EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The Doggie Butler is an automated mobile robotic unit designed to eliminate canine fecal matter from the yards of busy homeowners. The purpose of this study was to help lay the groundwork for future research and advertising, and public relations campaigns by clarifying the Doggie Butler’s demographics, psychographics and geographics. To conduct this study, seven resources were used. These include, Bacon’s Newspaper Directory (2005), and Bacon’s Magazine Directory (2005), in order to determine readership and cost per thousand impressions for Better Homes and Gardens, Cosmopolitan, and Outside magazines, as well as the Albuquerque Journal and Crosswinds newspapers. The Simmons Choices III Database (2002) developed the Bacon’s Magazine Directory information by showing how likely 25-28 year olds who owned a dog and worked full or part time were to pick up and look through five selected magazines, during a six month period as compared to the average reader. The Lifestyles Market Analyst (2005) was used to determine the designated market area to be Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico where the average household more likely than the average to own a dog and participate in the lifestyle of “Science/New Technology.” The Community Sourcebook of Zip Code Demographics (2004) showed that people in the Albuquerque/Santa Fe area, particularly those with the zip code of 87111 spent more than the average household on “Pets and Supplies”. The Household Spending Who Spends How Much on What (2004) elaborated, reporting how much individuals within the age group (25-34) spent on pet purchases, supplies and medicines, as well as gardening and lawn care service in 2001. Finally, SRI’s VALS Segmentation System assisted in developing a psychographic segmentation for the Doggie Butler.

BACKGROUND/PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:
The Doggie Butler is an automated mobile robotic unit designed to eliminate canine fecal matter from the yards of busy homeowners (Fig. 1.1). A set of pins are placed in the homeowners lawn to assign up to four quadrants – front, back, and two sides; which homeowners may install themselves, or call a trained Doggy Butler technician. A waste disposal unit must also be installed and plugged in to any three-pronged outlet. To activate the unit, homeowners simply indicate (by way of an ergonomic dial) the quadrant in which they wish it to operate. Then, the Doggy Butler uses a patented heat-seeking technology, rugged four-wheel drive design and a powerful vacuum to zero in on canine feces locations, and suck it into its 3-gallon internal chamber. The unit can either be programmed to return to the waste disposal unit once the internal chamber is full, or at specified time increments. The Doggie Butler attaches to the base of the waste disposal unit and, using a reverse vacuum method, evacuates its internal chamber. This is also where the unit recharges. It has a battery life of 12 hours. Homeowners are alerted to a full waste disposal unit when a display screen reads “Bag Full.”

TARGET MARKET:
DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION:
The target market for the Doggie Butler includes males and females, ages 25-34 who own dogs, and are employed at a part time or full time job. These individuals are busy starting or developing their careers, and do not have a lot of excess time around the home to keep it neat. They are interested than saving time since they are busy starting their families or careers.

GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION:
The designated market area (DMA) for the Doggie Butler is Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico. There are 333,093 households in this DMA, making it the 47th largest out of 210 areas (Lifestyle Market Analyst, (SRDS, Des Plaines, IL) 2005, p. A-32)).

PSYCHOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION:
VALS SEGMENTS: According to SRI’s VALS Segmentation System, the target market for the Doggie Butler is primarily the Achievers group, and secondarily the Experiencers group (SRI Consulting Business Intelligence, (http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS/types.shtml), 2005).

-Achievers are motivated by the desire for achieving their goals and an image that reflects their successes in life. They have high resources, meaning they are relatively young and/or wealthy. Achievers also have strong commitments to their family, religion, and work. Because Achievers are goal oriented, they have little time for mundane tasks, and time saving devices interest them greatly. The Doggie Butler is a product Achievers would be interested in because it saves them time and effort, and also is very visible to the public eye.
-Experiencers are motivated by the desire for uniqueness and self-expression, and generally have high resources. This means they are often young and/or well off. They also have a lot of energy and are quite impulsive. Experiencers spend a lot of time on sports, and accumulating ‘cool’ gadgets. These combinations of impulsive buying, love of toys, and little spare time (due to constant, on the go / outdoor activities), makes Experiencers a group that would be interested in the Doggie Butler.

CONSUMER PARTICIPATIONS: To completely understand our target market, we must also understand how they spend their time. The following are two lifestyle activities (owning a dog and science/new technology) selected from the Lifestyle Market Analyst that pertain specifically to the Doggie Butler and the DMA of Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico.

