Plans Book Draft
Situation Analysis
The Craftsman brand has long been a staple in many American garages. Craftsman dates back to 1927, when Sears launched the exclusive brand of tools that focused on superior performance and durability. The brand steadily grew until the first chrome-plated wrenches and sockets were introduced in 1932. The stylish hand tools were a monumental success, and interest in the brand exploded. Only two years later, Craftsman introduced its first lawn mower, and interest in Craftsman power tools only continued to grow. By the 1950s, the brand was well-established with a reputation for innovation and performance.
Craftsman Lawn and Garden (L&G) products enjoy a world-class reputation for quality, value and performance. Many power tools and stick tools rate No. 1 and No. 2 against other brands in specific product categories, including the No. 1 ranked push lawn mower, and No. 1-ranked pressure washer. Craftsman L&G products have historically only been sold at Sears and Sears online, but they are now available at K-mart stores, and will be available at select ACE hardware stores in 2012. Craftsman offers a wide selection of L&G products at multiple price points.
A new generation of do-it-yourselfers has entered the L&G market. With stores such as Home Depot, Menards, Lowes, and even Walmart, competition for their business is fierce. While young people may still recognize the Craftsman name and associate it with high quality products, they lack the same awareness about Craftsman L&G products that their parents and older generations maintain. Craftsman L&G has not directed advertising resources to this new audience, but that needs to change as these 18- to -34-year-olds become more of a presence in the marketplace. Demand for an authority in L&G products that raises confidence in their purchasing selection, and the way in which they approach L&G products, has never been greater.
Challenge
In the Fall semester of 2011, the UNL senior advertising capstone course, Advertising and Public Relations Campaigns, was challenged to develop three videos for Craftsman L&G tools. On September 16, 2011, the class met with Kris Malkoski, general manager-Craftsman tools, to discuss current strategies and opportunities for Craftsman.
Craftsman wants to wow young DIYers with Craftsman L&G performance and durability by highlighting these traits in entertaining, modern ways. The current strategy centers around four main characteristics of their L&G line including innovation, durability, value and consistency.
Potential DIYers can gain awareness of Craftsman through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, smartpohne applications and print ads. These contact points push the idea to DIYers that Craftsman L&G’s emphasis on durable and quality tools will help them conquer any task in their yard. Craftsman’s primary method of application is producing videos that will be launched in February 2012 on YouTube and Facebook, in hopes that videos will be shared to the point of “going viral.”
Competitive Analysis
Craftsman offers a few L&G product categories, but predominantly separates them into three disctinct units: lawn mowers, lawn and garden care; and yard power and equipment. Within the tools categories lie competitors such as DeWalt, Makita, Stanley Tools, Bosch, Briggs and Stratton; Security, Kobalt, Ryobi and Irwin. In the L&G category, competitors include John Deere, Black and Decker, Stihl, Snapper, Toro and Honda.
Because we are creating videos, social media websites including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are essential outlets that will help spread the video. According to Facebook, there are more than 750 million active users, and they spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook. Twitter has over 200 million active users. According to YouTube, “nearly 17 million people have connected their YouTube account to at least one social service” and “100 million people take a social action on YouTube (likes, shares, comments, etc) every week.” Because of these substantial numbers regarding social media, we reviewed the number of Facebook and Twitter fans, as well as YouTube subscribers, for each of Craftsman’s competing brands for both L&G and power tools. The results are seen in the graphs below.
Facebook Fans
Twitter Followers
The following competitors were analyzed in our research:
• John Deere
• Offers a wide choice of models based on desirable features that combine comfort, convenience and performance
• Rely on their core values: integrity, quality, commitment and innovation.
• Black and Decker
• Focuses on product sustainability.
• Seeks to help the consumer mow, trim, blow and snip faster and easier with their electric and cordless lawn equipment.
• Stihl
• Family-owned.
• Products are innovative, well-engineered, constructed using best available materials. Position their products as those that make their customers’ work easier and more efficient.
• Toro
• Helps customers care for golf courses, sports fields, public green spaces, commercial and residential properties, and agricultural fields.
• Committed to protecting the world’s critical resources and delivering commercially viable solutions that yield environmental, performance and productivity innovation to their customers.
• Honda
• Engines are recognized as the leader in reliability, noise control and fuel-efficiency.
