business plan - zoorganization

EST. 2014

THINK ABOUT IT

sounds familiar?

as a kid your mother collects objects that reminds her of you ..her “memories”

usually she keeps them in carton boxes or places them in the storage room

looking forward to the time that she will share them with you

after many years when the whole family is gathered together

your mother runs to the basement to find her.. your “memories”

of course this is easier said than done

most likely her “memories” are either scattered under a layer of dust in a pile of old stuff

or long gone after the last move

and as simple as that her.. your “memories” are lost

sounds familiar?

the experience of being a student..

for many, those are the best “memories” in their lifetime

clubs, bars, final exams, classes, friends, trips, sweethearts…“memories”

you get an apartment and you end up filling it up with objects from your daily adventures

after a couple of years your room is full of “memories”

at the end of your college years though, you get a job and you move into a new apartment

your memories end up being thrown away; they do not match your new apartment’s decoration

and you already know that putting all of them in shoe boxes will just delay throwing them away

and as simple as that your “memories” are lost

social media has become

the main medium for communication, social engagement, content sharing

as well as “memories” storage

anything you want related to your personal digital life

can be retrieved from your accounts on social media

you have all your digital “memories” in place

what about your actual physical “memories” the objects you want to keep?

digital VS physical

What is that?

The Coca Cola of cigarettes?

The Marlboro of sports shoes?

The Nike of coffee shops?

The Starbucks of computers?

The Apple of storage boxes?

keep your life together

BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

business description

ZOOrganization was invented in 2014 by Jay Brown and Tamara Brown in New York

the main offering of the company is The Elephant

a Memory Storage Kit which combines

- scrapbook/photo album pages

- flat document pockets

- three dimensional compartments

an effective storage solution for the various items relevant to a specific memory or life chapter

business description – organizational chart – background – product description – pricing - swot

EST. 2014

VISIONhelp people organize and store keepsakes together, rather than scattered in various places such as drawers, shoe boxes, etc. thus providing a more unique experience * both now and down the road when memories are visited

MISSIONZOOrganization stands for the highest level of quality and service when it comes to saving, organizing and retaining physical objects that compile people’s memories

BRAND PROMISEto help organize your past and present for a memorable future

MARKETING SLOGAN - keep your life together

business description


organizational chart

Tamara BrownFounding Member

Jay BrownFounding Member

Panos AnadiotisBusiness Development Director

Digital Marketing Agency

Third Party

Advisory Board

Management Team

Manufacturer

Distribution Vendor Fulfillment Vendor

Shipping Firm

Stephen BrownMember of the Advisory Board

Nassos AnadiotisMember of the Advisory Board


TBD

background

and thus, The Elephant was born by Jay Brown

- a man went to his first international adventure- he came back with coins, menus, guidebooks, pictures, rocks- he wished there was a way to keep all his souvenirs all together

- he found albums and scrapbooks for flat documents and boxes for three-dimensional items- fearful that his memory would scatter the way his mementos had, he began his quest to build a better way to preserve the entirety of his memory, in one complete collection


4 inches

14 inches

11 inches

6.5 inches

6.5 inches

3.1 inches

3.1 inches

5.5 inches 5.5 inches

2 inches

13 inches

1.5 inches

12 inches

product description

three dimensional storage containers

5 compartments

3-ring binder / scrapbook in protective pocket

protective slipcase designed for display on shelf

made out of Polypropylene

light durable material

net weight of 2.5 pounds

14 inches height, 12 inches length, 4 inches width

color: dark grey (carbon)


pricingPRODUCTION & OPERATIONS COST

- $2,000 for one time initial product testing

- production cost per unit will be $4.28, total cost for manufacturing for the first year (5,000 units) will be $21,400

- the cost to ship 5,000 units from the factory in China to the US will be $7,000

- for all the fulfillment services the monthly cost will be $350 per month with a total of $4,200 per year

- total production/operations cost for 5,000 units is $34,600, each unit will cost ZOOrganization $6.92

MARKET PRICES

- primary competitor’s prices range from $5.00 to $85.00

- The Elephant will be priced lower than the average price of our competitors

COMPETITOR’S SALES

- from $500K to $3.6M

the suggested price for The Elephant is $25.005 times more than the lowest price of our competitors and 12 times less than their highest price

swot analysis

one of a kind product that satisfies the need of two overlapping

industries (scrapbooking and collection storage)

in-house product design and development expertise

(Jay Brown, Inventor/Founder)

in-house marketing expertise (Tamara Brown, Founder)