-Own A Dog: The Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico area ranks 16th out of the 210 DMAs surveyed. This means that of the 210 areas surveyed, households in this area are 16th most likely to own a dog. Owning a dog is important because if a household does not have a dog, there is little to no reason to purchase a Doggie Butler. (Lifestyle Market Analyst, (SRDS, Des Plaines, IL) 2005, p. 11)).
-Science/New Technology: Albuquerque/Santa Fe has an index of 127 for Science/New Technology. This means that consumers in this area are 27% more likely to participate in activities associated with science and new technology. This is important because the Doggie Butler is cutting edge technology (Lifestyle Market Analyst, (SRDS, Des Plaines, IL) 2005, p. 11)).

CONSUMER EXPENDITURES: It is important to know whether or not consumers in the target market are spending money on products in similar categories. The following figures were taken from Household Spending. All are for the age group consisting of those who were 25-34 (a total of 18,515,000 people).
-Pet purchase, Supplies, Medicine: $42.71 per consumer unit per year in 2001 (Household Spending, (New Strategist Publications, Inc, Ithaca, NY) 2004, p. 220).
-Gardening, Lawn Care Service: $28.41 per consumer unit per year in 2001 (Household Spending, (New Strategist Publications, Inc, Ithaca, NY) 2004, p. 220).

ZIP CODE DEMOGRAPHICS: It is important to know how likely residents of Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico are to purchase certain products in a similar market to the Doggie Butler. With this information we can predict its popularity. The main zip code is 87111.
- Pets and Pet Supplies: Index of 123. This means that households in the zip code 87111 are 23% more likely to purchase pets or pet supplies than the average household (The Community Sourcebook of Zip Code Demographics, (ESRI Business Information Solutions, Lebanon, NH) 2004, p. 196-D).

COMPETITIVE SITUATION:
Doggie Butler has three main types of competitors, the plastic bag, the scoop, and the professional service. Three mainstream competitive brands have been selected as well as three magazines in which these competitors might run an ad. The cost to run an ad has been calculated to help compare options.

COMPETITORS:
-Glad Sandwich Bags: small, sealable plastic bags
-The Pooper Scooper: a waste removal tool featuring two long handles and a shovel.
-“Pet Butler,” or other Service Providers: pet waste removal service provided to homes and businesses – other humans with pooper-scoopers.

MAGAZINES:
-Better Homes and Gardens
Ad Rate: $280,700 Circulation: 7,628,424
Unit: 7.875x10.5(Col:3)/One Time/Black&White/Run of Press
Cost Per Thousand (Impressions): $36.80
(Bacon’s Magazine Directory, (Bacon’s Information, Inc, Chicago, IL), 2005, p. 1494)
-Cosmopolitan
Ad Rate: $136,924 Circulation: 2,996,093
Unit: 8x10.875(Col:3)/One Time/Black&White/Run of Press
Cost Per Thousand (Impressions): $45.70
(Bacon’s Magazine Directory, (Bacon’s Information, Inc, Chicago, IL), 2005, p. 2877)
-Outside
Ad Rate: $48,925 Circulation: 657,485
Unit: 8.25x10.875(Col:3)/One Time/Black&White/Run of Press
Cost Per Thousand (Impressions): $74.41
(Bacon’s Magazine Directory, (Bacon’s Information, Inc, Chicago, IL), 2005, p. 2588)

POSITIONING:
Two attributes, which make the Doggie Butler stand out among its competitors, include its high degree of accuracy (within a short period of time) and low personal involvement of the dog owner. Attribute positioning on a perceptual map makes this clear.

The Doggie Butler quickly removes all dog waste from homeowner’s yards with little personal involvement.

MESSAGES:
Three sample messages have been prepared, as well as their relevance to the VALS positioning system, demography and geography.

