Product Development Blog

What is it?

The product development stage helps convert a business idea, a product or a service, into a physical offering that can be manufactured and sold by the organisation (Beech & Chadwick, 2007). According to Mullin, Hardy and Sutton (2000) the product development stage made up of these sub stages:

·         Product Construction & Packaging Decisions: Decisions on materials, production options, plant capacity, alternative sizes & colours, functions performed.

·         Branding Decisions: Name of product, logo, exclusivity, trademark protection and image sought, which will be elaborated in market testing.

·         Product Positioning: Establish target market and relative position in the market compared to competitors.

·         Attitude & usage testing: Tests to establish consumers’ perceptions and satisfaction, and conducting rigorous functional and customer tests before products enter the market place.

Examples

Warrior Football - Warrior recently entered the football market having previously only been involved in Ice Hockey and a few other sports as described by Perkins (2012. P.65). They chose to position themselves as a direct competitor to Nike and Adidas by sponsoring Liverpool FC and high profile players like Vincent Kompany. Their branded boots have a distinctive style which makes them stand out on the field in comparison with other boots and this was likely part of their product development strategy. 

Adidas F50 -  Another example of product development is the Adidas F50 adiZero III football boots (Adidas 2013), which use a 'Sprint Skin' technology which makes them lighter and therefore more desireable to the user. These boots may costs Adidas slightly more to develop and manufacture but it allows Adidas to charge a higher retail price (£160) due to the perceptions of the customer being heightened when they read about this technology or see professionals wearing the boots.

My product- Cone King

Construction and packaging – I have gone for a strong bright orange, plastic product which can be easily mass-produced and stands out. The trigger system will drop the cones when pressed and will work using wires down the pole.

Branding- The name “Cone King” as the word king symbolises quality and power and suggests my product is the best. The logo is bright and catchy in order to attract attention in a crowded and competitive industry. It is orange, like the actual product, because this colour is often used for training products as it is easy to see and stands out.

Product Positioning – My product will initially be marketed as a relatively luxury item, compared to other basic training products. However due to its relative low cost it will be accessible to all and as stated in the business analysis it will be marketed at grassroots clubs, through sponsorship deals with professional teams. The perceptual map shows the products positioning relative to other training products in terms of luxury and target market. It has a similar positioning to agility poles.

Attitude and Usage testing -   In lab testing of the prototype on durability and functionality before passing it on to a tester team that will test the Cone King in everyday coaching conditions. The stand will be further refined before market testing for consumer perceptions on different designs and packaging options.

Reference list

Adidas, (2013) Adidas F50 Adizero. Available at: http://www.adidas.co.uk/mens-f50-adizero-trx-fg-boots/D67203_590.html

Beech, J.G. & Chadwick, S. (2007) The Marketing of Sport. Harlow: Prentice Hall

Mullin, B., Hardy, S., Sutton, W. (2000) Sport Marketing 3rd edition

Perkins, B.  (2012). Vincent Kompany Training in Warrior Sports Prototype Boot. Soccer Reviews. 12th July. Available at: http://soccerreviews.com/news/unreleased-warrior-sports-skreamer-klite/