1. The Fantastic Five, Now Six:
Mark Carruthers, Erika Cole, Justin Creswell,
Calah Kelley, Rickey Roberts, and Jesus Ugalde
Cabbage Patch Kids
MKTG 3660
23 Nov. 2014
Situational Analysis
The client’s past position in the market was that the brand was popular, recognizable, and part of
the evoked set of toys that children and families wanted to purchase. In the 1980’s, everyone wanted a
Cabbage Patch Kid. It was more than a doll, it was like a baby to the children and they wanted to “adopt”
one into their home.
Background: “In 1978, Xavier Roberts, a young American art student from the small town of
Cleveland, Georgia, brought to life his hand-stitched soft sculpture artworks known as Little People.
Roberts and a small group of friends began to travel from state to state attending various folk art
exhibitions. At these exhibitions, Roberts began selling these handcrafted dolls he called ‘babies’. Going
into business as Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc., Roberts started producing Little People in his
hometown of Cleveland, at a converted medical clinic, which he called Babyland General Hospital. The
doll brand went on to become one of the most popular toy fads of the 1980s and one of the longest-
running doll franchises in America. The Little People evolved by 1982 into what is known today as the
Cabbage Patch Kids. The dolls attracted the attention of toy manufacturer Coleco, which began mass
production in 1982. The Coleco Cabbage Patch Kids had large, round vinyl heads and soft fabric bodies,
and were produced from 1982 to 1989,” until they were mass-produced by other companies with subtle
changes and finally with Jakks Pacific. “The dolls were very different than anything that had been
produced before and quite strange-looking at first glance. Each doll was just a bit different than the next
doll, making each original "Cabbage Patch Kid" a unique individual. Babyland was also a unique place;
the Cabbage Patch dolls were displayed in what looked like a real maternity ward and Children loved the
process of ‘adoption’ for the dolls, where they would send the adoption papers to Coleco to adopt the
dolls. Many people believe that Cabbage Patch dolls were ‘THE fad of the 1980s,’ yet most fads and
crazes are short lived, and the Cabbage Patch doll mania was no exception. From $600 million in sales in
1985, sales of Cabbage Patch dolls fell to $250 million in 1986.” (Wikipedia)
When considering what and who made the brand successful, Xavier Roberts is one man who
comes to mind. His innovativeness and originality helped increase the popularity of the brand and interest
of young children. Also, Coleco and the “adoption process” marketing strategy, which enabled children
and families to feel like they were adopting a baby into their family to take care of rather than buying a
toy from a major company. Of course they were buying them, but they didn’t perceive it that way.
Cabbage Patch Kids were considered “kids and babies in all shapes and sizes.” They were the new fad in
the 80’s, which created a scarcity especially around Christmas time when every family wanted to one.
And this would lead them to be over-produced.

2. The Company’s mission is one that focuses on family. They wanted to build a special place for
the Cabbage Patch Kids (i.e. the Babyland General Hospital) where they can live and play until they are
all adopted into their new homes, because “everyone should have a family to love.”
The main problem for the Cabbage Patch Kids is that they are not as relevant and relatable to
their target audience anymore. The dolls are not as entertaining, attractive, or current to the children of
today’s society, and they are not (usually) a part of the child’s evoked set when it comes to toys they want
their parents to buy them. This was the major problem that many of the companies who tried to produce
the dolls faced. Despite the subtle changes they tried to make for the doll (i.e. talking, swimming,
appearance-wise) they still did not compare to other classic toy brands that were able to keep up with the
times and the more technological-driven kids of future generations.
Therefore, the client’s current position of the brand in the market today is one not as favorable as
in the past. They tend to view the brand as old-school, and unappealing. The dolls are viewed as outdated
and out of style, especially with their approach to kids today. Also, some probably don’t even register the
brand in their minds when they think of popular children’s toys.
As for the customers, this includes a small percentage of collectors, previous owners with a
nostalgic feeling towards the dolls from their childhood, and of course the majority consists of American
children. The competitors would be other toy brands: ones that were produced around the same time as
Cabbage Patch and remained successful, and others that are new. For example, Barbie, the American Girl
Doll, My Little Pony, etc. The perceptions in some of the customers mind would be one of nostalgia, and
for others a feeling of nurturing for the baby-like doll. However, the perceptions of prospective customers
and others can consist of negative thoughts and feelings toward the brand, such as out datedness, ugly,
old, and over-simplified.
To determine how the market trends have impacted the positon, refer to the SWOT Analysis
below:
Positive Negative
Internal
Strengths:
Classic, and timeless
Brand Recognition
Emphasis on family and the customer’s
experience (i.e. dolls called “babies” and
Babyland General Hospital theme park)
Sense of nostalgia for previous owners
Weaknesses:
Older
Current App doesn’t match target audience (too
hard)
Not advertised much or in commercials
Lack of quantity on shelves at stores
Lack of efficient marketing (i.e. became a fad
due to over-production and failure to evolve)
Relates more to the inert set in minds of
customers

