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Marketing Plan Report for Yecup

Marketing Plan Product Assignment

MARK110 Marketing Plan Template Student Name:

Part 1: Situation Analysis (SWOT), Marketing Objectives, and Positioning

Name of product or service: Yecup

Detailed description of product/service:

Yecup is a smart travel mug that allows users to control and set the desired temperature of the contents both through controls on the mug and through a connected app on their android or iOS device. The mug will the heat or cool the contents to this desired temperature and then maintain this temperature. (Yecup Technologies, 2015)

Version 1.0 Specifications: (Yecup Technologies, 2015)

• Device Care: Hand washable only

• Dimensions: 20cm/8in tall, 6.5cm/2.6in diameter, 295ml/10oz water capacity Weight: 226 grams / 0.5 lbs

• Battery information: Li-Pol 6000mAh (3-8 hours life)

• Charging method: Micro-usb or by special rapid-charge device Connectivity: Bluegiga BLE 4.0 Bluetooth, range 100-200ft

• Special features:

o “Selfie” button connects to phone camera

o Can use mug to charge phone up to 2x

o Connected app for iOS and Andriod devices to control mug and receive notifications

o Colours: Royal Dark Blue, Flaming Orange, Black Onyx

Version 2.0 Specifications: (Yecup Technologies, 2016)

• Device Care: Hand washable only

• Dimensions: 22cm/8.66in tall, 7cm/2.75in diameter, 354ml/12oz or 414ml/14oz capacity

• Weight: 350 grams empty

• Battery information: Li-pol 5Ah (2x 5000mAh) 3-8hrs life

• Charging method: Wireless (5hrs) or with fast-charge device (2.5hrs)

• Connectivity: Bluegiga BLE 4.0 Bluetooth, range 100-200ft

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• Temperature range: 10°C - 70°C / 50°F-158°F

• Special features:

o Rapid (2x) heating/cooling speed when plugged in

o Control buttons and temperature indicator on mug for use without app

o Additional colours: to be announced

o Charge phone/tablet up to 3x

Current stage of product/service development:

 Crowd funding through Indiegogo with expected release date of November 2015. Update section of Indiegogo website states all contributors from first campaign will receive updated product version 2.0. To date all original backers are still waiting for product. (Yecup Technologies, 2015)

 Second round of crowd funding through Indiegogo with updated product design. Estimated release date of November 2016.

(Yecup Technologies, 2016)

Strengths and weaknesses can include such factors as financial and capital resources, management/employee expertise,

capacity for growth, brand recognition, existing networks, customer relationships, sustainability, etc.

1. Strengths (INTERNAL, favourable)

• Creating environmentally friendly product from quality components (Yecup Technologies, 2015)

• Strong marketing platform: (Yecup Technologies, 2016)

o free global shipping

o free press kits to tech review sites to promote product

• Taking advantage of social media and online marketing to promote product (Yecup Technologies, 2015)

2. Weaknesses (INTERNAL, unfavourable)

• Misleading advertising: Claims to boil water (100°C) but then lists max temperature at 70°C (Weiss, 2016)

• Use of royalty-free open-source logo could have negative impact on brand recognition (Mkrtchyan, n.d.)

• Younger, less experienced team. (Yecup Technologies, 2015)

• Founder mini-biography states he successfully started and currently runs his own coffee company called “Yecoffee” (Yecup Technologies, 2016). However, further searches on founders LinkedIn profile shows Yecoffee business was active for only 6 months. (Sanahyan, 2016)

• Promoting product before receiving FDA Approval. (Yecup Technologies, 2015)

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Opportunities (EXTERNAL, favourable)

i. Competitive Opportunities:

• First travel mug to offer battery-powered cooling technology (Weiss, 2016)

• High consumer demand for quality travel mugs (Nassauer, 2015)

ii. Legal/Regulatory Opportunities:

• No legal or regulatory opportunities identified

iii. Economic Opportunities:

• 3.5% increase in consumer spending on recreation between April 2015 and April 2016. (BC Stats, 2016)

• Many coffee shops offer discounts for consumers bringing own re-usable mug (Morales, 2016)

iv. Social Opportunities:

• Popularity of travel mugs as a status icon or a member of club recognized since 1980’s. (Brown, 1989)

• Product has been highly talked about on tech websites as promoted on Indiegogo website. (Yecup

Technologies, 2016)

v. Demographic Opportunities:

• No demographic opportunities identified

vi. Technological Opportunities:

• 81% of consumers use the internet to research products before making purchase decisions. (Janakiram, 2014)

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Threats (EXTERNAL, unfavourable)

i. Competitive Threats:

• Similar product about to be released to market: Ember Mug (Ember Technologies, 2015)

