Tag Archives: product line

by | Tuesday, June 4, 2024 · 10:58 am

Legos: They’re Not Just for Kids Anymore

Has it been a while since you played with Legos? Maybe you think of Legos as a ‘kid toy’ and think it’s too juvenile. Well, there are surprises in store for you. Adult fans of Lego (known as AFOL) are big business these days. Lego has aimed ads at older builders with the slogan “Adults Welcome.”

The best part for Lego is the price of the adult kits – think $850 for a Millennium Falcon kit, $680 for a Lego Titanic kit, and $250 for a working typewriter. Or maybe you would rather replicate that wonderful trip to Paris with an Eiffel tower kit for $630. Packaged in sleek black boxes, the packaging helps identify the kit for adult builders.

The company has 142 sets designed for adults (out of 926 current sets). Sales to adults have helped Lego increase revenue and more than double sales to $9.7 billion last year. This is no doubt partly driven by child fans who grew up and continued their love of the brick. Collaborations with franchises such as Star Wars, Marvel, Batman, and  automotive companies such as Mercedes and Porsche have helped keep the kits fresh and exciting.

Lego is also a master at branding; there is a TV show called “Lego Masters” as well as the Lego movie.  And the kits are not all sci-fi and warrior based for males; the company has a large range of sets for plants and flowers in its botanical collection which are very popular with female builders. And, lest we forget, Lego also welcomes suggestions from fans for new sets and designs.

One of my favorites is the $400 Grand Piano with moveable keys and strings and a free Powered Up app that lets the piano play tunes.

Let’s build!

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: Does anyone build Lego products? Why? Why not?
  2. View Lego website: https://www.lego.com/en-us
  3. Define the target market for adult Legos. Include demographic, psychographic, values, attitudes, etc.
  4. Based on the target market profile, develop a marketing program to reach the target.
  5. What tactics should be used?
  6. Divide students into teams. Have each team develop an idea for a new adult Lego set.
  7. How should this set be marketed?

Source: Moss, ,T. (18 April 2024). $850 Millennium Falcons and $680 Titanics: Grown-ups are now a gold mine for Lego. Wall Street Journal.

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by | Wednesday, April 3, 2024 · 7:15 am

Coca-Cola Introduces New Spiced Flavor Drink

Coca-Cola has been selling its soda for more than 132 years. That’s quite a successful run, but the company knows it cannot rest with regards to product development. New products and flavors are needed in order to keep up with changing consumer tastes.

It’s been three years since Coca-Cola launched a new, permanent flavor. That’s about to change with the launch of “Coca-Cola Spiced” – a new drink with flavors of raspberry and spice that comes in both regular and zero sugar versions.

The company stated that the flavor is its “boldest tasting brand innovation” and provides an “uplifting taste experience unlike any other.” Coca-Cola also stated that the new flavor was developed in only seven weeks (it usually takes 12 months to develop a new product). The flavor is part of a product line of Coca-Cola drinks including classic Coke, Coke Vanilla, and Cherry Vanilla.

Why a new flavor? Consumers are on the look-out for something new to drink, and it’s not always a soda they want. There has been an increase in sales of seltzer water and other flavored drinks. The new, spicy drink is in response to changing American tastes for spicier snacks, and also is a way to get younger drinkers to adopt the brand.

According to Beverage Digest, the growth in flavored waters and juices has grown by roughly 3%, while traditional Coca-Cola sodas have grown only 1%. Using data from its Freestyle drink machines, the company noted that raspberry flavor was selected more than five million times in 2020.

While Coca-Cola has sold a number of short-term creations such as Coca-Cola K-Wave Zero Sugar, Coca-Cola Happy Tears Zero Sugar, Marshmello’s Limited Edition Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, and more, none have been permanent additions.

What is your opinion of the new flavor?

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Instructors: Bring the new Coca-Cola drink to class for students to sample.
  2. Have students do a taste test about the flavor. What are their opinions?
  3. Show Coca-Cola’s website: https://www.coca-cola.com/us/en/offerings/coca-cola-spiced
  4. Show video of the new flavor launch: https://youtu.be/TFRwYvOFWa4?si=BLuLHBX2jGSD9kmU
  5. Discuss how to develop a product positioning map. Review key aspects of mapping, including determining the axis labels for positioning.
  6. Review Coca-Cola Spiced. What products are competitors?
  7. Divide students into teams and have team develop a positioning map for Coca-Cola Spiced.
  8. Debrief the exercise.

Source: Durbin, D. (7 February 2024). Coke introduces new raspberry flavored ‘Coca-Cola Spiced’. Associated Press; Shafiq, S. (19 February 2024). ‘Coke with a twist’” What is Coca-Cola Spiced and when can you try it? USA Today; Valinksky, J. (7 February 2024). Coke’s first new permanent flavor in years adds a spicy twist. CNN Business; other news sources.

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by | Tuesday, November 7, 2023 · 7:00 am

Hoka – The Ugly Shoe Everyone is Buying

Consumers love something different, at least some of the time. But then other times, it is difficult to get them to switch their buying habits. On average, consumers buy the same 150 items fairly consistently. That means it is difficult for new products to get buyers to shift their buying to another product.

Think about it. What are the brands you buy regularly? Now, what might it take to get you to buy an entirely new brand and substitute it for one of your beloved products? It can be tough going to gain acceptance for new products, particularly products that look as different as Hoka shoes.

In 2012, sales of Hoka shoes were approximately $3 million. A little over a decade later, Hoka shoes sales in the past fiscal year were $1.4 billion. That’s a huge jump in sales and loyalty for a very peculiar looking athletic shoe.

Everyone who buys Hoka shoes seem to like them – runners, waiters, workers, teens, even grandparents. Why? Well, the first thing is that the shoe has to be comfortable and perform as required. Hoka shoes also come in vibrant colors and have a hefty foam sole. But still, it’s a big departure from the sleek-looking Nike shoes that dominate the market.

One of Hoka’s main strategies was to grow slowly. Yes, you read that right. Slowly. The company deliberately grew slowly by keeping supply below demand and maintaining selective distribution.

The company founders also deliberately made the shoes bigger than most athletic shoes. The shoes have been described as clown-like, bloated, bulbous, wacky, and just plain ugly. But, the shoes performed. Running stores couldn’t keep them in stock. And the company maximized on direct-to-consumer, skipping the big-box stores. When the company did move to stores such as Foot Locker and Dick’s Sporting Goods, it waited until consumers already knew about Hokas.

They may look clownish, but are you ready to run in them?

 Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

  1. Poll students: What athletic shoes do they have? What do they like? Dislike?
  2. Does anyone have Hoka shoes? Why or why not?
  3. Show Hoka Shoes website: https://www.hoka.com/en/us/
  4. Why did a slow growing strategy and limited distribution work for Hoka?
  5. Discuss competition for Hoka.
  6. What are the direct competitors? Indirect competitors?
  7. Divide students into teams. Have each team compare Hoka shoes with a competitive product.
  8. Students should also develop a positioning map for athletic shoes. Where in the map would Hoka shine versus competitors?
  9. What are the key points of difference?
  10. How should Hoka be marketing its shoes?

Source: Cohen, B. (22 June 2023). The ugly shoes now worth billions of dollars. Wall Street Journal.

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