Marketing: Custom Edition for Texas A&M University 17th Edition by William Pride,Ferrell

Exercise 34

Despite the use of cell phones to tell the time these days, the U.S. watch market is still worth about $10 billion. A new watch company that manufactures classic American watches in the style of the Elgin and Hamilton brands has been segmenting the U.S watch market. It has identified the following five main segments, using a combination of demographic, psychographic, and behavioristic variables.
Carrie is a 25- to 40-year-old woman. She might be single or married, with or without children, but she values her independence. She is a professional, living an urban lifestyle. She is brand conscious and makes well-informed purchasing decisions. She is often a fashion leader. Her annual household income exceeds $100,000. She enjoys jazz, opera, ballet, and "intellectual" popular music. She dines out often, usually trying the most fashionable restaurants. She watches television, especially PBS, Discovery Channel, and HGTV. She has three watches, each of which is priced around $500: a stylish daytime watch for the office, a glamorous watch for evening events, and a sporty watch for weekends and recreational pursuits.
Brittney is a 12- to 18-year-old female. She is all about fashion. She has about $50 to spend per week, either from a part-time job or as an allowance from her parents. She enjoys spending time with her friends and can often be seen at malls or cafés, chatting or texting. She is very aware of different brands and tries to imitate the latest fashions from her favorite celebrities. Her musical tastes are main stream, and she is addicted to reality programs and MTV. She has six watches, each of which costs less than $100. Watches to her are an accessory, and she replaces them frequently when fashion changes.
Skater Boy is a 12- to 23-year-old male. He is a self-described "individual." He thinks of himself as being different, and his style and activities are beyond the mainstream. He often buys clothing at "underground" shops, and his favorite brands are often not branded at all or defined as anti-establishment. He has a part-time job or receives an allowance but spends the majority of this money on music, games, and other lifestyle pursuits. He watches some television, mostly extreme sports, cartoons, and comedy programs. He has one watch, which he wears as a statement of his personality. It is rugged and even clunky and costs less than $200.
Executives are men and women, aged 45 and above. They are married with children and consider themselves elite, with annual household incomes of more than $400,000. They belong to exclusive clubs and sit on boards of not-for-profit organizations. They have a high regard for quality and often buy products that are somewhat exotic. They watch little television, preferring evenings out at the opera, ballet, or symphony, of which they are members. Like Carrie , they have three watches (daytime, evening, and weekend), but each is worth more than $1,000.
Joe Lunchbox is a 25- to 65-year-old man. He is married with two children, and earns about $40,000 per year. He is very family-oriented and spends his spare time camping, attending sporting events, and working on do-it-yourself projects. He often buys American and prefers the basic casual style of jeans, T-shirts, and running shoes. His music tastes range from country to classic rock. He loves television, especially sports. He has one watch, which was received as a gift. It serves only one function: telling time.
Develop a rating scale of 1-5, with 1 as the most desirable market segment and 5 as the least desirable. If you decided to market a watch that was under $100 and would compete against lower-priced Swatch or Timex watches, rate the attractiveness of each market based on these criteria. What will be the unique features that will give your watch a competitive advantage?
What if you wanted to develop a higher-priced watch that targets those individuals with an active lifestyle? Which market segment would you choose, and why?