Competitive pricing

challenge to position the product as being unique due to similar (yet

different) offerings

no brand awareness

currently does not offer customizable options

limited product line

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES

OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

scrapbooking industry is rapidly growing

20% increase within two years (2010-2012)

directly assist patients with Alzheimer’s Disease / Reminiscence Therapy

memory building is becoming an industry that other businesses capitalize on

no product is positioned solely as a memory preservation solution for a

variety of physical objects

product line expansion

well established competition

people can satisfy their memory building needs by using other storage

methods for keepsakes

manufacturing will be outsourced in Asia making the operations process

challenging

due to the unique nature of the product it is difficult to predict market

demand


MARKET &

INDUSTRY

ANALYSIS

memory preservation

memory preservation – alzheimer’s – industry analysis – current buyers

scientific studies have proved:

- that there is a significant positive correlation between memorabilia and mood (D.Kirk & A.Sellen, 2010)

- people believe that their possessions help them see their lives respectively and form their identity (Newswire PR, 2012)

- it helps them define themselves by revisiting their past (K.Vaisutis, 2011)

- the reminiscence via possessions is related to high life satisfaction and a higher ability to solve problems posed

throughout the course of life (R.Ferraro, 2010)

- people collect objects because studies have defined six different reasons why people archive objects:

- to define the self

- to forget- to fulfill a duty- to frame the family- to connect with the past- to honor those who they care about

ZOOrganization looked into the studies which have attempted to classify the types of objects collected

in order to identify the best combination of needs that The Elephant will satisfy

alzheimer's


there is an estimated 5.2M Americans living with Alzheimer’s (Alzheimer’s Association, 2014)

Reminiscence Therapy

- defined by the American Psychological Association as

“the use of life histories – written, oral, or both – to improve psychological well-being”

- the activities involved in memory building benefit people with Alzheimer’s disease by allowing them to recollect

their past to help trigger their short term memory

- need to revisit their experiences in order to feel oriented in their present

- caregivers recommend to patients to get involved in memory

- building activities, such as collecting keepsakes to trigger their memory

scrapbooking and memory crafts industry

in 2012 the Scrapbooking and Memory Crafts segment made $1.44 billion, contributing 4.93% to the $29.2 billion

U.S. craft and hobby industry (Craft & Hobby Association Statistics Report, 2012)

the Scrapbooking and Memory Crafts segment is ranked second, with 23 million households participating

in comparison to 18.4M in 2010 – a 20% growth (study of 114,200,000 U.S. households Craft and Hobby Association)

35% of U.S. households use scrapbooking like activities as the main method of retaining memories (Hoovers, 2014)

in 2010, 29% of U.S. households had tried scrapbooking and 13.5 million people, or 12% of households, completed

at least one creative memories project (scrapbooking.com annual report, 2011)


scrapbooking and memory crafts industry | current buyers

nearly 23 Million Americans (10% of the population)

77% Female Participation

median age is 40 (between 35 and 44)

58% participated in March, 2014

43% made a purchase in March, 2014

they buy online, in craft stores or through consultants


COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

scrapbook.com – university products – safe – bcw – competitive mapping

COMPANY DESCRIPTIONe-commerce web site which sells all major brands of scrapbooks and suppliesthe company offers memory craft related products and ideas from more than 250 brands

PRODUCTSscrapbook albums, scrapbook paper, stickers, cutting supplies, decorations and adhesive

PRICE RANGE: $7.00 - $36.00

SALES IN 2013: $500,000

MAIN STRENGTH: retailer and distributor of many known scrapbooking brands

MAIN WEEKNESS: product offerings for only two-dimensional memory storage

MAIN OPPORTUNITY: scrapbooking industry is rapidly growing

MAIN THREAT: more competitors emerging in the digital space

COMPANY DESCRIPTIONUniversity Products is a supplier focusing on archival conservation, preservation and exhibition materialsbeing in the industry since 1968, University Products offers more than 100 products

PRODUCTSarchival containers, photo storage and albums, scrapbooks, memory books, collection storage

PRICE RANGE: $5.00 - $45.00

SALES IN 2013: $1.6M

MAIN STRENGTH: high brand awareness

MAIN WEEKNESS: solely online seller

MAIN OPPORTUNITY: memorabilia is a growing industry

MAIN THREAT: competitors offer products preservation solution for a variety of physical objects


