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Marketing C212 Alyson Orr January 20, 2023

A1. New Products and Services Over the last three decades Academy Sports (AS)has been providing the best online certifications to fitness professionals in the industry. Since 1987 Academy Sports has certified 1.4 million professionals, developed training tools in over 100 countries and partnered with 10,000 gyms across the globe. With new acquisitions academy sports has taken on thousands of new clients from varying fitness backgrounds. With this new growth Academy Sports has decided will change its marketing strategies and lead the industry yet again with a new product and service. The service that Academy Sports will offer will be a new centralized recertification service that will be separate from Academy Sports direct offerings but will still be influenced by the Academy Sports brand and offer exclusive Academy Sports promotions . This service will be able to hold in one place fitness professionals’ certifications, specializations, and continuing education units (CEU). No matter where the professionals’ credentials are from, they will be held in one place for ease when recertify with any credentialling company. With this will be the ability to convert CEU value across companies. This service will primarily be centered around fitness professionals but with success can grow to track certifications for professionals in all industries. The new product that Academy Sports will be offering is a new course on risk behaviors. This course like all of Academy Sports courses will include the leading scientific information surrounding risk behaviors such as drinking, smoking, and substance abuse.

Although fitness certification companies have shamed these behaviors publicly, no company has yet taken the plunge in to comprehensive education on these behaviors. This course would highlight risk behaviors, the popularity behind them, the long-term effects and some alternatives for a healthy lifestyle. A1a. Identify need and existing global market A need for this service has been realized in the discovery of trends within customer complaint data. These analytics have shown us that the recertification process for most with outside certifications is difficult and confusing. Analytics are “the discovery of trends and patterns within the data via analysis techniques” (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). This service would help to solve these frustrations adding value to the customer. This is especially helpful in the Canada market because all of the AS certifications are already directly translated to Canada. Second, customers surveyed after interactions with the customer service hotline repeatedly highlighted the need for clearer conversions between outside companies and Academy Sports when it comes to CEUs, this is something that the rectification service would provide. These customers were surveyed through an online survey which is “ A research method in which respondents answer a questionnaire via email or on a website” (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). Finally, when looking into the potential customers external environment, there is no one else in the market that offers a service like this so we would have no current competition (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). Through situational analysis of the customers external environment, researchers found value trends of an increase in wellness awareness and a decrease in social acceptance of risk behaviors (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). The new product would meet the need of both decreasing risk factors

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and increasing wellness behaviors. This new product will do well in Canada because the US and Canada have similarities when it comes to the standard of wellness and risk factors (Krueger et al. 2009) . Secondly, AS has noticed a trend in customers valuing courses that align with wellness strategies. Wellness on a whole has seen an increased participation from current customers and potential prospects. Finally, in focus groups held in college and high school campuses, students have repeatedly noted the impact of risk behaviors on study body health and fitness. A focus groups is “Where the researcher moderates a panel discussion among a gathering of 6 to 10 people who openly discuss a specific subject” (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). This finding in focus groups was the initial indicator towards this product. A1b. Competitive Advantage This centralized recertification service will the first of its kind in maintaining records for fitness professional’s certification from all different companies. This will streamline the recertification process for the professional and help to validate credentials with employers. Due to the fact that certification requirements are very similar from Canada to the United States, this recertification service will be especially useful for the fitness professional that wants to work in both countries. A competitive advantage to this service will be the ability to promote Academy Sports specializations and CEUs to fitness professionals that come from different companies. For example, if a professional that original certified with Sports United is looking to recertify but is missing a number of CEUs Academy Sports will have the opportunity to offer a course to meet those missing CEUs. On its surface this service will help fitness professionals get