-At Your Service: This message is relevant to the Achiever VALS type as it connotates the wealth and success that allow one to employ a butler. Achievers are the primary VALS type for the Doggie Butler and the image of achievement is one of their primary motivators. This message particularly appeals to a working person, as they are likely very busy. This is one way they can pamper themselves (as if they had a butler). Geographically this message fits because the Albuquerque/Santa Fe zip code area shows a high rate for the purchase of pets and pet supplies. Consumers there want to have pets and they want them to be “accessorized.”
Readability: 90.9%

-Dog’s Best Friend: This message is relevant to the Experiencers VALS type. These people value self-expression and uniqueness. It takes the old phrase “man’s best friend,” and implies that perhaps the dog’s best friend is not automatically human – a twist on conventional tradition. This appeals to the 25 to 34 year-old market since they are most likely working to establish a unique lifestyle and career. They want to differentiate themselves from their elders while still appearing competent. This message is geographically relevant because the Albuquerque/Santa Fe zip code shows a high rate of spending per year on “Gardening and Lawn Care Services.” People in this market want a nice lawn but they don’t want to groom it themselves.
Readability: 100%

-The innovative solution to doggie pollution: This message is relevant to the Achievers VALS segment. Achievers have goal-oriented lifestyles and therefore value time saving devices. They also want to be the first on their block with new technology (which makes them appear to be very successful). This message is also relevant to Experiencers because they value new and exciting possibilities. They also value the appearance of being on the cutting or trendy edge. Doggie Butler is a way for these two groups to show their uniqueness and buying power to all their neighbors. This is an important message demographically because this age group (25-34) is most likely employed at their first job – the first time they will have been able to accrue wealth and therefore spend it. It is also an important message geographically because the Albuquerque/Santa Fe zip code shows a high rate for participation in “Science and New Technology.” Residents there enjoy new gizmos.
Readability: 17.4%

MEDIA:
NEWSPAPERS:
Two newspapers from the target market, Albuquerque/Santa Fe, NM in which Doggie Butler might run an ad have been analyzed. One runs daily, the other, weekly.

Albuquerque Journal (Daily)-
Ad Rate: $98.30 Circulation: 109,693
Unit: One Column Inch/Black&White.
Cost Per Thousand (Impressions): $0.90
(Bacon’s Newspaper Directory, (Bacon’s Information, Inc, Chicago, IL), 2005, p. 840)
Crosswinds (Weekly)-
Ad Rate: $239.00 Circulation: 32,000
Unit: One Column Inch/Black&White
Cost Per Thousand (Impressions): $7.47
(Bacon’s Newspaper Directory, (Bacon’s Information, Inc, Chicago, IL), 2005, p. 2115)


SIMMONS’ CHOICES III DATABASE:
The Choices III Database is a collection of information from many surveys that have been generalized to the United States population. It allows the user to define a target market (demographics, psychographics, buying behaviors) and generate a chart detailing that specific market’s media behavior. Analyzed for this report are the three magazines identified in the Competitive Situation Analysis as well as two other magazines in the target market (Fig. 1.2). The target market was set to be those ages 25-34 and working a part/full time job, and also owned one dog. The magazines’ criteria was whether or not they had been read or looked into in the last six months.

-Better Homes and Gardens:
An index of 79 means that a household in the target market (age 25-34, working, own a dog) was 21% less likely to have read this magazine in the past six months than the average.
A rank of 3.79% means the target market consisted of 3.79% of the magazine’s 7,865,000 readers in 2001.
-USA Weekend:
An index of 103 means that a household in the target market was 3% more likely to have read this magazine in the past six months than the average.
A rank of 6.39% means the target market consisted of 6.39% of the magazine’s 10,212,000 readers in 2001.
-Cosmopolitan:
An index of 132 means that a household in the target market was 32% more likely to have read this magazine in the past six months than the average.
A rank of 2.64% means the target market consisted of 2.64% of the magazine’s 3,286,000 readers in 2001.
-Outside:
An index of 106 means that a household in the target market was 6% more likely to have read this magazine in the past six months than the average.
A rank of .54% means the target market consisted of .54% of the magazine’s 833,000 readers in 2001.
-Instyle:
An index of 130 means that a household in the target market was 30% more likely to have read this magazine in the past six months than the average.
A rank of 1.11% means the target market consisted of 1.11% of the magazine’s 1,402,000 readers in 2001.
(Choices III Database (Simmons Market Research Bureau), 2002).

The best magazine choices to consider would be USA Weekend or Cosmopolitan.

Although USA Weekend had a rank only of 103, the target audience’s readership is 6.39% of the total 10,212,000. This equates to approximately 2,195,000 reader impressions, the largest of any of the magazines listed.
Cosmopolitan would be a good choice/alternative because it offered the highest index. People in the target audience were 32% more likely to read Cosmopolitan than the average US Household in 2001.