MARKETING Plan
CS 410 Red Team
Old Dominion University
July 26, 2016
CS 410 Red
SILENCER
7/26/2016
Table of Contents
Document
Pg. No.
Table of Contents ...............................................................................................................................................2
1
Market Analysis .........................................................................................................................................3
2
Target Market .............................................................................................................................................4
3
Sales Plan ...................................................................................................................................................5
4
Advertising Strategy ..................................................................................................................................5
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This section will outline the marketing plan for The Silencer. The target market, initial audience for the
prototype, and potential future markets will be discussed, as well as methods that can be used to get our
product out to the public.
1 Market Analysis
Car crashes are the leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 20, and younger drivers are three
times more likely to die in a crash as those 25 and older. In fact, the younger the driver, the more likely
an accident can occur: the crash rate for 16 year olds per million miles is three times as high as 19 year
olds, and nearly six times as high as 20 to 24 year olds. To go along with these frightening statistics, a
2007 survey by Nationwide Mutual Insurance found that 73% of people talk on cell phones while driving,
and that cell phone use was highest among younger drivers. The same survey also showed that 19% of
motorists say they send and receive text messages while driving. Cell phone use while driving
quadruples the risk of a serious crash, and slows reaction time by 20%.
There are a few products that can be used to reduce the negative effects of cell phone use while
driving. Hands-free devices, such as Bluetooth earpieces, allow the driver to use the phone while still
being able to use both hands, however research has shown that the distraction of talking on the phone is
the cause of driver distraction, not the driver being unable to use their hands. Cell phone jammers are
an effective means of disabling cell phones, as they block outgoing and incoming calls and texts without
actively distracting the driver, however these jammers are illegal in the United States and most European
countries.
A product called “Cell Coach” is designed specifically to target the use of cell phones by teens and
young adults while driving. This product, however, does not disable or block incoming or outgoing calls.
Instead it emits an “annoying sound, similar to safety alerts given to aircraft pilots” whenever a cell
phone call is made or received in the car. The idea behind this product is that the sound will be so
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annoying to drivers that they will hang up the phone themselves.
Our product, The Silencer, is designed to send incoming calls and texts straight to voicemail, or the
inbox in the case of texts. The Silencer will be placed in the car and whenever a Bluetooth enabled
phone enters the car, The Silencer software will be put on the phone. Once a phone has the software,
The Silencer disables any activity on the phone, except an outgoing 911 call, whenever the car is turned
on. Though this may sound similar to jammers, The Silencer is a legal device because it does not prevent
any functionality, it instead simulates a phone that has been turned off. Anything that is sent to the
phone will be received, but will be held in voicemail or the messages inbox until the phone is reactivated
by The Silencer. Our product does not cause any active distraction to the driver, and at the same time
prevents any cell phone use from doing the same.
2 Target Market
The initial market of The Silencer will be the parents of teenagers who are just beginning to drive.
We initially plan to test the product by enrolling the help of some PTA’s, and even getting the schools
involved in order to test them on buses. However, our limited initial market does not prevent us from
expanding into other customer bases, such as businesses.
In 2005, the leading cause of worker death was auto accidents, and many large companies already
have at least a “hands-free” policy, such as General Motors’ policy that requires hands-free devices and
asks employees to avoid cell phone use in heavy traffic altogether. In fact, ExxonMobil and BP restrict
cell phone use while driving completely. Companies adopt these policies because plaintiffs have won
cases in the past against companies whose workers cause accidents while using the cell phone and
driving, since companies are liable for employee negligence is there is no policy against that particular
negligence. If the company provides a cell phone, then the company can be held responsible even if the
employee is not officially on company business and involved in an accident. Government agencies have
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also adopted similar polices: the Washington Department of Labor and Industries prohibits the use of
electronic equipment and cell phones while driving on official state business.
3 Sales Plan
Since The Silencer has such a large potential customer base, there are a number of options for selling
the product. Because of the way The Silencer has to be installed, it can be sold in a store such as Best
Buy and installed by the store’s staff, in a similar manner to a car radio. However, since it will be
possible for mechanically proficient people to install it themselves, we can also offer the product
through a website with an extra cost of shipping and handling.
During the testing phase of the product, we will be able to give test products to schools in order to
distribute them to parents during PTA meetings, and we could convince the school to test them in their
buses as well. We could also have applications for test products on our website.
4 Advertising Strategy
Our product can be advertised through schools, similar to our testing phase. Once testing is finished,
we would be able to sell the product through the school or directly to parents. Since cell phone use
while driving is becoming a more prominent threat to safety while driving, local news agencies may
want to run stories about the product in order to inform their viewers about possible ways to improve
safety in vehicles. Business may also want to adopt this product as a way to enforce their cell phone use
policies in company cars.
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