The proposed strategic marketing plan summarizes SWOT analyses of Alexis PlaySafe's 3 swimwear lines: AquaForce, My Pool Pal, and The Floaty Suit. It recommends enhancing designs to appeal more to kids and parents, and positioning products as safety gear. New lines are proposed: insect-protective clothing using physical or chemical barriers; tracking devices; and reflective clothing. Marketing tactics focus on safety promotions through boating, sporting goods, and pool retailers, as well as mass merchandisers.

1. Proposed Strategic Marketing
Plan for Alexis PlaySafe’s
Flotation Swimwear
Developed and Presented by
Brett Allen

2. Contents
• SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats) Analysis
– Background Analysis of All 3 Lines
• Strategies and Design Enhancements
– AquaForce
– My Pool Pal
– The Floaty Suit
• Proposed New Line Extensions
• Summary and Questions

3. SWOT Analysis
Background Analysis of
All 3 Lines

4. SWOT Analysis
• Strengths
– Superior designs, consisting of non-removable floatation,
optimum balance of wearer in the water, and high-quality,
high-visibility fabrics
– Made in USA—supports domestic industries
– Sun protection—SPF-rated fabrics
– Allied swim/sun products make for a larger, more profitable
line for retailers and cross-marketing opportunities to
consumers
– Quick Response attractive to retailers; stateside logistics
helps retailers reduce inventory and stockouts, especially
compared with overseas production
– AquaForce PFD is USCG approved

5. SWOT Analysis
• Weaknesses
– Brand name not as recognized as others (such as
Ocean Pacific®) for swimwear
– Higher priced than imported swimwear
– Can be difficult to put on and take off, especially
during potty training
– Flotation may not be sufficient
– Boys’ suit not “sporty” enough
– Flotation bulky

6. SWOT Analysis
• Opportunities
– New USCG regulations requiring continuous wear
of PFDs by children under 13 while aboard a vessel
– Popularity of water sports, especially strenuous
water sports (water skiing, surfing, tubing) for
adults and children of all ages
– Concern about sun exposure for children—increase
sun protection
– Concern about insect exposure for children and
the use of chemical repellents on children’s skin
– Work with states where the
AquaForce PFD is non-compliant
to change regulations or laws

7. SWOT Analysis
• Opportunities (Continued)
– License AquaForce PFD technology for
adult flotation swimwear, for cross-
promotion of children’s product as well as a
profit stream in its own right
– Seek Safety Of Life At Sea (SOLAS)
approval for AquaForce product for
international sale
and use

8. SWOT Analysis
• Opportunities (Continued)
– Customer Demographic Trends
• Generation X (born 1961-1981) is proving to be more protective
of their children than the overly-protective Baby Boomers (born
1943-1960) were--what Strauss and Howe describe as “Xtreme
parenting”
• Gen X has become more conservative as its members have aged
• Gen X open to the use of new technologies to protect children
• Gen X continues to enjoy outdoor activities, especially with
families
• “Homeland Generation” (born c.1999-present) will be one of the
most protected childhood cohorts ever, even more so than the
“Baby on Board” Millennial Generation
(born 1982-c.1998)
• Bottom line--Big opportunity
for SAFE PLAY

9. SWOT Analysis
• Threats
– Copycat products, despite patent
protections
– Other products could receive USCG
approval, reducing value of unique selling
point of the AquaForce PFD
– Cheap foreign products
– Competing products in
styles more appealing to
Gen X parents

10. AquaForce
Strategies and Design
Enhancements

11. AquaForce
• Marketing Tactics
– Position as a life jacket alternative for recreational users
– Market through sporting goods stores, marinas, boating
supply stores—anywhere PFDs are sold
– Fully exploit cross-promotion opportunities with
manufacturers of boats and personal watercraft
• Coupon books provided by boat sellers or manufacturers
• Point-of-sale placements and promotions
• Endorsements and recommendations by boat manufacturers
– Promote at boat shows and other related trade shows
– Boating and fishing publications

12. AquaForce
• Marketing Tactics (Continued)
– USCG rule effective December 2002 requires all passengers
under 13 years of age to wear a PFD at all times on a boat
– Promote this new rule with a hang tag on the product and
other point-of-sale information
– AquaForce PFDs can increase compliance and safety, and help
boaters avoid citations and accidents while keeping kids
happy
– Work with states that do not approve Type V PFDs for
mandatory-wear laws to change their laws and regulations.
– Develop a SOLAS-approved model (or seek SOLAS approval
on existing AquaForce product) for
international sale and for use on
international vessels such as
cruise ships

13. AquaForce
• Marketing Tactics (continued)
– Seek alliances, sponsorships, and cross-promotion
opportunities with boating-safety organizations
(Boaters Against Drunk Driving, et al.)
– License technology and AquaForce brand to makers
of adult swim apparel/wetsuits—promote use in
strenuous water sports such as water skiing,
traditional surfing, windsurfing,
catamaran sailing in lieu of
traditional wetsuits and PFDs.

