Tones of Melanin was, in my opinion, the best pitch of all the pitches in Shark Tank Episode 22. The company set out to solve a problem that was already existent in HBCUs: an absence of unique and appealing college merchandise. College stuff is already incredibly costly, usually ranging between $60 and $100+, and with that price tag, you’d expect it to at least look good, but most of the time it doesn’t. Ashley, the company’s owner, creates college gear that is sure to appeal to the population it is mainly targeting: college students. The clothing falls into the category of cool looking streetwear, which is a fashion category that many people are already enjoying. Ashley also highlights how some of the pieces are reversible, which adds versatility to the clothing while also making the apparel cost-effective given that most of the outfits are already of high quality. Because of this, people would be greatly enticed to buy things from Tones of Melanin.
Ashley should hire student ambassadors to promote and sell Tones of Melanin merchandise at different schools to improve the brand’s advertising. This would help her brand become well-known in the market she is selling in, and growing popularity among HBCUs would most likely help her get licensed by colleges faster. Obtaining more school licenses would improve her brand’s sales by allowing her to sell in more school-specific retailers.
Category Archives: Product Concepts
Product Concepts Assignment
In season 15 episode 2, the pitch that resonated with me the most was the first pitch with the sandbags. The reason being was because these sandbags were not ordinary sandbags. They were reusable up to three times and also lightweight which was a plus. The sandbag which the father and son on Shark Tank named Storm bag also had many ways for this product to be used. Normally in order to use a sandbag, you have to do the labor yourself and fill up the bag with sand. However, with the Storm bag, no sand is necessary. In the clip of Shark Tank they had a sample of the product in front of each shark. There was a jar with a substance in it. The substance is an absorbent polymer. This substance is put inside the Storm bag and once water is poured onto the bag, 3-5 minutes afterwards, the absorbent polymer turns into a 35 pound Storm bag. The gap this product fills is having a reliable and simple solution to floods,leaks in your home and even can be used to slowly water any plants or flowers.This is what makes this product really unique compared to regular sandbags. They gave examples of a pipe bursting in your home such as behind your washer machine. This Storm bag would come to the rescue and stop the leak from continuing and become a barrier. Or if you are traveling and on vacation for a few days, but you have some plants, this can also be used to water the plants steadily for up to three weeks. I feel this is a great product to invest in because it is easy for anyone to use. I feel many people at one point in their life had had some type of maintenance issue in their home and feel this product would be great to keep in case ever needed. I also like that it is mess free and there isn’t any hard labor to use it. The only problem that one of the entrepreneurs brought up was that regular sandbags are free. He felt that as their competitors it is tough to compete against free. However, I still feel it can be a huge success because the price was reasonable and makes up for not having to dig up and fill the sand bag yourself. I would rather pay a reasonable amount of money for a service that will be ready in just a few minutes. This feels worth it compared to a product that is free but I have to do the labor myself. I also believe lots of consumers would feel the same way and buy this product and feel it is essential. A way that this product can be best positioned would be by having a great marketing strategy. On Shark Tank they stated that they have not had any product marketing. This was a little shocking because they have made some profits considering this. So I believe if they had the right marketing strategies and determined who their target audience is, and the needs of their customers, their sales can definitely be boosted. Also if they look into making creative content and using social media platforms to get the views, likes and shares, the company will reach a larger audience and have a higher chance of gaining new customers while keeping their regular customers satisfied.
product concepts Assignment
I watched shark tank season 15 episode 2 and the pitch i personally like the most is storm bag and this is because of how the product is used and how much easier it is to use than their competitors. The product is for natural emergencies like floods, They state the last thing you want to do to prepare is to shovel sand. This is because it takes a lot of back braking labor and they really are heavy. With storm bags you can build a fort to protect your home in a few minutes without having to shovel and work for it. All you have to do is add water to it and it goes from 1 pound to 30 in 3 minutes. This can be used my anyone regardless of their position. They made a case why a consumer should want it and i understand, i would not want to rush to start and shovel thousands of pounds of sand when i could just take out my storm bag and have it ready in 3 minutes without doing labor. You could also get it back to 1 pounds and can reuse it 3 times. One thing that had be in a debate is that kevin said he cant compete with sand bags because its free and i see what he means but i think he underestimates how many people would spend money on this especially since you can reuse it 3 times. This product could also be used to water your flowers while your gone on a trip or vacation, this was brought up by lori. Overall i think this product was a very Great idea.
Product Concepts Writing Assignment
In reviewing Shark Tank Season 14 Episode 22 we saw 4 product ideas pitched to the sharks. One was a board game – Influencers in the wild, a similar concept to monopoly but with a social media twist. The goal was to gain followers and the player with the most followers at the end wins. The core product did not peak my interest.
We also saw a product called Tucky – an elastic band lined with silicone strips that go around the waist and turns any top into a crop top. This product while well pitched, I am not the targeted demographic as described Tucky is made for women by women.