COMPANY DESCRIPTIONfounded in 1953 SAFE is represented around the globe and exports over 40% of its products worldwideSAFE targets collectors by providing organizing, archiving, scrapbooking and collecting supplies

PRODUCTSkeepsake/collection storage containers, scrapbooks, collection supplies, albums and holders

PRICE RANGE: $25.00 - $85.00

SALES IN 2013: $1M

MAIN STRENGTH: more than 300 products available

MAIN WEEKNESS: solely online seller

MAIN OPPORTUNITY: expand reach through paid search advertising

MAIN THREAT: competitors with similar products and lower costs


COMPANY DESCRIPTIONin business since 1983, BCW Supplies provides a large selection of hobby supplies and storageBCW has been manufacturing high quality products designed to store, protect and display, valuable collectibles

PRODUCTSmemorabilia display cases, photo accessories, comic boards and containers

PRICE RANGE: $7.00 - $49.00

SALES IN 2013: $3.6M

MAIN STRENGTH: more than 800 products available

MAIN WEEKNESS: targets collectors only

MAIN OPPORTUNITY: penetrate the arts and craft industry

MAIN THREAT: competition offers product preservation solutions that do not appeal only to collectors

PROTECT – STORE - DISPLAY


High Price

Collection Focused

Low Price

Scrapbooking Focused

competitive mapping

- target avid scrapbookers and amateur collectors

- there isn’t a product in market that can satisfy the demand of

both 2D and 3D storage

- no company has raised the bar of the brand awareness high

enough to dominate the market

- the fact that there is already well established competition for

ZOOrganization shows that there is a market for our offering

- will expand even further by serving the demand for three-

dimensional scrapbooking


TARGET

AUDIENCE

primary target audience

Meet Jane

- 34 year old woman who works as a realtor in New York City

- Jane is married with three young children

- she is a busy professional but more than anything she enjoys and looks forward to the

times she gets to spend with her family

- she plans birthdays, school events, and festive holiday activities among other events

- it’s very important to her to savoir the memories and keepsakes from these events so

her kids have them to revisit in the future

- she wants an easy and unique keepsake solution that would store all of the little things

that are special to her and her family, both two and three dimensional

- Jane buys The Elephant for every major life event

Jane – Larry

secondary target audience

Meet Larry

- 76 years old

- he is retired and spends his time doing his favorite activities such as gardening and

going for walks with his wife and live-in caretaker

- Larry was diagnosed with Alzheimer at the age of 68

- Larry has a very close relationship with his caretaker

- his caretaker noticed that random objects around the house that have a tie with an

event or person in Larry’s past, trigger his memory

- one of Larry’s favorite activities is going through the items that his family and

caretaker put together in The Elephant that remind him of his journey and loved ones

Jane – Larry

MARKETING PLAN

objectives – communication idea – brand identity – marketing mix – digital marketing – alzheimer’s

objectivesSALES

AWARENESS ADVOCACY

growth

AWARENESS

- increase the brand awareness to tie back to the company’s vision

- position The Elephant in the arts and crafts market

- the only product directly related to memorabilia/memory building

ADVOCACY

- capitalize on word of mouth (especially in the digital space)

- sparkle interest for the brand and the product

SALES

- convert interest into monetary value for the business

communication idea | The Elephant – The Physical Dropbox

the world is already obsessed with capturing “memories”,


because nostalgia is a human need that needs to be satisfied

although technology does a great job keeping track of our digital “memories”

what happens when it goes to physical objects?

The Elephant is here because of your memories

past, present, for fun, important, insignificant, sharable or for your eyes only

no matter what you want to save

The Elephant can satisfy your need for easy and a lot more rewarding storage

brand identity

Keep Your Life Together



Style Guide

Color Palette: Rouge, Smoke, Slate, Basic Black

Font - Size: Lucida Handwriting –20px, MS Reference sans Serif –32px, Vladimir Script –20px


marketing mix

organize and store keepsakes together VS scattered in various places

combines photo album pages flat document pockets, 2D & 3D compartments

store items relevant to a specific memory or life chapter

the highest level of quality, usability and design

appeal to a public that consists of both avid scrapbookers and amateur

collectors by storing and preserving both two-dimensional and three

dimensional objects in one quality product

initially online (after the first two years of operation in stores as well)