organized and remain up to date but, it will give Academy sports a better look into what certifications audiences are interested in and promote AS products to match those interests. The idea of this course has not yet been attempted by any other notable credentialing companies, the novelty of this course itself is an advantage. However, the most competitive advantage to the course is the ability to add it in with Academy Sports offerings to high schools and universities in addition to the stand alone offerings to individual consumers. Academic institutions are constantly looking for ways to incorporate wellness topics into their curriculum. Our presence in academic institutions makes Academy Sports the best company to provide this risk behavior education to students across the globe. This will also offer a level of credibility to our new offerings that will entice new customers to participate in the AS brand. A1c. Risks in Product/Service Launch One risk Academy sports may face with this new service would be the enormous scope of this project that would take a vast number of resources. To hold documents of fitness professionals across the globe would take a large amount of research into the offerings of competitors, their CEU values, their recertification requirements, and the conversion system if transferred to different credentialing company. This would likely take the opening of a new office to tackle the breadth of this project. Although, AS already has an established relationship with key stakeholder in the Canadian fitness atmosphere, AS will be furthering resources in the partner gyms located in Canada. Opening a new office for this project would help to minimize this risk because they would be accountable for all pieces of the project and would be able to monitor progress internally under guidance of senior leadership. Offering the service in

phases will also help to break the project into deliverable sections so that the effort of the work can be managed, this will also help to test the success of the service. One more risk of this service is the potential to open the customer to new credentialing companies besides Academy Sports. Although Academy Sports would own this service and be able to corner the market on promotion of its courses, having all of these certifications in a central area would inherently show fitness professionals what other offerings are available. A way to mitigate this risk is to remain innovative with AS offerings and strategic in new promotions. Academy sports will be able to see what courses fitness professionals most are interested in which will give the company valuable information to be considered in future products. One risk of this product is the controversy that surrounds this topic. Risk behaviors are difficult subjects to attempt to cover because of their charged nature. Potential customers may not want Academy Sports to cover these topics because they take part in them and would feel like they are not welcomed in the brand. Within the research around these topics there is often conflicting opinion as well which may be difficult to filter through to find the most supported information. Fortunately, the systems Academy Sports already has in place will help to mitigate these risks. Additionally, the similarity between the US and Canada wellness cultures helps to strengthen the confidence in this product (Krueger et al. 2009). The subject matter experts available in the company are always at the forefront of wellness research and have the closest access to new information. Since the experts create all of the content, they will already have a similar opinion to one another on how the product should be approached helping to mitigate the opposing opinions in the field on the topics.

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A2. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) The customer relationship management (CRM) software used are Academy Sports is Microsoft dynamics. The main goal of a customer relationship management software is to managed relationships between multiple stakeholders to support the goals of Academy Sports (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). A2a. CRM Practices This allows AS to create leads of potential customers and connect them to the product they are interested in. The CRM, Microsoft Dynamics is able to hold Canadian information and Canadian accounts to reach the market in Canada. Leads are created in the system when potential customers submit their information or when an action on the website prompts them to submit their information, this may be a free course or creating an online account. A lead becomes a contact when further information is provided by the potential customer that shows their continued interest in one of our products or services. Finally, when the prospect becomes a customer through a purchase directly billed to the customer this is tracked in sales submitted on the web or with an over the phone agent. With the new course sales will be tracked by SKU and the course will either be uploaded into the student portal automatically. In the case of academic partnership, batches of enrollment keys will be added to accounts, accounts are similar to contact level of the individual. Accounts are tied to academic institutions, gyms, and businesses. The accounts will close the sale in enrollment keys to distribute to their individual students or employees.

In a marketing scope the CRM will help to form groups and segments to formulate strategic mass communications in order to attract new prospects and maintain customers (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). From the CRM Academy Sports will be able to target specific audiences in the United States and Canada. Developing good relationships with the customers by helping them gain more value in AS products and services reenforces healthy feelings around the brand which will further the success of Academy Sports (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). A3. Distribution Channels The new course and the new service will both be delivered on a digital distribution channel making the service readily available to the consumer through an online login. For the recertification service this will be a direct connection from producer, Academy sports, to the consumer, any fitness professional. As for the risk behaviors course this will also be delivered on a digital channel through an online learning management system. However, unlike the recertification service the course will not only be directly from producer to consumer but can also be delivered in wholesale uses enrollment keys. To be clear the course will be billed directly to the consumer and also to academic institutions on the whole. If we consider universities and academic institutions the wholesalers, the individual classes the retailers finally the consumer is the student. This model for distributing enrollment keys and selling courses can help to reach more customers through retailers (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). The marketing of these offerings to Canada will provide additional ease in that there are no restrictions between countries of what websites can be accessed.