• Mowers are easy starting, durable, committed to the environment and ample powered. They include twin blades, easy on-off grass bags, ball-bearing supported wheels and ergonomic handles.
Secondary Research
Research Objectives
-To learn what motivates people when purchasing L&G products.
-To identify the process that people go through when purchasing L&G products.
-To discover the level of awareness people have of Craftsmen L&G.
-To better understand the perception that people have of Craftsman L&G.
-To develop a consumer profile of current and potential Craftsman L&G owners.
Methodology
We conducted research online using the information database MRI+, and by visiting websites such as Sears.com, craftsman.com and various blogs and online product research guides.
Company Analysis
Sears Holding Corporation
Craftsman products are sold at Sears Holding Corporation retail stores and certain non-Sears Holding Corporation retail stores. Sears Holding Corporation stores include Sears (900 stores nationwide), Kmart (1,300 stores nationwide) and more than 1,000 other hometown stores. Also, Sears Holding Corporation sells Craftsman online. Non-Sears Holding Corporation retail stores where Craftsman is sold include ACE Hardware and Orchelin Farm Supply.
Sears Holding Corporation leads the retail industry in home appliances, tools, L&G, consumer electronics and automotive repair and maintenance. They include an array of different stores and brands, including Sears, Kmart, The Great Indoors, Lands’ End, Kenmore, Craftsman and more.
Sears
Sears retail stores are most often located as anchor stores in retail shopping malls. Some free-standing stores exist, especially in more rural areas. Sears also offers the full Craftsman line on their website. They often feature free shipping promotions on certain higher-dollar oders, and financing options through their Sears MasterCard. Military members receive 10 percent off all tools. Sears.com also offers a service for the consumer to buy the product online, but pick it up in-store with no shipping charge. Sears also offers a gift registry for couples getting married. A registry packet includes a catalog with suggested items, including Craftsman L&G items. Brand Analysis
Spanning over 80 categories and 6,000 SKUs, Craftsman offers a wide range of product choices for their consumer. In 1927, the rights to the Craftsman name was purchased by Sears for $500 from the Marion-Craftsman Tool Company. By 1930, only three years after the initial rights purchase, the Craftsman tool line was transformed. Upgrading its product offerings from the simple, outdated farm tools sold by Marion- Craftsman, a new more durable line was created that appealed to the newly popular automotive market. Creating a chrome-plated product for the consumer was initially questioned by the industry. By 1932, the integration of a more durable stick tool using chrome-plating increased sales 600 percent from the following year.
While offering tools for every task a DIY-er may encounter, Craftsman entered the L&G market in 1953 with the introduction of it’s first riding lawn mower and self-propelled snow thrower. Just two years after introducing lawnmowers to its product offerings, Craftsman sold its 500,000th lawn mover. Craftsman L&G sales continued to grow throughout the years, reaching an industry milestone in 1994 by selling more than one million lawnmowers in a single season.
Today, Craftsman is a $2.2 billion brand, grossing $1.1 billion from L&G tool sales. Much like the addition of chrome-plating and mechanical tools that sparked consumer’s interests early in Craftsman history, recent innovations in Craftsman mowers continue to rival competitor models while boasting still providing pricing.
Craftsman was voted the No. 1 tool brand in America in 2008, but lost that recognition to Stihl in 2009 and 2010. Craftsman is the market leader in tools and L&G. Craftsman is preferred 2 to 1 over the next tool brand. Among many of their awards are the Favorite Lawn Mower brand (2010) and Recommended Lawn Tractor (2010).
-Craftsman provides in-store experiences such as product demonstrations for DIY projects. They have a specific broadcast for DIYers that streams live on both FB and Blog Talk Radio giving tips and projects for those listening.
-Craftsman consumers consider the brand as trustworthy, worth paying more for, high quality, high performance and reliable.
-Revenue by product type: mowers ($350 million annually), trimmers, blowers and edgers ($100 million annually), pressure washers and miscellaneous stick tools ($60 million)
Product Analysis
Craftsman’s L&G products are known for their 3-in-1 garden tools, turn-tight technology, 19.2V batteries, quality and value. They are perceived as No. 1 in durability and quality.
Push Lawn Mowers
- 20 percent easier start compared to competitors.
- 3-in-1 blade for better mulching, bagging and discharging.
- Clear bag to see how full the bag is.
- Have the highest market share of any Craftsman L&G item (20 percent)
Lawn tractors
- 8-foot-wide turning radius for maneuverability (tightest in the industry).
