Group assignment

MKTG-305

Professor Newman

9 December 2016

Children Club

Introduction.

Keg’s Casino and Club for Kids is a great resort for families. It has the features of a Chuck E. Cheese or a John’s Incredible Pizza with a slight adult twist. Also for the following ages, 13 and up.

(Nawaf Zeriban’s part)

· History

For more than 150 years, clubs have been helping kids reach their full potential. The idea of children clubs emerged back in 1860. Boys & Girls Clubs of America had its beginnings in 1860 with three women in Hartford, Conn.:  Mary Goodwin, Alice Goodwin and Elizabeth Hammersley, according to Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Believing that boys who roamed the streets should have a positive alternative, they organized the first Club. A cause was born. Young children always can make a difference that people do not notice. Looking at all ages and generations, there are some common places that attract certain ages to come together. Similarly, there are places for children where they gather for fun activities. Our marketing plan is based on building a children's club that is quite different from other clubs.

· Characteristics

The idea is to build something unique in its own by adding activities that do not exist in other clubs. For example, our children clubs would include a gambling machine. The point from it is not to teach children how to gamble but rather to teach them the value of money and the value of easily losing and gaining it. Therefore, this gambling machines would contribute to the children maturity by teaching them lessons they are far from understanding at this age. The club would have different characteristics; in fact, it would combine characteristics of different children clubs available in today’s time. For instance, the club would have sports such as football and Ice Hockey. This would grant children a chance to engage in a physical sports and take care of their body. The club would also offer a religious sub club where children get to meet with others who are in same religions and different religions as well in order to give children this opportunity of getting to know more about other religions than theirs. Also there will be an academic sub club where students get to be treated as academicians. The academic club recognize children's academic achievements or give children the opportunity to work in an academic area in more depth than offered in class.

· Distribution

Since our marketing plan is based on a children’s club, the idea of distribution is bigger than our simple club that is based originally in only one club. Had the marketing plan success and the idea of the unique club is welcomed by residents around the club, then it would grow to include the same type of club in near neighborhoods until we reach a mature market. We would call the distribution part as the new clubs that would open had the idea is successful.

· Competition

Competition is going to be intense since there are already the Boys and Girls Clubs of America available in the area. There are also the Scouting programs for kids which is close to idea of children clubs. Scouting offers some characteristics that are similar to our characteristics for the children clubs. For instance, Scouting offers all types of sports activities beside offering the academic achievement part of the children clubs that we are including in our children clubs. One of our main competitors is the Desert Kids club. The club offers evaluations & educational assessments learning disabilities and autism for kids. Those kind of specialty children clubs are to attract kids who are interested in certain areas even of those areas are included in our clubs, thus they are getting to be a main competitor. Another main competitor is the Coachella valley community trust kids club. Those clubs are already known for the residents of the valley and already serving kids of the surrounding areas.

· Problem

The problems that may be faced by our clubs are those of dealing with children themselves when introducing a new sub club in our club or dealing with regulations that may prevent us from teaching certain topics to children such as gambling. The idea of gambling is discussed further below in other section of the marketing plan. So we do not expect a smooth movement in creating and implementing all our ideas for the children clubs but rather such problems may emerge which would be dealt with accordingly.

· Opportunity

Our clubs also would focus on teaching children the value of volunteering and getting engaged with the community at early stage of life. This part would help children develop leadership skills, problem-solving skills, setting and achieving goals, working in teams, and communication skills. The administration of the clubs would always choose a project where students can engage and follow through all steps. They would then develop a sense of accomplishments, whether planting flowers or serving in a soup kitchen, children see the results of their hard work and have the satisfaction of knowing they are making a difference. Beside those opportunities there would be other opportunities that are not common for children’s age. For instance, teaching kids lessons about gambling such as the value of money and the value of gaining and losing it so quickly is one of the great ideas we are trying to integrate in our children clubs.

(Lu Shen’s part)

· Target market

The target market and product understanding is an important part of creating a marketing plan. There are various factors to consider when analyzing the target market such as demographic characteristics and the unique characteristics. The target market in this situation of a children club can choose to offer products such as coming up with sessions that involve playing music and dancing. Various types of music genres can be embraced when it comes to playing for children. Children be allowed to listen to music such as gospel music or secular music that communicates good attributes in children. The music should be well thought out and selected to ensure that it does not violate the law and regulations put in place but also ensure that the music can satisfy the children to make them enjoy. Children in the club can listen to the music and dance under supervision. This will help children have an interesting time and enjoy the services offered at the club. Dancing can also involve initiating a dancing competition where children in the club can team up and compete to win prizes so as to provide an incentive for people to participate. The idea of music and dancing conforms to the law and is advantageous because it also appeals to the children. The children will enjoy the exercises and still come back which means the target market will be secured.

