 5, Motorola Nexus 6, LG G4, HTC One M9, Motorola Moto X)

Apple has always had a large following. They really created a need for a smartphone even though everyone knew it was completely unnecessary. Apple also has done a great job with their customer service which has increased customer loyalty.

The iPhone progression from 2007-now.

Apple’s Marketing has always done pretty well. They come out with a couple advertisements and ad campaigns every year which connect with people really well. They always do a great job targeting a large population with a variety of ages, genders, and cultures.

Product: Apple started out in computers and started to lead the technology industry starting in the early 1990’s and introducing markets with each product they released. Apple now sells iPhones, iPods, iPads, Macs, laptops, and an assortment of all types of devices. Every year they update their current models and discount their older models.

Price: Their prices are relatively similar to their competition which has helped them stay competitive. Apple's iPhones are priced at almost the same price as most other phones on the market.

Promotion: Apple has been known for their television advertisements that urge people to believe in themselves and help Apple change the world. The new iPhone 6S that just came out has been paired with the slogan “The only thing that’s changed is everything.” This was used to show how they drastically changed a lot of the features on the new iPhone in an attempt to catch up to Samsung.

Place: Apple’s products are on sale everywhere. You can purchase their products from any retail store like Walmart and Target, online stores like Amazon and their website, and technology based stores including BestBuy and Verizon.

Samsung, the largest Android phone company, also has great customer loyalty. Most consumers have upgraded their phones and followed the progression of Galaxy phones. They released the Samsung Galaxy S6 in April of 2015, the newest Samsung smartphone which follows a long line of successful phones. They also released the Galaxy S6 Edge, a new phone with a new concept of rounding the edges. They were able to market this very well because of the product differentiation that they were able to create. Any technological advance is one that can be used to market the company and Samsung took advantage of this.

Product: Samsung started out in televisions. They spread to home appliances while still developing home technology and eventually spread to phones. Samsung now sells phones, tablets, televisions, computers, home appliances, and many more electronic products. Every year, they seem to break new ground with another product that has never been seen before.

Price: Their prices are very competitive with their competition. This has helped them build their brand and grow over time. Apple's new iPhones are priced higher than the Samsung Galaxy line, coming in at nearly 100 dollars more. This has helped Samsung break into the smartphone market with increasing success.

The Samsung Galaxy S progression from 2010-now

Promotion: Samsung has used some pretty famous faces in their advertising. Their company-wide slogan is "The next big thing is here" This was used to show how they drastically changed a lot of the features on the new iPhone in an attempt to catch up to Samsung who is leading the way with phone technology.

Place: Samsung products are on sale everywhere. You can purchase their products in just as many places as Apple. Samsung's product lines are carried in retail stores like Walmart and Target, online stores like Amazon and their website, and technology based stores including BestBuy and Verizon.

Both of these companies have great products, but when it comes down to which is the best, you have to look at the timeline in which we're talking. When smartphones first came out, I think everyone could agree that the iPhone was hands down the best smartphone. Over time, the competition has caught up and even surpassed the iPhone a little bit. Android started to catch up and even Windows phones have a small percentage of the market share. Right now, everyone has to fight to keep up with each other and it's becoming a big competition to see who can add the most features and who can bring in the most customers. If you had to pick, which would you choose?

Blog Post 1: Tennis Endorsements

            Hi, my name is Forrest Owen and I'm a junior at St. Michael's College. As part of a marketing class that I'm taking, I'm creating this blog with the hope to educate people about marketing. In this post, I'm going to be talking about the effect that marketing has on professional sports and outdoor pursuits. I’m on the varsity tennis team as well as an instructor for the SMC Wilderness Program. I have a strong passion for both of these pursuits and I’m going to be doing plenty of research on these fields as well as incorporating my thoughts about how these programs aid or hinder many companies marketing practices.

            In almost every sport that is televised today, athletes, teams, or organizations have sponsorships with certain companies. With many sports, those sponsorships aren’t broadcasted through the players. For example, the Boston Bruins have a lot of companies that pay the TD Garden for advertisement space on the boards. A few hockey players like Alex Ovechkin who had endorsement deals with CCM for a long time before he switched to Bauer.

            In tennis however, the players are the individual who have a relationship with the company. Similar to Alex Ovechkin’s endorsement deal with CCM, many of the top players are sponsored by companies like Nike, Adidas, Wilson, and Head, to name a few. Throughout an athlete’s career, most professional tennis players change the companies they have endorsements with.

            One of the prime examples of this is Novak Djokovic. Currently, Djokovic is the top tennis player in the world and just won his 10^th Grand Slam title. During the earlier days of his career, Djokovic was sponsored by Adidas for his apparel and footwear. In November of 2009, Novak Djokovic signed a 10-year deal with Sergio Tacchini for his apparel effective on January 1^st, 2010. Djokovic’s deal was short lived though as he moved on to a 5-year sponsorship in 2012 with UNIQLO, a small Japanese company who provided his apparel as well.

Ad for the new Barricade 7 Novak Pro

            Throughout his switches to and from apparel companies, Djokovic was still sponsored by Adidas for his footwear. Just before the 2015 US Open, the last Grand Slam of the calendar year, Adidas released a line of tennis shoes which Djokovic endorsed called the “Adidas Barricade 7 Novak Pro”. After winning the US Open wearing these shoes, I can only imagine how this will immensely help Adidas with the sales of these shoes.

            Under Armour is a brand that is rising in tennis. At the start of 2015, Andy Murray, the top tennis player from the United Kingdom, signed a 4-year deal with Under Armour for apparel. Since Under Armour is still developing their tennis line, they don’t have a lot of tennis specific clothing. For this reason, I believe, you don’t see a lot of people sporting Under Armour clothing on the tennis court at tournaments or big tennis events.

            Recently, Under Armour has been working with Andy Murray to create a pair of tennis shoes which he can endorse. At Wimbledon, Murray wore Under Armour’s test shoes for the first time where he made it to the 4^th round before losing in a tough match with Kevin Anderson. A lot of people prefer Under Armour brand clothing to that of Nike, including myself, because the quality of Under Armour is significantly better. I think that once Under Armour releases a pair of tennis shoes to the general public, they will have a big break-through in the tennis market and will start to gain some ground on the competition where they will be able to really compete with Nike and Adidas for the top tennis market shares.

            Sports Illustrated wrote an interesting article around the time of Wimbledon about the design of Murray’s tennis shoes (http://www.si.com/tennis/2015/06/30/andy-murray-custom-under-armour-shoes)