A3a. Key Considerations Using a digital distribution channel helps to cut back on some traditional issues experienced in tangible products, still technology-based products are not immune to global market considerations. Market research is an incredibly powerful tool that should be thorough and constant. Sociocultural factors play a major role in the success of a product and its marketing. Using the International Trade Administration guidance, Academy Sports, can skillfully enter the Canadian trade market. One consideration highlighted in this market entry guide is the difference in testing and certification requirements. However, because certifications are granted within the US and accepted in Canada this consideration does not block AS sales. Another consideration mentioned by the International Trade Alliance is data localization, some provinces in Canada have adopted laws that dictate the transfer of personal information outside the US. This could impact AS partnerships in Canada whereas information is transferred from partner gyms to the US for Academy Sports sales professionals to sell on. However, as long as Academy Sports considers the United States– Mexico–Canada Agreement in its data transfers, this will not be an issue for AS offerings to be listed in Canada. A3b. Supply Chain With the new product and service being delivered in the global market via a digital channel there are some considerations that need to be made with technological forces. Luckily for the new AS product, Ecommerce has seen a major boost in sales especially since the COVID-19 pandemic (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). Fitness professionals and wellness consumers are looking for online classes to satisfy recertification requirements and AS recertifications service can meet that need.

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Because the AS supply chain is mainly producer to consumer for out recertification product we can ensure internal connectivity, communication and collaboration. The 2022 US – Canada supply chains progress report conducted by the white house highlights key considerations for supply chains between US and Canada. COVID 19, extreme weather and Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine has negatively impacted supply chains globally which makes the friendly partnerships with allies such as Canada are important ( The White House, 2022). Due to the fact that the US and Canada supply chain is so strongly established AS does not foresee any negative impacts to product delivery. A4. Pricing Strategy In order for the product and service to be profitable they need to follow a successful pricing strategy. For the risk behaviors course, AS will adopt a competitive pricing structure because the product is similar to other products but has limited overhead, we can afford to be competitive with other producers. However, due to the novelty of this course we will mark up slightly in comparison, which will work well considering AS is the leader in the online certification market (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). The most notable competitor in the Canadian market is canfitpro the canfitpro certification similar to this new course is listed at $719 which was taken into consideration in the pricing of this new offering. The set price for the stand-alone course will be $899 with a CEU value of 1.9 which will provide AS with ample room for discount pricing. As for the recertification service AS will adopt a subscription pricing closely related to secondary or comparative pricing. Fitness professionals can either purchase the service on a yearly subscription for one low price of $299 or a monthly subscription with a higher price of $29 per month. The intention is that students will opt for the yearly price, saving $49 for the

year, and AS can become more profitable for offering the same service on an extended term. Consumers will value from the extender term in that all of their recertification documents will be held without having to go re-upload and convert every recertification period for every certification they hold (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). A4a. Costs Research and development costs are our greatest cost with the new course. The average research and development at AS is roughly 10- 15k USD to develop a course. This may vary depending on the number of subject matter experts. As expects this course to do just as other stand-alone offerings creating revenue of after development costs, of 3k per day, meaning that this product will create the same profit. During the ideation phase of the course the costs will be for the already established product team and any resources they need. Additionally, AS will need to contract out subject matter experts to further the research and again for the authoring of the course. The technology used during the development phase will need to be up to date and the pages used as a learning management system will need to be current. The marketing sprint will need to take place 8 weeks before launch to prep materials. To meet the minimum viable product, point the website will have to be reading with landing and selling pages for the product as well as page view code on with conversion and tracking pixels on any paid advertising. Once product is launching the cost will be standard operating costs. The costs will be similar with the recertification service if not less because of the existing membership portal but with minor changes (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). A4b. Consumer Acceptance

