Hi-Tec Case Study

1. Product with a feature not offered by competitors that gives it distinctive appeal in the marketplace.

 
2. Hi-Tec shoes have always had a high technology focus. The brand’s unique selling proposition now also emphasises the company’s four core values:
 •hungry, as there is always a desire to improve products
 •proud, as Hi-Tec delivers more than the competition
 •honest, as products deliver on their promises

 • fun, as it works creatively to provide positive solutions

Over the last two years Hi-Tec has undertaken a market research programme. The company wanted to know how best to encourage consumers to engage emotionally with Hi-Tec products. It wanted its brand to be recognised both for sports and also for an outdoor lifestyle.


3. Hi-Tec develops attractive and comfortable shoes which are lightweight and high quality. They are sold in the mid-price market segment.Hi-Tec adapts its marketing mix for each of its main market segments. Examples of its approach in specific markets include: The junior market – this is a strong sector for Hi-Tec and it offers hard-wearing shoes on the high street at prices to attract parent purchasers.

4. Hi-Tec has targeted consumers through collaborations with several organisations. It has set up partnerships with the UK’s National Trust (to promote a new walking boot) as well as with the Caravanning Club (an audience who might be interested in instantly comfortable and lightweight outdoor footwear).Hi-Tec uses many different methods of marketing communications and above the line and below-the-line promotion to achieve this goal.

5. Liquid Mountaineering aims to create a sense of adventure and push back physical boundaries. At the centre of the campaign is a video commissioned by Hi-Tec which went live on YouTube in May 2010. This video 'documentary' shows three men apparently running on water. They achieve this miraculous feat thanks to their water-repellent shoes.To date (November 2010), the video has attracted more than 7.5 million viewers. It has been heavily featured in the press, including The Sun, Daily Star, and The Guardian, as well as on television channels around the world, including Rude Tube. This has opened up the Hi-Tec brand to a worldwide audience. Hi-Tec has also received very positive feedback on the campaign from
trade organisations. This has boosted awareness and reinforced the fun element of the Hi-Tec brand.The ongoing marketing campaign for ‘shoes that love water’ will encourage consumers to consider buying Hi-Tec products.

Digital Communications Trends– the new promotion

Blendtec Will it Blend?
http://www.willitblend.com/ Website.


is a viral marketing campaign consisting of a series of infomercials demonstrating the Blendtec line of
blenders especially the Total Blender. In the show Tom Dickson the Blendtec founder attempts to blend 
various unusual items in order to show off the power of his blender. Dickson started this marketing campaign after doing a blending experiment with a box of matches in October 2006, it has attracted more than 160 million views. Has been featured on major mainstream media outlets like The Today Show, The Tonight Show, The History Channel, The Wall Street Journal and others. Within five days of posting their videos on YouTube and on their own website, the videos had garnered six millions YouTube views. To further boost the spread of the videos, Blendtec later began to purchase advertising with Google and Yahoo! and they have carefully chosen YouTube tags in order to bring in the largest number of search engine hits. At least 10 television appearances (NBC, CBS, Fox, WGN, History Channel, Discovery Channel, etc)Keynote Speeches (Ad Age Idea Conference , PubCon 2008, Hewlett Packard, etc) Print and Electronic Media Articles (Wall Street Journal, Salon.com, Scientific American, Businessweek, etc) Global Media Interviews News Blogs Co-Promotionals (Nike, Google, AT&T, Weezer, Novell, etc)At least 10 other television publicity events (Food Network, ABC Australia, BBC World,CNBC News, etc) Blendtec now sells Will It Blend? merchandise, including a spoof shirt with the slogan "Tom Dickson is my Homeboy".Theres  all sorts of blogs and ads and there's a contest on pinterest and a lot of people are aware of this viral compaign. Radio station KDRF (eD-FM) in Albuquerque, New Mexico enlisted Tom Dickson to do a Will It Blend? version to promote the radio station. The three 30-second commercials show different styles of music CDs being blended showcasing the station's variety format. 
As far as awards Will it Blend? has been nominated for the 2007 YouTube award for Best Series winner of .Net Magazine's 2007 Viral Video campaign of the year and winner of the Bronze level Clio Award for Viral Video in 2008. The iPhone episode of Will It Blend? won Ad of the Week in episode 8 of the Australian show The Gruen Transfer. As of February 21, 2012, the Blendtec series of videos had collected a total of 188,170,865 views on YouTube.

Ipad- BlendTec-Will it blend http://youtu.be/lAl28d6tbko

7 Main Types of Promotion

Personal SellingAdvantage- Allows the salesperson to target the message specifically to the audience and receive immediate feedback. Disadvantage- Can not reach as many potential customers as advertising, plus the cost of each contact is much higher. 

                                                                      Direct Marketing                                                                                                                              Advantage- Quick to produce/respond, less competition, more personal, highly targeted.   Disadvantage- Junk mail, time, impact, laws, limited reach.


Advertising
Advantage- Targeted to a specific audience, more customers.  
Disadvantage- Expensive






Public Relations
Advantage- Credibility, Cost is reasonable, target market.
Disadvantage- Potential for not completing communication process.

Sponsorship

Advantage- Takes care of the financials in a certain extent.
Disadvantage-  May not be always available and may have to agree to certain terms of the sponsor.

Sales Promotion 

Advantage- Create urgency draws attention to a particular product/service, keep stock flowing.
Disadvantage- Miscommunication, price.

Digital Communications 
Advantage- less expensive, more reliable, easy to manipulate, flexible, compatible with other digital systems.
Disadvantage- Sampling Error