Maritime Marketing Plan
Executive Summary
Maritime Dog Company is a budding high-end dog accessory brand with a focus on the unique and beautifully historic Maritime culture. This type of niche brand has high potential to attract a wide range of customers, and offers many opportunities for creative partnerships and marketing campaigns.
Convex Consulting has compiled a general marketing plan with a focus on the type of consumers MDC is after. This marketing plan focuses on the unique position of the brand, and the endless possibilities for spreading the word about all MDC has to offer.
Target Customers
Maritime Dog Co. plans to build up a strong network of customers with a shared passion for their dogs, and an interest in Maritime culture. As a high-end brand, MDC will target consumers with higher levels of disposable income.
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There is a growing trend of single or newly married young adults becoming parents to a dog before entering the world of having children, which is a target population with high potential as customers. While those from the Maritime region or with a special connection to Maritime Culture are obvious members of the target population, there is also high potential to incorporate the large tourist population into the possible customer base.
In short, the three main target populations for Maritime Dog Company are young consumers without children, dog owners with a strong passion for Maritime culture, and consumers who visit the region as tourists. Of course, the common thread between all customers will be a love of their dogs, and an interest in Maritime culture.
Unique Selling Proposition
In an increasingly crowded market, it is key that Maritime Dog Company has a signature characteristic that will appeal to the target population. At Convex Consulting, we see the niche connection and dedication to Maritime culture as that distinguishable characteristic. There are no other high-end dog companies with a focus on the beautiful Maritime culture.
Not only is the focus on the culture unique, the culture itself lends so many special opportunities to the brand. Integrating a culture into a brand gives it a personality that resonates with people while they are spending time in the region, and creates a sense of nostalgia when not immersed in the culture. MDC has the unique opportunity to make products that become representative of Maritime Culture, and help people to remember the memories that they have created in the Maritimes.
Joint Ventures & Partnerships
Convex Consulting sees great promise in partnerships as marketing opportunities for this business venture. Specifically, we propose MDC forge relationships with certain bloggers that share interests and lifestyles with the vision of the brand.
There are three blogs based in the new england coastal region of the United States with a focus on lifestyle and fashion, which frequently incorporate their dogs into their posts and business endeavors. Carly Heitlinger of The College Prepster, Mackenzie Horan of Design Darling, and Sarah Vickers of Classy Girls Wear Pearls have a combined social media following of over 800,000 people.
Each of these bloggers have dogs (Ms. Heitlinger actually has two) and have been open to sponsorships including their pets in the past. With Ms. Heitlinger, the mom to toy poodles Teddy and Hamilton and Ms. Horan, the mom to golden doodle Rory, we see sponsorship opportunities to promote your products and spread the word beyond the Maritime region. Both full-time bloggers have partnered with the Barbour brand to promote their line of pet accessories. Something as simple as sending a few complimentary items to both bloggers could result in great publicity and an increased customer pool.
Ms. Vickers happens to be the co-owner of a clothing brand that also sells a few pet accessories. She and her husband, Keil James Patrick, have a huge social media following and have successfully built a clothing, jewelry, and accessory brand in the past seven years. Based in Newport, Rhode Island, their company and brand are focused around the New England coastal lifestyle. They currently sell bandanas, collars, and leashes for pets and promote their products with their own golden retriever, Bennie. MDC could do partnerships with KJP and possibly produce a guest line of bandanas with certain Maritime-themed patterns or incorporate some signature items of the brand into their pattern/color scheme.