There are a few metrics AS can look at for consumer acceptance of price and tools that AS will implement to ensure not only customers accept the price, but it is at the company’s greatest benefit. With the product price being set at $899 but the bottom-line sale point at $499 Academy Sport’s will have a lot of room to offer discount pricing which will incentivize customers to purchase and to act quickly. Having an idea that they are securing a deal will increase consumer acceptance of price. Competitor’s price their courses with similar CEU values at $450 with heavy discounts which is similar to the AS price, having this comparison will increase consumer acceptance of the price. Additionally due to Academy Sports standing in the global market already we have an inherent advantage because of our perceived quality, already customers are willing to pay more because of the name the product holds. Academy Sport’s relationship with gyms located in Canada helps to strengthen is already established perceived value. Finally, to further consumer acceptance of these prices AS will continue to offer multiple interest-free payment plans with the intention of making the payments easier on the consumer and overcoming objections (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). A4c. Competitor Prices Academy Sports has two main competitors in developing products in the technology market for fitness and wellness, Council Exercise (CE) and Sports Science Certifications (SSC). For a standard course with a 1.9 CEU value, CE charges $450 and SSC charges $399. Due to the fact, that SSC courses are unaccredited the pricing at $399 for their 1.9 CEU value course fits their product. Additionally, although CE courses are accredited, they are not as well-known as Academy Sports which makes their pricing of $450 justified. Academy Sports can be closer

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likened to CE except for the name recognition we hold. With the added value of the name recognition the bottom-line pricing for the product makes sense. A5. Promotional Strategy To develop the AS promotional plan, AS will start by looking at the existing communication process and highlight the objectives for this promotion. AS will then determine what promotional mix is most appropriate for the new offerings and consider what level of word-of-mouth, buzz marketing and product placement will best suit the company’s needs (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). Academy sports is the source, and wants to communicate to multiple receivers or audiences that the new offerings are a demonstration of the brand which is the leader in wellness and fitness certifications. It is easy in this line of work to get caught up in the jargon of the health and wellness industry. In order to better the chances that the AS message is decoded and received correctly AS will connect on the key points that impact most people. For instance, with the risk behaviors course it is globally accepted that people want to live long and healthy lives, this product promotes that messaging. It is also largely accepted that people value organization and ease, which we will communicate with the recertification service. The AS objective for promotion is to increase loyalty to the brand by increasing buy in of the new offerings. The recertification service specifically encourages lifelong buyers of AS products, not only does AS want to promote the initial sale of product, but also that consumers feel loyal to the brand and in turn relate their health and wellness to Academy Sports. The promotional mix will lean into social media marketing because that is where the company’s most common consumer is. The consummer is typically generation Z, millennial, and generation X all of these consumers are on social media in some form. To reach the older market and have a direct line of promotion we will

also highlight personal selling from direct sales agents leveraging lead generation. This will help retarget recently interested consumers with a more personal and direct touch. Since the service is an intangible product so we will use tangible goods to communicate its benefit (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). For example, leveraging the usefulness of this services on congruence with other products we offer, as well as highlighting the stress reduced by the organization and ease this service offers. The new product will work well with the push policy because we want to market directly to universities and schools as well as individual buyers. This will help to widen the AS range and connect more students with enrollment keys on the whole. However, with the service AS aims to use advertising and sales promotions to connect directly to the consumer in order to create a higher demand for the service (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). Due to this intention, using an influencer strategy word-of-mouth will be a great resource for the AS marketing plan. AS will benefit greatly from the product and service being communicated to like minded audiences. Although this product is a course, being that it is an online course, it can be considered intangible, same with the service, so product placement does not logically fit in to this marketing plan. Buzz marketing is a tool that AS will use especially in connection with the scholarship sweepstakes which will be highlighted later in this proposal. The excitement around this sweepstakes will be a beneficial tool to create a buzz around the new offerings (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). A5a. Media Channels The mass media tools AS will use are Television and influencers. The social media channels AS will take advantage of are Facebook and Tiktok. A5ai. Channel Justification

