Observing/Thinking About Marketing

MEMO

To : Mr . Colin Rouche

Chief Executive Officer

PenAgain , Inc

From : Jane Smith

Marketing Intern

Re : Market Segmentation , Targeting , and Positioning of Pen Products in Staples

On my second trip to Staples , I noted that writing implements are usually divided into six categories : pens , markers , pencils highlighters , fine writing , and correction materials . Within the pen category , products are categorized based on their different features and the consumer needs that these features address . For instance , Uni-ball Sharpie , Pentel , and Pilot 's rollerball pens come in fade-proof and

waterproof ink to prevent running off on . Although this is a common feature of almost all basic pens that I examined , Uni-ball is particularly targeted towards people who use pens for check writing while Sharpie , Pentel , and Pilot 's products are meant primarily for individuals who hate to mess up their writing with ink smears . Likewise both Uni-ball and Pilot have pens that are distinctive for their steel styling and sleeker appearance which cater to professionals who want to extend this image to the pen they use . Gel pens , markers , and highlighters usually had the same feature ball point and rollerball pens had , but they usually had more colorful cases than the pens

On the other hand , the most notable difference among the pens was price Basic pens were usually priced lower than pens that had additional features or more distinctive appearances . In this aspect , BIC and Sharpie lead the mass market pen category with their lower priced pen products . Uniball also had cheaper versions of their own product but Uniball , along with Pilot and Pentel demanded a higher premium for the additional features of their pens , such as higher ink quality , better design and style , and image . It is safe to assume that BIC and Sharpie pens are intended for individuals who bought pens for more utilitarian purposes , such as businesses , mothers , and other people who were after the savings generated by these brands ' cheaper prices and do not care much about the pen 's features as long as it writes . In the same manner it can be surmised that Pilot , Uniball and Pental are after individuals who are more discerning about pen quality and style because they use it a lot in their daily activities . For instance , students , teachers , and artists , are more aware about the differences between a pen 's design and ink differences than other people , and are more likely to look for better writing instruments A perceptual map of the pen product would therefore look like this

Cheap pens : features and brands (traditional pen design , smooth flowing ink , rubberized grip ( BIC , Uniball , Sharpie

Middle-priced pens : features and brands ( additional features : distinctive style such as metal accents on traditional straight design , water-proof ink , rubberized or embossed grip ( Uniball , Pilot , Pentel Meanwhile , the products that are most likely to compete with PenAgain 's features are Pilot 's V-Ball Grip products and Uniball 's Jetstream line of pens , which feature rubber grips and embossed grips , respectively for their supposed ability...