· Demographics

Research is necessary to understand the market and the needs so as to focus on providing what they need. According to Shi et al. (2016), demographics include the age of the target market, the gender, geographical location and other factors related to it. Demographic characteristics determine the focus that a product has to focus on and the people the product intends to attract. The demographic target market, in this case, is children. This is mainly people under the age of 17 who are still under their custodians and are yet to be recognized as adults.

· Psychographics

To develop a product that appeals to children in a club setting can be a major challenge given the situation that law limits children in engaging in certain activities. As much as it is a challenge to find the right product mix for children in a club scenario it still is possible to find the right mix to satisfy the needs of children in a club.

· Geographic

Clubs are main places of recreation where people can meet and interact at a personal level and also get to partake in activities that they find interesting so as to encourage them to visit the place on a regular basis.

· Purchase Behavior

Children are by law restricted not to engage in alcohol drinking. A club for children that seeks to adhere to the law and give its members an interesting time should consider coming up with an idea of constructing a food court. A food court will be offering a range of dishes and drinks that children like to make them interested and keep them coming back to the club. The food court has to be selective and ensure that it offers food that is preferred by the children. A food court ensures that children will have an interesting time at the club. Researchers in the marketing field such as Dibb and Simkin (2016), argue that food is one of the things that is preferred across all the age demographic level. Investing in food is a sure way to ensure that children will enjoy. Some of the food that can be offered at the food court include fast foods like pizza which is a favorite with many children. Other products may be soft drinks, ice cream which children love and snacks such as potato crisps, biscuits, and candy just to enhance the idea of having a variety of products to satisfy the needs of the customers who in this case are children who are in need of having a good time.

· Communication

Video games have gained popularity among children in the recent years all over the world. The advancements in technology have helped to serve as an improvement that has motivated children to invest their time in watching and enjoying video games. This means that video games can help to appeal to children and help increase the customers at the club. The club can use video games to create some form of incentivized competitions where people will compete with the aim of winning a prize. The competition can be placed into different categories based on the age of children or rather customers at the club so as to ensure that every individual is accommodated in the plans of the club. To make it fun, there should be a judge regulating the activities who is concerned with coming up with the measures to determine the winners. Music can be played in the background as well to help steer the children to maintain happiness. The club should have such competitions mainly for such purposes. Through doing these activities the winners will always be motivated to play again while those who lose will come with a desire to win the competition thus keep playing.

Children in a club are out to have fun. Part of the reason why grown up people go to clubs is to engage in casino gambling, and a similar event can be introduced at the children's level only that instead of playing for money the children club can play for other prizes. For instance, the club can come up with tickets that represent some form of prize like for instance a teddy bear, bike, toy car or other gifts that apply to children. Children are then allowed to play, and the one that wins claims the prize. There should be regulations to ensure that no form of monetary activity takes place at the table.

(Allison Turman’s part)

SWOT Chart

SWOT Actionable Recommendations:

Weakness #1: Times may be slow during the school year. Recommendation: Can put out promotion deals that would make kids want to come on the weekends.

Weakness #2: Might have malfunctions in one of the machines or prizes (technology). Recommendation: Find someone that knows the machines extremely well, and are close enough that the machine can be fix within a day or two.

Threat #1: Could be out beat by competition. Recommendation: Compare every element we have, to theirs. It’s possible that if we have the same elements, we could have the upper hand by raising the stakes. For example, the competition may have better prizes, so Keg’s would do some digging to see if we could afford updated and better prizes.

Threat #2: Prices could be raised due to competition prices. Recommendation: If reasonable, prices could be raised a bit higher, but still need to be aware of what a fair price would be to accommodate the consumer and Keg’s.

Weakness + Threat #1: The school year may be slow + could be out beat by competition = even though the school year may be slow, kids are still considering going to another club vs. Keg’s. Recommendation: Keep the promotions going, along with great service and entertainment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the idea of a children club if well thought out and executed as discussed in the paper can be critical in appealing to the target market. The target market being children are under strict regulations which ought to be observed when selecting the product mix. A club should strive to have activities that accommodate everyone so as to keep each member entertained. This, therefore, means that the range of products discussed in the paper if rolled out at once in the club will be helpful in appealing to the different preferences that children may choose to engage in as a way of enjoying their leisure. All the activities and products mentioned requiring close supervision given that the clients or customers of the products are vulnerable and fragile to some extent. The children club idea, however, can be a massive success given that it will appeal to the selected customer base.

References

Dibb, S., & Simkin, L. (2016). Market Segmentation and Segment Strategy. Marketing Theory: A Student Text, 251.

Shi, T., Gu, W., Chhajed, D., & Petruzzi, N. C. (2016). Effects of Remanufacturable Product Design on Market Segmentation and the Environment. Decision Sciences.

B. (n.d.). Our History. Retrieved December 6, 2016, from

http://www.bgca.org/whoweare/Pages/History.aspx