Stage 6- Product Development

The New Product Development Process

Stage 6- Product Development

The New-Product Development Process (NDP) is outlined above by Kotler & Keller (2012).

Product development occurs when a concept is converted into a physical offering or when the service is created (Beech & Chadwick, 2007). The product development stage of a new sports product/format is made up of numerous stages; product construction, packaging, branding, product positioning and attitude and usage testing. (Mullin et al, 2000).

The research and design department of an organisation aim to design a prototype that will satisfy potential target consumer needs, and one in which can be produced quickly and at budgeted costs (Kotler and Armstrong 2012).

The aim of the research and design department is to design a prototype that performs safely and is able to be produced within the budgeted manufacturing costs and also includes the following (Kotler & Keller, 2012):

·       -  Product Construction & Packaging Decisions

·         -Branding Decisions

·         -Product Positioning

·         -Attitude & Usage Testing

Example of Product Development

Cricket is a sport where attendance at games is decreasing. The traditional 5 day format (test match cricket) is becoming increasingly less popular for spectators. 40 over cricket is a relatively new format of cricket which has been developed to try and increase public interest in cricket. 

In this format each side has one innings and the aim is to set the highest score possible in just 40 overs. “It's the ideal amount of time to pack in plenty of action while also giving players a chance to construct innings and making for a better spectator experience.” (Crowe, 2014). 

The target market was of the younger population and families and it was positioned alongside T20 cricket as it shares the party atmosphere and friendly environment. 

Branding decisions such as the logo (see Figure 1) and the name of the format are simple and self-explanatory which suits its target market of the younger population.

Figure 1

Quick Baseball

To develop my new sport format- Quick Baseball, I will use the considerations outlined by (Kotler & Keller, 2012):

·        - Product Construction & Packaging Decisions; The cost will be minimal as Quick Baseball can be played with the same equipment and on the same field as regular baseball.

·       -  Branding Decisions; my new format will be called ‘Quick Baseball’ it will be played by MLB teams and tickets have to be purchased to watch Quick Baseball so it is exclusive. Also at this stage I have developed a logo for Quick Baseball (see Figure 2).

·         -Product Positioning; I will select a market segment and position the new format against competitors. (See Appendix A for Perceptual Map).

·         -Attitude Usage & Testing; My brand will perform differently to MLB because my target market is the younger population and these will be my frequent customers. I want them to have the perception that Quick Baseball is a quick, free-flowing game. Therefore customer needs will be different to MLB, I want to keep my customers satisfied by creating a party-like atmosphere which will keep them entertained.

Figure 2

Words- 498

References

Anderson, J., Anderson, J., Romanowski, D., Kreinces, E. and Isaacson, B. (2014). Customer Usage & Attitudes « MMR Strategy Group. [online] Mmrstrategy.com. Available at: http://mmrstrategy.com/marketing-research/usage-and-attitude-studies/ [Accessed 11 Dec. 2014].

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

Crowe, M. (2014). [online] Available at: Cricinfo, (2014). Martin Crowe: Forty overs is one-day cricket's future. [online] Available at: http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/713821.html [Accessed 11 Dec. 2014]. [Accessed 11 Dec. 2014].

Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L. (2012) Marketing Management. Global Edn. Harlow: Pearson Education

Mullin, B., Hardy, S., Sutton, W. (2000) Sport Marketing. Illinois: Human Kinetics

Statista, (2014). Major U.S. sports leagues: average attendance 2013-2014 | Statistic. [online] Available at: http://www.statista.com/statistics/207458/per-game-attendance-of-major-us-sports-leagues/ [Accessed 11 Dec. 2014].

Appendix

Appendix A- Perceptual Map of Sport Attendance in the USA

My market segment will be very similar to MLB so I will be targeting the younger population as they attend MLB games more regularly that the older population as the perceptual map above shows.