craft, hobby, gift stores and web stores

utilize digital marketing and secure product placement in craft, hobby and gift

stores

competitors compete mainly in the digital space

PRODUCT PLACE

PRICE PROMOTION

no need to buy multiple products because the elephant satisfies multiple needs

two and three dimensional keepsakes

competitors pricing: $5.00 to $85.00

price sensitive customers

The Elephant accounts for this by being on the lower side of the price range

priced about $17 less than the median price of the competitors’ products

suggested price: $25

content/digital marketing

partner with Alzheimer's organizations

online displays

competitors’ promotional channels influence ZOOrganization's promotional activity. We are competing with well established companies which have sufficient revenue to indicate successful marketing.


digital marketing

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT- optimized user experience making the buying process as easy as possible

- culture and memory building (home page)- The Elephant- about us- alzheimer's- contact


SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

PAID SEARCH- online displays / online partnerships

- svpply.com- craftfoxes.com- etsy.com- uncommongoods.com

- google ad words campaigns- google shopping- amazon- eBay

digital marketing


alzheimer's


• tool for hospice care

• scheduling bi-monthly visits to local hospice centers to present the product

• increase participation in reminiscence therapy as an activity in senior citizen care

• help families and caretakers interact with loved one who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in order to trigger memory for better communication

• visit local community centers in order to introduce our product to facility management teams

• during visiting hours to introduce the product directly to family members

• part of their care taking methodology to both the patients and their families

• quarterly visits to national care giver organizations to provide a tutorial and comprehensive presentation of the product and its benefits

• introduce The Elephant as a tool for memory reminiscence

OPERATIONS PLAN

flow of operations

flow of operations – research & development – manufacturing – importing – fulfillment – distribution vendor - timeline

Research & Development Production/Manufacturing Shipping/Importing FulfillmentYear 1

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

Production/Manufacturing Shipping/Importing FulfillmentYear 3


Distribution Vendor

TBD

research and development

chemir will provide feedback on the following categories

- the product’s context of use

- fulfillment of national and international ergonomics standards

- the products proper documentation

- the results in volunteer consumer testing

- evaluation of test results and final report

after the testing of the product has been completed with a successful result Zoorganization will move to the production stage

the testing facility in which the product will be tested is chemir located in Maryland Heights, MO


market research to identify market needs

product design and development

prototype

product testing

production

manufacturing- Zoorganization will outsource the manufacturing of The Elephant

manufacturing China located in Glendale, California

- the company’s factory is located in Fuzhou City, Fujian Province, China producing 5,000 units

- the total number of units needed for the first year of operation will be placed in one initial order to minimize

manufacturing cost

importing- SteelShips is an international provider of marine transportation services located in New York, NY

- the shipment will be delivered at the Port Newark Container Terminal (PNCT) located in Port Newark

- the fulfillment house will be responsible for the pick-up and delivery of manufactured goods

fulfillment- fulfillment works LLC is located in Orange, CT

- will handle the storage, fulfillment and business to consumer distribution

- data entry, order processing, product fulfillment, inventory control, packaging, assembly, real time shipping/tracking system


distribution vendorin the third year of operation Zoorganization will be using a distribution vendor to secure in-store presence

services that will be provided:

- distributor will provide a list of potential retailers for The Elephant

- handle paper work between the retail outlets and Zoorganization

- invoicing and collection

Production/Manufacturing Shipping/Importing FulfillmentYear 3


Distribution Vendor

TBD


timeline


Financial Plan

personnel plan – start-up funding – sales forecast – cash flow - profit & loss statement

Start-up Funding Total

Tamara Brown 40,000

Jay Brown 40,000

Stephen Brown 20,000

Total Investments 100,000

Personnel Plan Year 1 ($) Year 2 ($) Year 3 ($)

Business Development Director (Part-Time) 18,000 18,000 18,000 Total People 1 1 1

Total Salaries 18,000 18,000 18,000


Sales Forecast Year 1 ($) Year 2 ($) Year 3 ($)

Sales

The Elephant 50,000 75,000 140,000Total Sales 50,000 75,000 140,000

Direct Cost of Sales

The Elephant 34,600 10,000 50,400Total Cost of Sales 34,600 10,000 50,400

Product Line Expansion



The Dove – “The Faith Keeper”

The Stork – “Delivering Memories”

The Pet – “From nose to tail”

The Squirrel – “Go nuts with your portfolio”

Thank you !