VER-PowerX will be marketed in the United States. It is a low-maintenance, environmentally-friendly vermin and pest destruction device that will be marketed primarily to women with the promise that the device captures and disposes of household vermin without resorting to the use of potentially hazardous sprays (Merlo, 1997).
The consumer points the VER-PowerX at a target, turns it on, and waits while a fan sucks the invader into a sealed disposable cartridge. It is possible to import VER-PowerX from Korea at a cost of $15 per unit. This price includes the standard red and white label. When sales volume demands, our marketing group plans to take advantage of more colorful packaging offered by the manufacturer at a per-unit additional charge of $5.
Our group has formulated an initial marketing strategy that involves a price point of 4x manufacturing cost, or roughly $59.95, a pricing structure that allows for discounts and promotional offers. Although there are many bug and insect exterminators on the market, none are as easy to use, as safe and as convenient as VER-PowerX.
Before selling to America, it is essential to choose the target markets. Globally, the market for pest control products and pesticides hovers around $55 billion annually (Young, Rao, Cort, 1996). Some $4.5 billion of that figure is generated from second-tier products -- pest strips, ant powders and so on. A niche within that second tier level is "green" products (those that are environmentally friendly and use non-toxic preparations.)
VER-PowerX is targeting that niche, which is estimated to be around $2.9 billion.
Because there are so many distribution channels that are selling pest products, even within the green niche, our group has conceived a marketing plan that involves two popular mass media methods: the infomercial, and a web site. These two media were chosen because they reach wide numbers of people and are capable of presenti...