3. External Opportunities:
Follow current trends with Apps
Evolve appearance subtlety
Target correct younger audience
Donate (10%) to third-world
countries/less-fortunate
Americans/homeless
Pair with learning strategy/training for kids
Can increase recognition, popularity, and
likeability globally
Market strategically to create long-term
relevance
Threats:
Cannot generate old feelings if doll is changed
too much
Could decrease recognition/ backlash from
customers who favor old ways
Might not be able to compete with current
competitors
Could become a fad again
Loss of finances
The New opportunities available to the client include re-vamping the old model of the dolls to
help evolve them for current customers. For example, by creating a more efficient and exciting App that
would increase the value for the customers and persuading them to buy the doll for this reason.
The brand value and strength that still remains is the old feeling that was evoked in the 80’s of
nurturing a “baby” and adopting the doll into the home. The nostalgic memories that reflect a simpler
time and their childhood experiences will still be relevant to the previous owners who grew up and started
families of their own. Then they will be more likely to encourage their children to have the doll as well,
thus increasing sales for the Cabbage Patch Kids.
References
"Cabbage Patch Kids." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Nov. 2014. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.

4. Target Audience and Rationale
Demographics:
• Primary audience: Young girls 3-6 years old who like technology and dolls, as well as seek social
interaction.
• Secondary audience: Parents (could be previous owners of brand) seeking fun way to teach
children how to count and recite the alphabet.
• Focus on U.S. families.
• Middle class families and up; must like smart phones, have internet access, and like using Apps.
General audience data:
• Our target audience’s knowledge about our product is probably very low, considering they are
young and the product hasn’t been popular lately, so most of the knowledge will come from the
parents experiences. But we want to push that and reposition the product in their minds. The
children will want to know if this product is fun, entertaining, popular, easy to understand, and
something they can relate to. The parent’s will want to know if it is expensive, how does it benefit
and influence their child, how will it improve their learning, will it keep them entertained, and
why they should pick this product over others less expensive?
• The main action the company wants the audience to make is to buy, but also to believe how
beneficial and fun the product is for the children, and thus help improve the perceptions in the
parents’ and child’s mind about the product. The doll and App will foster social interaction,
imagination, something to nurture, as well as create an exciting and friendly environment to learn
from.
• The audience’s needs include a new approach to learning basic skills (counting, and the alphabet)
that’s also exciting, captivating, helpful to the parents, entertaining and challenging. Their wants
include more entertainment, technological-driven toys and Apps, something that is modern and
relevant to their lives, and something to also interact and connect with socially.
Psychographics:
• Hobbies and leisure activities will include playing with dolls, using kid-friendly Apps, socializing
and have a nurturing nature. They seek out entertainment and challenging activities.
• Given their age and limited life experience, their favorite sources of information will consist of
what they hear/see on TV and their parent’s phones. When they go to the toy store, it will consist
of the visual cues and signage they see displaying
the various brands that catch their interest. Also what they see their older siblings, if they
have any, or peers are buying.
Purchasing Habits:
• Our primary audience’s level of control over the purchase decision will be significant in that they
help persuade their parents what to buy for them, but ultimately it is the parent’s choice and
money that will make the final decision. So, we need to appeal to both audiences and provide
parents with enough incentive as to why to pick our product over others.

5. • The number of people involved in the purchase decision will be about 2-3.
• What may affect the parent’s opinion of the product will include the product’s history but also
nostalgic feel.
• The target audience has most likely been looking for ways to learn basic skills without it being
boring or ineffective, as well as toys that the child can interact with, connect with, and be
entertained by. Not just a teacher or toy, but a friend.
• Some barriers include price, the old position in the consumer’s mind, competitors also making
Apps and dolls, as well as repositioning the product in the consumer’s mind as something that
provides educational value as well as entertainment value. The children might not even register
the Cabbage Patch Kid in their evoked set, so that will be another barrier to get through.
Example:
• Suzie is four and lives with her mom and dad who both work to support the family. They are
typically busy, but want to help teach her how to add and subtract to help her get ahead;
education is very important to them. Suzie is kind, and loves to play with dolls and treats them
like “babies.” She has an active imagination, but also needs toys that are able to keep her
attention. She likes to play games on her parent’s phones when they are home. Her parents think
most of the games she plays are not very beneficial for her, but they keep her busy. They have
tried to teach her basic math skills before, but she either claims it’s boring or too hard, and her
parents have a hard time teaching her in a way she can understand. Suzie is an only child and
needs more social interaction. Her mom used to own a Cabbage Patch Kid when she was young.
She hears about the new Cabbage Patch Kid that not only looks more current, but also has an App
as a reward for the purchase, that benefits Suzie’s learning as well. The doll is not only more
relevant and current to kids of today, but provides a friend for Suzie because she can dress her up,
play with her, etc. And the App provides a new way for Suzie to learn her numbers while also
keeping her entertained, thus benefiting Suzie and her parents.