Another product that was showcased was EYEWRIS which is reading glasses that can be wrapped around the wrist. Their pitch was the ability to transform wristwear to eyewear with one hand, one motion and one second. For such a simple product there was some engineering involved to be able to securely fasten EYEWRIS to your wrist and still seamlessly transition to a pair of reading glasses. As a daily user of glasses, I thought this product to be innovative.
As impressive as EYEWRIS was, the product that resonated with me the most was Tones of Melanin. An HBCU themed apparel company. I thought the marketing pitch by the owner, Ashley Jones, was well executed. From the use of the marching band as the attention grabber, to the variety and colors used on the apparel, to the logo with its many shades of brown signifying people of color, the confidence in which she delivered her pitch, and the mission of Tones of Melanin drew me into this product/brand.
Tones of Melanin has taken the apparel of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and merged with streetwear, sportwear and fashion to present a unique brand of clothing. In doing so their attempt is to provide proper representation for a highly marginalized, largely underrepresented group of people in the fashion industry. By producing a quality line of apparel, current students, and faculty of HBCU’s have a brand, in Tones of Melanin, which they can be proud of. Alumni can look at the brand and its clothing and feel a great sense of pride and nostalgia from their time spent at their respective HBCU. Future students can look at Tones of Melanin and feel inspired to go to an HBCU or perhaps create a brand or product of their own. While personally, I did not have the opportunity to attend an HBCU this product resonated with me, and many other people as well, from a cultural standpoint that once I was finished watching the shark tank video I headed over to www.tonesofmelanin.com to see which reversable jacket, windbreaker or pair of shorts I may want to purchase. Being exposed to this brand has made it easier for me to add to my list of websites where I can shop for clothing and support a black owned business. Representation played a crucial role in marketing this product to me and those who look like me as it made me not only want to buy a pair of shorts, for example, but a need to buy one so I join in the efforts to continue to push black culture forward.
While I believe Tones of Melanin has done a good job in appealing to its intended audience there is opportunity for growth and appeal to a larger audience as, according to the Shark Tank episode, it currently only has licenses to 40 out of 100+ HBCU’s. The appeal and vision is present but the use of social media and pages such as theshaderoom, which cater to a large black audience, can be used to help market, and promote the product to a group of people, like me who would appreciate the brand and what it offers, but otherwise would not have known it existed.
Some people have an idea and create a product such as a board game in the case of Influencers in The Wild which can be fun or perhaps, something functional such as Tucky, or even a product as innovative as EYEWRIS but that’s just it these are just products to me. Tones of Melanin, while not only checking off all 4 levels of product, is more than just that – it is transcendent, surpassing just being a product and into a world of culture and representation. A world that people, like me would love to be a part of by the click of a button – add to cart – proceed to checkout.
Product Concept Assignment
The pitch that resonate with me most is the last pitch with the eyeglasses because this product is a unique product it’s capable of reaching a lot of potential customers especially older folks who be forgetting their reading glasses this can serve as a great option for them, this product is very catchy and very easy to use and it can draw a very large audience what I like about this product is that it doesn’t seem like a trend as to where a product is popular for a period of time and after that period of time and then the product just sort of died and as a investor i don’t wanna put my money into a product that’s only going to make me money for a couple of months, instead i want to make millions in return for a long period of time. This product fills the gap for a comfortable and reliable reading glasses, by offering a space-efficient and portable eyewear solution. when customers need them the most it’s a great option for people with short term memory lost, older folks and people who just needs a a lot of on the go space. This product make shopping and doing every day task easier for people with not so good could eyesight and for people who has like short-term memory lost, because they can at all times Snap on to their arm a pair of these glasses and not have to worry about forgetting their glasses at home, when at the grocery store, oh so it eliminated the need for excess buying because a person may now be able to see properly what they are buying so they don’t need to buy an extra item. I believe that customer would not only want this product but actually believe they need it.These, Folding eyeglasses can serve various purposes, from reading menus and books to checking smartphones or working on a laptop. Consumers can switch between different pairs of glasses effortlessly.and the only way that we are going to make a customer feel like they need this product is by advertising and doing experiments in store with people like going up to a random stranger in the grocery store , approach them and tell them what the product is about and how can this product help change their your life, give them to test it and get their feedback live on camera and submit it online to the business and let people see it and by people seeing what this product can do for a random stranger, they would want to try it, and by the word of mouth the product will spread like a wildfire. I honestly feel this product best position is in its branding and its appeal to customer needs, I feel like if they advertise to the right audience for this product this product will be successful and it’s a very great product its a very smart idea but I believe that they need to work on the advertising to get this product out there and let people know the benefits of using this product also they can how even give free samples to people and let they try it, by doing this you’re allowing people to have the first hand experience of what its like using this product and the benefits of this product and if they like it they will spread the word for you they might go home and tell their neighbor and all of a sudden the neighbor is interested in your product and if they like it they will even spread the word to their families, their friends and now you have an endless amount of free advertising on your hand more people getting to know about your product getting to know the benefit of the product and your business is going to actually have a chance of being a long-term business and a successful one.
Product Concept Writing Assignment Example
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