While not everyone is a musician, many other people have longed to learn a musical instrument. Some people do learn, but many others stop learning and playing way too soon. According to research from Fender Guitars, 45% of guitar sales are generated by people who have never used one before – but 95% of people who try guitar give it up in the first year. That dramatically lowers overall industry sales, and gives Fender an opportunity.
Fender Guitar has a new plan to help people learn how to play classics such as The Star Spangled Banner and other songs. The key is to get future guitarists engaged quickly. The Fender Play web site has a guided curriculum so that students can pick the style of music they want to learn, and then immediately get instruction on songs from that genre. Fender Play includes:
- A guided learning path for your musical style
- Hundreds of lessons
- High quality, close-up videos
- New songs and lessons added regularly
- Artists such as Foo Fighters, Elvis, U2, The Lumineers, and more
The service starts with a free 30-day trial period, followed by a fee of $19.99 per month. Fender Play is not limited to its own guitar players. Any guitar student can learn to play on their own instrument (but, of course Fender hopes to create future good will towards its company).
What are you waiting for? Pick up that six-string and go!
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Poll students: Who plays guitar? Who used to play guitar? Who wants to play guitar? What keeps them from playing guitar?
- Show FenderPlay site: https://www.fender.com/play
- Optional: Additional videos to show:
- Discuss the four primary marketing strategies: market penetration, market development, product development, and diversification.
- Which strategy is Fender using for this product? Why?
- Divide students into teams. Have each team select one of the four different strategies and explain why that strategy could be used to market Fender guitars.
- Have each team determine the marketing mix (4Ps) to support their strategy choice.
Source: Brandchannel.com