• Simpler and cheaper temperature controlled mugs already on the market (Princess, 2012)

• Many quality travel mugs without technology already on market, most only cost around $30 (Gear Patrol, 2013)

ii. Legal/Regulatory Threats:

• Bluetooth connected devices still vulnerable to hacking by 3rd parties. (Corella, 2015)

• Products containing lithium-ion battery types have been recalled by established companies such as Panasonic due to battery overheating problems. (Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2016)

iii. Economic Threats:

• Consumer debt-to-disposable-income ratio increased from 163.87 to 167.70 in 2015. (Statistics Canada, 2016)

• Since 2008 recession consumers, especially those in the 35-54 age range, have reduced spending habits and spend more time searching for bargains. (Business Development Bank of Canada, 2013)

iv. Social Threats:

• Consumer feedback from Yecup product announcements skeptical about practicality of product and high purchase price for product. (Cervantes, 2016)

• Increased sedentary lifestyle results in only around 15% of adults meeting recommended physical activity guidelines. (Larouche, Faulkner, & Tremblay, 2016)

v. Demographic Threats:

• Aging populations use technology less as they get older due to factors such as skepticism, physical challenges related to aging, and slower learning curves. (Smith, 2014)

vi. Technological Threats:

• Technology changing at an exponential rate continually threatens to make current technological products obsolete. (Big Think, 2015)

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Target Market: Which British Columbia market segments are most likely to purchase product/service, and why? Address all relevant geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioural variables. Based on your research, what is the approximate size of your target market within British Columbia? Demographic:

• Adults aged 25-49 of both genders – 2015 population for this age range is 1,570,851 (BC Stats, 2015)

• Income: $35,000 and up – consumers likely need to be earning more than “living wage” to afford the product (Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria, 2016)

• Education: Minimum 1-2 years of post-secondary education

• Occupation: Professionals, students, travelers, athletes (Startup Compete, 2016)

• Household: Singles or couples without children

• Ethnic background: Any

• Marital status: Any

Psychographic:

• Attitudes: Environmentally friendly and re-usable products.

• Interests: Gadgets, social media

• Activities: Outdoor activities like camping, hiking, biking. Commuting to and from work.

• Values: Maintaining popularity and higher status amongst peers

• Lifestyle: On-the-go, work-hard play-hard

Geographic: (Startup Compete, 2016)

• Region: Lower BC mainland and southern Vancouver Island

• Living in cities, urban, or suburban areas

Behavioural:

• Occasion for use: Commuting, work, play

• Benefits sought: Lifestyle improvement

• Usage rate: Frequent

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Objectives: Based your target market, and considering the various competitive, economic, and other external environmental factors described in your SWOT analysis, what are reasonable objectives for unit sales and market share within the Province of British Columbia?

• after 3 months: 200 units sold

• after 6 months: 600 units sold

• after 12 months: 2000 units sold

Provide a rationale for your sales objectives, explaining why you feel these objectives are realistic.

• Around 134 travel mugs ordered from original Indiegogo fundraiser over 3 month period. (Yecup Technologies, 2015)

• Second Indiegogo fundraiser has raised $282,237 over 2 months and currently offering each mug at $159. (Yecup Technologies, 2016) $282,237 / $159 = around 1,775 mugs sold.

• Direct competitor product Ember raised $ 361,691 over 4 months on Indiegogo, around 2,529 mugs were ordered through this fundraiser. (Ember Technologies, 2015)

• Based off the above numbers from the two fundraiser campaigns for Yecup plus the fundraiser campaign for the direct competitor Ember, I predict that the Yecup would have fairly low unit sales in BC and will not be able attain a sizeable market share.

Differentiation and positioning: What makes product/service unique and how does it compare to competition?

• First travel mug to offer the ability to lower temperature of mug contents. (Startup Compete, 2016) • Greater temperature range 50°F-158°F (Yecup Technologies, 2016)compared to direct competitor Ember mug

which is only 120°F-145°F. (Rhodes, 2015)

Issues/Concerns: What key questions or concerns need to be answered or addressed?