6. Positioning Strategy and Creative Brief
Cabbage Patch Kids are not just a doll…they’re your child’s best helper! Still nostalgic, we’ll
focus on family and allow the girls to nurture it like a “baby,” and add an entertaining and challenging
aspect that helps girls learn how to count and recite the alphabet. Compared to other educational toys,
Cabbage Patch Kids are set apart because they’re a modern doll that incorporates digital interaction and
fosters learning.
Cabbage Patch Kids will use digital and traditional media to create an emotional and cognitive
appeal that repositions the brand to families, by being educational, fun, and nostalgic. CPK wants to put
the child back in childhood. Right now they think of the Cabbage Patch Kids as an 80’s toy irrelevant to
the technological-driven children of today. But what we want them to think is that it not only provides
girls with something to nurture and take care of (via doll) but also provides a learning service engaging in
their tech-savvy skills (via App). The integration of programs includes the App, the modernized doll, and
the advertising strategies. The advertising strategies main objective is to change how the target audience
views the Cabbage Patch Kids. This is meant to reposition the brand as an educational toy, as well as keep
the emotional ties. Therefore, our initial approach will aim to change how the audience thinks about the
brand, in order to change their feelings towards CPK and make them want to purchase the product (i.e.
CognitiveAffectiveConative). The theme across all media is that Cabbage Patch Kids are
educational, fun, and nostalgia. The support provides that it improves learning, technology skills, AND
family life.
Media Tactics and Rationale
Most of the Cabbage Patch Kids ads are digitally based, because that is more relevant to our
target audiences, who love technology, and more likely to reach the majority of them. The media
selection is also relevant to our target audience because the parents will be exposed to the ads when they
search for learning Apps for their child, while also hearing about it via their friends or reviews. And the
girls will see the ads when they pop up on YouTube, view videos, or visit the toy store. Since the majority
of smart phone usage happens at home, this will provide a perfect scenario for the girls to use their
parents’ phone when they are home from work. Cabbage Patch Kids will use a combination of emotional
and rationality appeals to reach both audiences, since an emotional appeal works best for YouTube videos
and online, while rationality works best for print and online. The emotional appeal will focus more on
word of mouth, banner ads, and YouTube videos online, while the rationality appeal will focus more on
advertising through the current website, other Apps, signage at toy stores, etc. This will involve a
pulsating schedule where increased advertising happens in the summer and before Christmas.
CPK will portray a unique selling proposition that separates the brand as “one of a kind and
original” to show that the product has ‘legs’ and versatility with the doll versus the App, while benefiting
the girls and the parents. The main ad ideas will include that Cabbage Patch Kids are educational, fun,
and nostalgic. It is not just a doll or toy, but a friend. The ads are meant to convince the audience that it
will improve the girls learning, skills, and overall family life. An example that can be used throughout the
YouTube ads and videos is our “Suzie Scenario,” that will include her family’s lifestyle along with their
problem, which will be solved by Cabbage Patch Kids. It will portray the emotional bond she feels
towards the doll and the interaction she partakes in when she is using the App, which makes life easier for
Suzie, as well as her parents. It will show the benefits and modernity of each product, thus changing the
way the audience thinks about the brand.

7. The proposed media involves:
YouTube Ads Paid Search In-App Ads Signage Website Word-of-
Mouth
Objective
Brand Awareness
Doll
Purchases/App
Downloads
App
Downloads
Doll
Purchases Repositioning
Repositioning/
Brand Awareness
Schedule Continuous Pulsating Continuous Pulsating Continuous Continuous
Dates 2014-2015 Spike Nov – Jan 2014-2015
Spike
Nov – Jan
May - August
2014-2015 2014-2015
Strategy
Cognitive/
Affective Conative Conative Conative
Cognitive/
Affective
Cognitive/
Affective
Themes Nostalgia/Learning
Educational
Toy/App
Fun
Educational
App
Fun
Educational
Toy
Fun, Educational,
Nostalgic
Fun, Educational,
Nostalgic