Client:       Mokai

Product:    Jet Boat

The Challenge: New Product Introduction

     The goal was to introduce a new product (jet boat) to enthusiasts who may want this craft to enhance their hunting and/or fishing experience. Since there was little knowledge of the craft in the market, we knew the incubation process from impression to sale would be long. We needed every step of the selling process to be extremely effective. We also knew that it would be a multiple-step process before someone would make a purchasing decision, so we would have to have strong follow-up.

The Solution: Inexpensive Targeted Marketing and  Advertising

     Our strategy was to target first those with the interest and the financial wherewithal to purchase this product. After researching all the possible mediums, we found that the largest concentration of potential clients (hunters/fisherman) was in the Minneapolis region because of the extraordinary number of lakes.

     We placed direct-response ads on the two most appropriate cable TV networks. We chose ESPN2 with weekend programming like Walmart Great Outdoors, North American Fisherman and Fly Fishing World. We also chose TNN with programming like In-Fisherman Television, Outdoor Magazine and Realtree Outdoors. We offered a free brochure and/or video at the end of the spot. We also invited browsers to visit the website to learn more. We developed the cable spot using existing footage taken while testing the product, in order to keep the costs down.

     We complemented this with print advertising in American Angler magazine, whose demographics were ideal… 97% male, household income of $112,000, an average of 5 fishing rods per reader and 90% of the readers used the magazine to make buying decisions. The cost for ad insertion was only $2,000 for the month and the average reader spends 2 hours with each issue. Once we had requests for brochures and videos, or web questions, we could start a database of names. From there we developed three different follow-up postcards to communicate with respondents and keep their interest level up. Postcards were also inexpensive to develop. Telemarketing was also an available avenue for communication.

The Results:

     Leads starting coming in during the first week of the spot airing. Once American Angler hit the shelves, activity really began to increase. Lead volume was substantial, although the client guarded very specific information. What we did learn was that within 90 days the client went from having little production backlog to a backlog of over 3 months. In fact, they skipped an issue of American Angler, so that they could gear up production properly when they resumed advertising.

Print Advertising Direct Mailer Postcard
Cable Television