- Larger cutting deck.
- Speed runs at 7.5 mph compared to competitors’ 5.5 mph.
String Trimmers
- Available with two and four-cycle engines.
- Split-shaft design for attachments.
- Recognized as a top brand.
Consumer Analysis
- Roughly 1 in 5 men in our target audience has a garden or participates in outdoor gardening.
- More men ages 18-34 purchase L&G in the fall than the spring.
- On average, people of any age spend less than $500 a year on L&G tools.
- Only 6.2 percent of men in our target use a service for L&G maintenance.
- 34.1 percent of the target audience uses the Internet heavily. Here is a breakdown of top sites they visit:
No. 1: Weather.com -- 6.7%
No. 2: YouTube -- 9.9%
No. 3: Facebook -- 28.6%
- Data shows only a small percentage of men in the target audience own essential L&G tools such as a lawn mower, leaf blower, trimmer and chain saw.
21.9 percent push lawnmower
11.4 percent chainsaw
8.4 percent trimmer/edger
8.2 percent riding lawnmower
6.6 percent outdoor blower
2.1 percent chipper/shredder
2.3 percent lawn or garden tractor
- Less than half of our target audience owns any tool at all.
45.5 percent any tool in general
Primary Research
Methodology
We conducted 13 in-depth interviews of members of the target audience face-to-face, over the phone and via email. We also posted a survey online using Survey Monkey. We had 77 respondents, 66 of which were part of the target audience. Also:
- 90 percent of the respondents lived in the Midwest.
- 66 percent of the respondents were ages 18- to -24, and 34 percent were 25- to -34.
- 82 percent of the respondents were single.
- Nearly 47 percent of respondents reported a household income of less than $20,000 annually.
- Respondents by property they live in: own a single-family home (14 or 22.5%); rent a single-family home (18 or 29%); rent apartment (11 or 17 percent); dorm (6 or 9.7%); live with parents (10 or 16%) fraternity (4 or 6%).
- Years at present address: less than one year (19 or 30%); 1-4 years (28 or 45%); 5 years or more (15 or 24%).
Survey Key Findings
- Nearly all of the members of the target audience have used L&G tools at some point in their lives.
- Respondents were mostly interested in sports (playing and watching), video games, outdoor activities and music.
- 53 percent of the target audience uses L&G tools occasionally. 21 percent never use them, and 25 percent use them frequently.
- 48 percent of respondents reported they were not likely to buy a L&G tool used. 34 percent said they were likely. Of those who reported they would buy a used l&G tool, there was no real difference between type of tools they would consider buying used.
- 35 percent of respondents said they would rather own all their L&G tools as opposed to renting or borrowing them. The pressure washer (30%), tiller (25%) and chain saw (25%) were the L&G tools respondents were most likely to rent or borrow.
- 58 percent of respondents who were asked to name a L&G brand named Craftsman in their response. 51 percent named John Deere in their response. Other brands reported varied significantly. 34 respondents left this question blank.
- 42 percent of respondents said style of product was the least important feature.
- When asked where Craftsman could be purchased, 63 percent of respondents knew they could buy Craftsman at Sears, but most of them also named other stores where Craftsman is not available.
- Respondents were most likely to research L&G products using recommendations from friends and family.
Interview Key Findings
- Most members of target audience do not like L&G work.
- Members of the target audience have heard of Craftsman, but don’t have much personal experience with the brand.
- Craftsman is perceived by the target audience as durable, reliable and a good value.
- The lifetime warranty that Craftsman has for some of its products is a big selling point.
- Growing up, interviewees mostly reported their father owned Craftsman tools, but not specifically L&G items.
- While the quality of a tool is important to the target audience, financial issues can prevent them from buying high-quality tools.
- Most members of the target audience would prefer to take care of their own L&G rather than hire a contractor to do it for them.
- Features target audience looks for when purchasing a tool: Durability and Affordability.
- Interviewees considered the Craftsman brand as a brand for their parents and older generations. They believe shoppers at Sears are not young people.
- Convenience of a store that offers L&G products is a big factor in their purchasing decision.
- Interviewees as a whole were not brand loyal to any L&G brand, and were not extremely familiar with any one brand.
- Interviewees would register for L&G items if they were getting married and using the Sears registry. They were most interested in the concept of a “guys gift registry.”