Existing product to new market?

[KateCB]

Hi Guys,

I have a range of garments (T's, Hooded tops,Sweatshirts, training vests, jackets etc) that were developed for the martial arts/fitness arena, and they have been very successfu.

We have had orders from people who are not in this arena, but love the design, so I would like to know if you can give me any guidance on how to market this range, preferably at little cost (times are tough - trying to maximise what I have, which means keeping the pennies in the bank if possible!) to a more general market?

The designs are on our site http://www.karate-kid.co.uk and they are the Tribe leaping tiger (as shown below - sorry I can't seem to get it smaller!) and the Tribe Viper designs - we have put these designs on White, Ash Grey, Pink, Navy, Yellow, Black and pale blue garments, so colours are definately not a problem!

As with the hooded tops that are on the site, the brand accent appears on the sleeve too - must remember to put it on this graphic!

http://www.karate-kid.co.uk/images/Product-Accent-tribe-tiger.jpg
Whilst the accent brand is well known and trusted in our own marketplace, obviously the brand is not a generally known brand; can I market it as a 'Niche market brand'? - that said, I have no idea where to start to market it - any advice truly appreciated!

[profitxchange]

why not ask the people who have bought who are outside your market? where did they find you - where would they look for this type of garment. Its amazing what you can learn from customers.

[KateCB]

Hi,

The people who have bought that are technically outside of our arena were loosly connected - i.e parents of students within the Dojo's, who bought for their other kids or themselves purely because they like the design; if you search the web for printed garments there are millions of links,; we could keyword the TRIBE, however this cold take months to show up and I dont think that people associate the design with tribe, despite it being prominent!

Stuck - don't know where/how to advertise it!

[profitxchange]

try thinking laterally - they were buying as a present so why not set up a presents site or offer your product tom sites that are already in the field.

[consultant]

have you contacted other martial arts/fight retailers (on and off line) or sports shops?

[KateCB]

hi - we do have a gifts area, but people looking for a gift don't automatically think of going to a martial arts website!

Other martial arts suppliers are reluctant/resistant to offering other peoples brands, as many of us have our own branding, i.e. our brand is Accent, we wouldn't offer smaller, independent brands. We offer known MA brands such as Adidas, Nike, Kaiten etc, however it might be worth talking to some of our local independent sports shops - thanks for that!

[CJSteele]

Hi Kate,

This is a very interesting topic. It reminds me of a section I read in Malcol Gladwell's 'The Tipping Point' that explained how style and fasion from a subculture (martial arts for example) becomes a fad in the mainstream. I can't recall the full details, but there was almost a step by step guide on how to track the progress of the fad and how take advantage of it. Take a look, I reckon that it will at least give you some good ideas on how to take full advantage of this trend that you are starting to notice.

Clint
Product Design & DEvelopment Engineer
GetYourStuffMadeInChina