secondarysocialscience.wikispaces.com · Web viewIt involves a game board, playing pieces, two dice, playing cards and money. Players move around the board trying to buy resources

The Marketing Mixof GUMPTION

PRODUCTProduct DescriptionThe product Gumption is a traditional style board game that has been created by Gumption Games Limited. It involves a game board, playing pieces, two dice, playing cards and money. Players move around the board trying to buy resources and earn income whenever other players land on the resources they own.

Function of the Product:

Gumption is an educational game for students of business and economics. Players will learn about the economic resources used in production, natural, human and capital.

The game also educates students on various NZ businesses, their history, culture and opportunities for careers within these businesses.

It has educational links to Business studies across years 10 and 11 and also with years 10 and 11 Economics as ties into several standards where business types, resources and finance are the focus.

Unique Selling Point:While Gumption is similar to Monopoly there are some significant points of difference. The first is that Gumption features real New Zealand businesses rather than street names.

Each NZ business shown on the game board has economic resources that are used by that business in the production process. There are three different resources representing each business under the categories of natural, human and capital.

Product Life Cycle

Product Life Cycle Diagram for Gumption

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Gumption is currently at the end of the introduction stage of the Product Life Cycle as shown in the diagram above. The introduction stage of the Product Life Cycle began with the official launch of Gumption at the Education Expo in June 2010. Since launch there have been 850 units of Gumption sold to just over 100 schools throughout New Zealand.Gumption is still trying to build sales and expand the market for the product. They are in the process of creating product awareness so that customers become familiar with the products benefits. The game is currently selling at a high price to try and recover the high cost of developing the game.

PackagingGumption is packaged in a bright yellow box with the Gumption logo on the frontof the box together with the strap line A celebration of kiwi innovation and EnterpriseA black plastic tray is used to hold all of the game components.

The back of the box displays the key information needed for playing the game. This includes an image of the game board and an explanation of all of the game squares. There is also some information for customers about the age appropriateness of the game and thenumber of players Gumption is designed for.

The Gumption name has been registered as a Trade Mark with the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand in the class category of family board games. The Gumption logo carries the TM indicator every time it is used.

PRICEGumption is currently selling for $40.00 per game.

Price Comparison Graph for Gumption and competing board games

Gumptions pricing is slightly below the NZ edition of Monopoly at $42.00 and the Classic at $45 and the Breast Cancer edition at $50.00. The high price of the Breast Cancer edition and the classic is due to their limited supply as these board games have only been introduced for a short period of time.

These are specially created games that Monopoly has to cover the cost of development and producing over a shorter period with a limited number being created.

Monopoly also has a strong brand name that has been around for a long time. They are a game that customers are familiar with so they are able to charge a premium due to this popularity. Pricing StrategyThe graph above indicates that competitive pricing has been used.

The price of Gumption is close to the price of the Monopoly NZ Edition, which is the game that is the most similar to Gumption.

Using competitive pricing that is comparable to the competitors or just below their prices means that the price is set at a realistic level and is not under or over-priced.

PLACEDistribution ChannelsGumption is only available direct from the supplier, Gumption Games Limited.

Distribution used by competitorsMonopoly is owned by USA based company Hasbro Inc. They have a licenced manufacturer based in Australia who is responsible for the Asian and Pacific region.

Retailers will place orders with the license manufacturer either using the on-line ordering system, email or phone.

The manufacturers will send the games to distributors who will package and send bulk orders to the retail warehousing facility in NZ eg: The Warehouse will order a bulk lot of Monopoly games and will divide and deliver smaller lots of games to each Warehouse branch in NZ depending on their requirements.

Other Channels that could be used by GumptionIt would be advisable for Gumption Games Limited to try and secure retail distributors in order to grow both product awareness and sales.

PROMOTIONTarget Market

Gumption is aimed at the educational market and is mainly targeted at secondary school students. Gumption is designed as a resource to support the learning of these students. The target market for Gumption is therefore secondary school teachers who teach either economics or business.

DemographicsSecondary school teachers generally tend to be in the age range of 22 to 65 years old women.

GeographicSecondary schools throughout New Zealand located both in urban and rural areas.

Psychographic

Secondary school teachers of economics and business studies who want learning resources that are relevant and easy to use.

Promoting to the target market

The main aspects of the promotional mix of Gumption are:1. A product launch held at the education expo2. E-Commerce though www.playgumption.co.nz website3. Direct marketing brochures sent to teachers of business and economics4. Public Relations press release in nationwide weekly educational magazine

Product LaunchGumption was officially launched at the Education Expo in June 2010. This expo was held at the Auckland Show Grounds and was aimed at the education market, so was frequented by a large number of teachers from the Auckland region.

E-CommerceThe most important part of the promotional mix for Gumption is the website, www.playgumption.co.nz.

Today a website is essential for informing potential customers about the benefits of the game and allows customers to provide feedback and place orders. As teachers are often not able to access other forms of communication, a website is an ideal way of enabling teachers to gain information and order copies of the game.

An online Google search of the word gumption shows the playgumption website at number 3 on the list, with the first two sites both dictionary related sites. Achieving such a high placing on the global search engine is quite an achievement for Gumption and it suggest two things:(1) That the creator has successfully chosen a unique name for their product, and

(2) That the website has been successfully promoted as the starting point for customers.

Direct MarketingThe main way that Gumption has tried to connect with its target market is through direct mail marketing to economics and business teachers in secondary schools throughout New Zealand. The direct marketing was in the form of a glossy brochure describing Gumption, advertising the website and giving customers the opportunity to fill out an order form and post it back to the address supplied. Accompanying the brochure is an additional leaflet connecting Gumption with the New Zealand curriculum and providing quotes from teachers who had purchased the game.

Public RelationsA press release about Gumption was written and distributed in March 2011 and was picked up by two publications resulting in two news articles featuring in recent editions. The most recent was a front page article in the Education Weekly, a nationwide publication thatfocuses on the education market. And earlier an article appeared in the Eastern Courier, a small local newspaper based in South East Auckland.The benefit of this type of promotion is that it not only increases awareness of the game but it also comes at zero cost. And it also encourages readers to check out the Gumption website, which is listed in each article.