14. AquaForce
• Why license the technology for adult
swimwear?
– Additional revenue stream from technology
– Halo effect on and indirect promotion of
Alexis PlaySafe’s children’s flotation
swimwear lines

15. AquaForce
• Other reasons for licensing the technology
– Alexis PlaySafe not in the adult swimwear business
– Strenuous water sports have drowning risk associated with
fatigue or being knocked unconscious—but many participants
don’t like conventional PFDs, as evidenced by poor compliance
with existing laws and regulations
– Kids want to emulate older kids and grownups wearing the
suits
– Obtain celebrity endorsement on the adult product—carry
over to kids’ product
– Parents can see performance in heavy-duty adult usage
– Future parents can use the suits now
and buy them for their kids later

16. AquaForce
• Design Enhancements
– Wetsuit/diveskin designs appeal to kids,
especially boys, looking to emulate teens
and grownups—”cool factor”
– Sporty, protective designs appeal to Gen X
parents familiar with aquatic gear
– Provide additional sun protection and also
additional protection against stinging sea
creatures such as jellyfish

17. AquaForce
• Design
Enhancements for
Children’s Suits
– Develop alternate
suit profiles and
designs suggestive
of wetsuits or
diveskins—“shorty”
designs with short,
snug sleeves and
legs, “Farmer John”
designs with
shoulder straps and
long, snug legs, and
full wetsuit designs
with long, snug
sleeves and legs.
Shorty Farmer John Full Suit

18. AquaForce
• Buyback Program
– Reduce danger and liability by encouraging the
removal of worn-out PFDs from service
– Reduce hand-me-downs of PFDs that have
exceeded their useful life—increase sales to
replace worn-out PFDs
– Enable Alexis PlaySafe to perform failure analyses
on worn-out suits. Were failures due to:
• Normal wear and tear?
• Abuse?
• Chemicals (insect repellents, sunscreens,
pool chemicals)?
• Salt, sand, and sun exposure?
• Common points of failure?

19. My Pool Pal
Strategies and Design
Enhancements

20. My Pool Pal
• Design Enhancements (continued)
– Obtain licensed characters to increase
kid appeal—both as logos/print designs
and as costumes (like Underoos®).
– Costume characters would increase
the appeal of a bodysuit especially for
boys.
– AquaMan, SpiderMan, PowerPuff Girls,
VeggieTales (Bob The Tomato and
Larry the Cucumber)
– Use wetsuit designs (as described
earlier for AquaForce)
– Use denser, more compact flotation
for less bulk

21. My Pool Pal
• Marketing Tactics
– Market through department stores,
sporting goods retailers (from “mom and
pop” to category killers like Sports
Authority), and pool pro shops where a
premium price can be realized

22. My Pool Pal
• Marketing Tactics
– Offer onsite demonstrations and competitive comparisons at
membership warehouses, sporting goods stores, and pool pro
shops. Emphasize:
• Flotation placed in the suit for optimum in-water balance
• The suit can be donned easily, but not doffed easily by a child
• Flotation securely stitched in
• Flotation cannot be removed
– Offer comparisons with “Brand X”:
• Point-of-sale print pieces
• Advertisements in publications that
emphasize the well-being of children
(Parents, Prevention).
• Trade shows (Baby & Kid Expo)

23. My Pool Pal
• Bundling with Allied Products
– Offer companion items to coordinate with the strap-top
models, such as matching sun-protective sleeved tops. Could
be sold as separates, a matched set, or as a promotional
bundle.
– Offer seasonal couponing offers at membership warehouses,
perhaps bundled with one or more Swim-sters, Baby BanZ,
and/or Baby Blanket products
• Costco Summer Passport to Savings
• Increase value for the customer
• Maintain prices on the suit itself
so as to not upset department
store and other non-discount
customers

24. The Floaty Suit
Strategies and Design
Enhancements

25. The Floaty Suit
• Market through mass merchandisers
such as Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart
• Stick with low-cost designs
(no licensed characters)

26. Proposed New Line
Extensions

27. Line Extensions
• Insect-protective Clothing
– Protective pants, playsuits, and shirts—protection
against disease-carrying biting insects without
toxic chemicals applied to skin.
– Why?
• Parental concerns about diseases such as West Nile virus
and Lyme disease transmitted by biting insects
• Parental concerns about use of chemical repellents like
DEET directly on children’s skin
• “Natural” alternatives like soybean
oil, Skin-So-Soft™, and citronella
have limited effectiveness

28. Line Extensions
• Insect-protective Clothing—
Physical Barrier Technology
– See if a fabric supplier can provide a
fabric that serves as a barrier against
biting insects while keeping chemicals
off of children’s skin.
– A large-pore Gore-Tex® or Tyvek®
lining, with pores larger than those
used in traditional water-repellent
applications, may work as a physical
barrier while providing maximum
breathability and minimum bulk.

29. Line Extensions
• Insect-protective clothing—Chemical Barrier
Technology
– Chemicals such as permethrin are approved for
clothing use and can survive a limited number of
washings when applied to clothing
– Permethrin binds to clothing fibers
– Pyrethroids such as permethrin are naturally
derived and relatively safe
– Permethrin residues
naturally decompose
on human skin within
15 minutes

30. Line Extensions
• Tracking/Identification Devices
– GPS or RFID tags
• Locate whereabouts in the event of kidnapping or
separation
• Technology is evolving rapidly
• Can also serve double duty as a logistics/replenishment
aid or shrinkage prevention tool before sale
– MedicAlert-type ID tag containing personal,
family, and/or medical information
• Certain personal information can
be encrypted or made
machine-readable only
• Can store a lot of information

31. Line Extensions
• Reflective clothing
– Add reflective material (e.g., Scotchlite™)
in patches
– Add designs with integrated reflective
components
– Increase safety of night play

32. Questions