Edimax Sportswear Company’s Marketing Plan

Executive Summary

The firm is focused on penetrating the global sportswear industry in an effort to exploit the high profitability potential despite the intensity of competition. Upon entering the industry, the firm will focus on achieving its mission, which entails ‘fostering the development of sportswear culture amongst customers across different geographic, demographic and behavioural backgrounds’. To achieve its mission, Edimax will ensure that it achieves an optimal market position. Moreover, the firm will incorporate best practices in marketing such as branding, marketing strategies, and marketing schedule. The marketing campaign will aid in increasing the level of awareness in order to foster integration of sportswear apparels and footwear amongst customers.

Branding strategy

Edimax appreciates the existence of intense competition in the global sportswear industry. The competition arises from market domination by multinational companies such as Nike, Addidas, Puma, Amer Sports, Callaway Golf Company. Moreover, new firms are entering the industry being driven by the industry’s profitability potential. Despite this, Edimax is focused on increasing its annual level of profitability and market share by a margin of 30% and 15% respectively. Edimax will integrate effective brand architecture in order to increase the level of brand awareness amongst the target customers. Furthermore, adoption of brand architecture will lead to the development of a positive brand image hence establishing a strong brand loyalty and preference.

To increase the rate of brand recognition and market penetration, Edimax will adopt the family branding strategy. Based on this strategy, the company will adopt the term ‘Edimax’ as the brand name to differentiate its products from those of its competitors. However, considering that the firm will deal with different product categories because of its product diversification strategy, Edimax will ensure that the brand name ‘Edimax’ is partially used in the different product categories. Thus, the company’s sports shoes will be marketed under the brand name Edimax Soccer Shoes and Edimax Racing Shoes. Conversely, the apparels will be marketed under the brand name, Edimax Jersey, Edimax Shorts, and Edimax Pajamas.

Edimax is focused on leveraging on its sportswear products through extensive brand recognition. Subsequently, the firm will adopt an effective logo that will be effectively imprinted on all its products. The firm intends the logo to communicate speed. Therefore, the target customers will associate the firm’s sportswear products with speed. The firm will ensure that its products are of different colour in order satisfy the diverse customer tastes and preferences. Furthermore, the firm’s will adopt the statement ‘Experience Speed with Edimax’ as its slogan.

In the pursuit for high level of profitability through brand management, Edimax will integrate the concept of brand extension. This will be achieved by establishing the Edimax Sports equipment brands. Thus, the firm will manufacture different types of sports equipments such as soccer balls, golf balls, tennis balls, sports gloves, and shin pads amongst other products. This brand extension strategy will increase the firm’s sales revenue because it will attract individual and organisational customers such as sports clubs.

Marketing strategy

Edimax is motivated at developing strong brand recognition in the sportswear industry in order increase its competitive advantage. The firm’s management is of the opinion that effective marketing will foster its long-term success. In order to achieve this goal, the firm will adopt niche marketing strategy. The firm’s decision to adopt niche marketing strategy is motivated by the need to develop a strong relationship with the target market segment. The niche marketing strategy will increase the firm’s capacity to satisfy the individual customer needs and preferences. This will be attained through development of a comprehensive understanding of the customers’ needs (Chason, 2008).

Additionally, niche marketing strategy will enable Edimax to exploit its capabilities and strategies optimally in meeting the customers’ needs. Havaldar (2008) affirms that niche marketing “helps an organisation to provide such products or services that are specially tailored to the customers’ individual preferences and desires” (p. 184). Subsequently, the likelihood of Edimax maximising its return on investment through niche marketing will be increased substantially.

In a bid to succeed in its niche marketing strategy, Edimax Limited will integrate the 4Ps of marketing mix, which include price, promotion, product, and place. Thus, the product, pricing, promotion and place strategies will be tailored in such a way that they address the target niche market. Through niche marketing, Edimax will be in a position to develop a strong relationship with the target customers because of the high level of interaction that will be developed. Subsequently, Edimax will be able to increase the level of brand loyalty amongst its customers (Havaldar, 2008).

Positioning statement

Edimax management team recognises that effective product positioning plays a critical role in enhancing an organisation’s market success. According to Ferrell and Hartline (2011), positioning aids in entrenching a strong and positive mental image regarding a particular brand amongst consumers. The mental image created may be based on different product characteristics or features. Furthermore, the mental image may originate from real or perceived difference with a competing product or brand. Ferrell and Hartline (2011) further emphasise that effective product positioning acts as a defence mechanism against competing products because of the brand loyalty developed.

To attain a high completive advantage, Edimax will adopt the following positioning statement in its marketing process.

For ardent sports fans and athletes, Edimax provides comfortable, high quality and high-performance sportswear products for every sport’.

The firm is of the perception that the above positioning statement will aid in attracting sports fans and athletes. This arises from the fact that the statement communicates the firm’s commitment in delivering value and innovation to its customers. The firm intends to achieve its positioning statement within 6 months after launching the product.

Marketing science

The firm will conduct a comprehensive market research in order to understand the customers’ needs and preferences with reference to sportswear product. The market research will enable the firm to determine the product specifications that will be incorporated during the product development phase. Some of the customer taste and preference elements that will be considered during the market research process entail the level of comfort, design, innovativeness and durability. This means that the firm will be able to develop a comprehensive understanding of the customers’ needs, which means that its products will not be imposed to customers. One the contrary, the market research will enable the firm to customise its products.

In order to ensure that its products are introduced in the market successfully, Edimax will undertake a number of marketing activities in accordance with the marketing strategies. These activities will relate to product activities, promotion activities, pricing activities and distribution activities. The first phase of the marketing process is expected to be completed within 6 months. This arises from the fact that the respective activities will consume different amount of time. However, in an effort to ensure that the marketing activities are successfully completed, Edimax will undertake some of the activities concurrently as illustrated by the Gantt chart below.

Reference ListEdimax will ensure that the marketing activities outlined in the marketing schedule above are optimally implemented. This goal will be achieved by implementing milestones, which will form the basis of evaluating the success with which the activities have been undertaken. Additionally, focusing on the milestones will enable the firm to complete the marketing activities within the set timeframe. Moreover, the milestones will enable Edimax’s management team to identify possible hurdle that might obstruct its marketing activities. Subsequently, the firm will be able to undertake the necessary adjustments.

List of References

Chason, I. (2008). New marketing strategies: evolving flexible processes to fit market circumstances. London, UK: Thousand Oaks.

Ferrell, O., & Hartline, M. (2011). Marketing strategy. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage.

Havaldar, E. (2008). Business marketing; text and cases. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.