• Product name does not really sell or describe product

• Product redesign to be more simple and durable as currently a protective sleeve is needed to wash Yecup and

the company offers carry bag to protect Yecup from weather (Yecup Technologies, 2016)

• Product price quite high, which limits potential target market size

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References BC Stats. (2015, July). Population estimates. Retrieved from BC Stats:

http://bcstats.gov.bc.ca/StatisticsBySubject/Demography/PopulationEstimates.aspx

BC Stats. (2016, April). Consumer Price Index / Household Spending BC. Retrieved from BC Stats: http://bcstats.gov.bc.ca/Files/ce86ddc6-

7486463a-9d9b-1d167cd579d6/ConsumerPriceIndexhighlightsApril2016.pdf

Big Think. (2015). Big idea: Technology grows exponentially. Retrieved from Big Think: http://bigthink.com/think-tank/big-idea-

technologygrows-exponentially

Brown, P. L. (1989, January 5). Commuting: Have mug, will travel. Retrieved from New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/05/garden/commuting-have-mug-will-travel.html

Business Development Bank of Canada. (2013, October). Mapping your future growth: Five game-changing consumer trends. Retrieved from

Business Development Bank of Canada: https://www.bdc.ca/Resources%20Manager/study_2013/consumer_trends_BDC_report.pdf

Cervantes, E. (2016, April 3). Crowdfunding project of the week: Yecup 365 mug can heat or cool your drink on demand. Retrieved from Andriod

Authority: http://www.androidauthority.com/crowdfunding-project-of-the-week-yecup-683745/

Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria. (2016, April 27). Living wage and living wage employers program. Retrieved from

Community Social Planning Council: http://communitycouncil.ca/initiatives/livingwage

Consumer Product Safety Commission. (2016, March 21). Panasonic recalls lithium-ion laptop battery packs due to fire hazard. Retrieved from

Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2016/Panasonic-Recalls-Lithium-ion-Laptop-Battery-Packs/

Corella, F. (2015, June 3). Has Bluetooth Become Secure? Retrieved from Pomcor: https://pomcor.com/2015/06/03/has-bluetooth-

becomesecure/

Ember Technologies. (2015, October). Ember - Temperature adjustable mug. Retrieved from Indiegogo:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ember-temperature-adjustable-mug#/

Gear Patrol. (2013, February 19). 10 best mugs for the morning commute. Retrieved from Gear Patrol:

http://gearpatrol.com/2013/02/19/5best-commuter-travel-mugs/?read_single=1

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Janakiram, S. (2014, November 21). 27 ways to MOTIVATE shoppers who research online TO BUY. Retrieved from MineWhat:

http://minewhat.com/blog/motivate-shoppers-who-research-online-to-buy/

Larouche, R., Faulkner, G., & Tremblay, M. S. (2016, April 20). Active travel and adults’ health: The 2007-to-2011 Canadian Health Measures

Surveys. Retrieved from Statistics Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2016004/article/14490-eng.htm

Mkrtchyan, A. (n.d.). Yerevan logo - In an informal, alternative identification. Retrieved May 2016, from Ye logo: http://yerevanlogo.com/

Morales, M. (2016, April 7). Why You're Still Not Using that Reusable Coffee Mug. Retrieved from The Tyee:

http://thetyee.ca/Culture/2016/04/07/Reusable-Coffee-Mug/

Nassauer, S. (2015, December 22). Search for elusive ‘Yeti’ daunting for holiday shoppers. Retrieved from The Wall Street Journal:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/search-for-elusive-yeti-daunting-for-holiday-shoppers-1450780201?mod=e2fb

Princess. (2012, February 12). Princess international PI170 stainless steel smart mug with temperature control. Retrieved from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.ca/Princess-International-Stainless-Temperature-Control/dp/B000EY5CGO

Rhodes, M. (2015, October 2015). This Mug Keeps Your Coffee a Constant Temperature for Hours. Retrieved from Wired:

http://www.wired.com/2015/10/this-mug-keeps-your-coffee-a-constant-temperature-for-hours/

Sanahyan, V. (2016). Vigen Sanahyan. Retrieved from LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vigen-sanahyan-7a0402a0

Smith, A. (2014, April 3). Older Adults and Technology Use. Retrieved from Pew Research Centre:

http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/04/03/older-adults-and-technology-use/

Startup Compete. (2016, February 4). Yecup. Retrieved from Startup Compete: http://startupcompete.co/startup-idea/consumer-

goodsenergy/yecup/41120

Statistics Canada. (2016, March 11). Households and non-profit institutions serving household sector indicators – Market value, not seasonally

adjusted. Retrieved from Statistics Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/160311/t002b-eng.htm

Weiss, C. (2016, April 1). Yecup 365 travel mug brings drinks to preferred temp – hot or cold. Retrieved from Gizmag:

http://www.gizmag.com/yecup-365-heat-cool-mug/42563/

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Yecup Technologies. (2015, May). Yecup: The World's First Connected Smart Cup. Retrieved from Indiegogo:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/yecup-the-world-s-first-connected-smart-cup#/

Yecup Technologies. (2016, March). Yecup 365: Your All Season Smart Mug. Retrieved from Indiegogo:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/yecup-365-your-all-season-smart-mug#/