Most health clubs today feature in-club television, typically they show short videos about local news, sports and trending health and wellness topics. AS will Leverage these successful relationships with many different health clubs to televise a short in-club advertising. Advertising in-club helps AS to directly reach the target audience of people interested in health and wellness. Additionally, people of all ages and backgrounds attend health cubs which is beneficial to the AS reach. One 30 second slot will cover the new product; another 30 second slot will cover the recertification service and finally to boost recognition of all offerings and the brand AS will have one 30 second slot that introduces the customer to Academy Sports as the leader in sports credentials. This in-club broadcasting will be affordable because of the relationships if not free for in-kind exchange of AS existing courses. The second mass media tool AS will use is influencer partnerships. Influencers are often consumers first introduction to a brand. Consumers follow, subscribe, or like an influencer because they have similar interests. It carries more weight when someone the consumer feels like they know recommends a product than just seeing a targeted add. Influencers for health and wellness reach all ages, the typically do better with a younger female audience, however, male fitness influencers help to reach the male audience. Health and wellness influencers are on the rise by todays standard due to the increased social awareness of health benefits. Influencers do, however, have a larger budget because of the risk that comes with connecting a brand to their name. The company does already have key connections with loyal and active influencers that can promote these new offerings. As for social media channels, if Academy Sports takes into consideration the audiences that are already have covered in marketing, the only gap can be found in an older audience. Facebook is a great social media tool to reach an older demographic both male and female (Ferrel and Pride,

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2020). AS already has paid ads on Facebook for other products that have done incredibly well, because these are new offerings, they will be introduced at the top of the funnel and strategically re-target the consumer to ensure a clear customer journey. This intention with these paid ads will lead to higher conversion in the older market. The second social media tool AS will use is Tiktok. The AS Tiktok channel is unfortunately underutilized and although the audience is wildly generation Z and millennial audiences, this app has morphed into what Pinterest used to be for even a generation X audience. Additionally, the ability for content created on Tiktok to be posted to any social media channel really opens the use of creators and budget. Companies have shown that they can use Tiktok, not only in paid ads, but as regular users, and drum up an audience that is loyal. An example of companies that have been able to do this successfully is scrub daddy a sponge company made popular by its unusual media tactics. Additionally, duo lingo an app used to help consumers learn different languages is an internet phenomenon due to its use of Tiktok. Gleaning from these successful businesses we can create a following on Tiktok of Academy Sports that is fun, engaging and shares the love of fitness with a larger audience. A5b. Sales Promotion Academy sports will leverage the sale of the bigger packages to increase the interest in the new recertification service. The already bundled options offer multiple courses at a discounted rate. With the addition of the recertification service the bundles can be seen not only as a good deal but also as a no-brainer. The largest package the epic trainer not only includes key courses but, they are all courses that need to be recertified regularly. If AS offers these courses with a free year of the recertification service, it adds value to the consumer but also interest in the recertification service. Once the value is realized of the recertification services on its own the

consumers subscription will be expired, and they will have to financially buy in after already emotionally buying in to the benefit of the service. This offer can be seen as a buy one gets one free coupon. The second sales promotion will be surrounding the new risk behaviors course, this will be a scholarship sweepstakes. The intention with this course is obviously to produce a profit but, AS is also a health and wellness brand that aims to promote healthy behaviors. Offering a scholarship sweepstakes can not only better the brand image but also lead to increase sales of the risk behaviors course (Ferrel and Pride, 2020). The scholarship sweepstakes will be offered to any high school or college aged student that purchases and completes the risk behaviors course. The scholarship will be awarded once a year at random to students who complete the course.

References Ferrel, O. C. , & Pride, W. M. (2020). Marketing (20 th ed.) Cengage. https://www.cengage.com/ Krueger, P. M., Bhaloo, T., & Rosenau, P. V. (2009). Health Lifestyles in the U.S. and Canada: Are We Really So Different?. Social science quarterly , 90 (5), 1380–1402. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2009.00660.x (n.d.). Canada-U.S. Supply Chains Progress Report. The White House | Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved January 22, 2023, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/CANADA-U.S.-SUPPLY- CHAINS-PROGRESS-REPORT.pdf (n.d.). Canada - market entry strategy . International Trade Administration | Trade.gov. Retrieved January 22, 2023, from https://www.trade.gov/country- commercial- guides/canada-market-entry-strategy

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KLM1 TASK 1

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