The Power of the Free Press….
We have learned that without a big advertising and marketing budget to support a roll-out of your product in the mass market you need to rely on whatever tools you have at hand. In this area the story behind the invention is our biggest asset to get exposure in the media (that coupled with a pretty cool product we think). Basically I was told early on that you need to have a “hook” to “hang” your story on if you want the media to accept it. In addition someone once told me we need to knock on everydoor, chase every opportunity and make as much noise as possible if we are going to try and make this product a global success. Well, this week we went all out; On Monday the San Francisco Examiner did a nice spread, followed up with 5 minutes on QVC, then the San Mateo Times and all affiliated papers ran the story below, tonight at 5:25 pm ABC news will be doing a little feature, then next week CNBC is running a well documented story on the Penagain. When I asked the reporter if this is a regional story or maybe hopefully a National one she spooked me a little bit by saying..”Colin, this is not only National, but Global.” Needless to say, we are hoping this translates into a grand slam for our test trial in the Mass Market.
Wal-Mart to test out novel ergonomic pen
SAN MATEO COLIN ROCHE feels like he’s on a business survivor TV show, facing a huge challenge.A year and a half ago, he asked a Wal-Mart buyer to give his unique pen a trial run with the nation’s biggest retail chain.He got what he asked for: a 30-day test run in 500 Wal-Mart stores for his wishbone-shaped, ergonomically designed pen.Now he has to sell 85 percent of the 48,000 pens Wal-Mart ordered — by the end of this month.If they sell, the product will be considered for full-time shelf space.”We’re nervous as hell about the test, but the pens are selling well in local stores,” said Roche, whose San Mateo-based Pacific Writing Instruments Inc. is just starting to hit its stride.”Let the great pen wars begin,” deadpanned the energetic former high-tech sales executive. It won’t be the end of the world if the product called PenAgain doesn’t make the Wal-Mart cut. Office Depot just started a rollout of the pens last week, and they will go in 1,049 stores. But the Wal-Mart deal would really establish the company and product, Roche said.He dreamed up the pen while sitting in high school detention in 1987. The invention was aimed at relieving his bad habit of squeezing pens so hard they hurt his hand. Roche, 34, has been pushing hard lately for sales. The pen will sell for just under $4 in Wal-Mart and Office Depot stores. Distribution has been limited until now for Roche and his partner, Bobby Ronsse, an old college fraternity brother.”It’s very difficult to get a Wal-Mart to even try your product,” said George Whalin, president and chief executive of Retail Management Consultants in San Marcos. “So he’s fortunate to go that far.”Whalin said thousands of new products from small inventors and entrepreneurs hit the market every year. “Success could depend on if he gets a good spot in the store. “Roche is getting an “Side Kick,” located at the end of an aisle in Wal-Mart. Whalin called it a prime spot. The question is: Is there enough mass appeal for the product to stay on Wal-Mart’s shelves? And is it going to be a big seller at Office Depot? The pens are popular with people who suffer from arthritis and carpal tunnel syndrome, but they also appeal to people who like something different.The writer’s index finger sits in the saddle of the Y-shaped pen.
| The natural weight of the writer’s hand provides enough pressure to apply ink to the paper. Since Roche was written about in this paper in 2003, he has been selling online and in smaller, independent stationery stores and gift shops. He has pushed annual sales up to $2 million.”It makes writing more comfortable and easier,” said Kent Robertson, a distribution manager at Sealed Air Corp. in Hayward. Plus, he said, it’s “a great icebreaker” in sales calls, because it’s a good conversation piece. But getting into big stores doesn’t necessarily make life easier for the budding inventor/entrepreneur. While it’s a terrific milestone, it means big changes and problems, too. Roche has to raise the money to manufacture tens of thousands of pens before they’re sold. The three-person company has four investors, mostly “executives who did very well,” Roche said. But the stress dial can climb fast when you’re trying to pay for mass manufacturing, he said. Roche and Ronsse traveled to China recently to work with a factory to produce the pens in high volume. “You can be a victim of your own success,” he said. “They want the pens right now if they accept them.”He doesn’t have a big advertising budget, only grassroots networking with friends, schools and organizations like national arthritis groups.Then there are changes in pricing. Roche’s pens are now being sold for a lower price by the mass retailers. The price will be $3.76 at Wal-Mart and $3.99 at Office Depot. That’s down from more than $6 in some smaller stores. “That’s what happens when you sell in volume,” he said.The countdown is coming fast at Wal-Mart (the retailer didn’t return phone calls for comment). Roche is trying to make sure the displays look good in the local stores, and is asking friends and customers to check the displays in stores he can’t get to. “We hope it has legs to stand on its own,” he said. “We don’t have an ad budget, so it’s got to sit there and sell itself.” | ||
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