1Case 6

CASE 6: ATLANTICRIDER.COMOpportunities are always there. But only people who are prepared getthem. If you are prepared, you are lucky. If you are not prepared, you areunlucky. Jane Savoie, U.S. Olympic Equestrian Athlete

AtlanticRider.com has established itself as the most popular website for horseenthusiasts in Atlantic Canada. In the first 10 days of 2004, the Riders Forum alonehosted more than 85 000 page views by its 1129 registered members and other visi-tors (considered lurkers because they visit, but dont post). This is an amazingaccomplishment for a site with a target market of approximately 3851 participantswho ride and drive about 18 000 horses. The present challenge for the CEO ofAtlanticRider.com is to overhaul the site in a way that meets current challenges andensures future success (see Exhibit 6-1).

The Initial Business ModelAtlanticRider.com is a web portal serving horse enthusiasts in Atlantic Canada andbeyond (see Exhibit 6-2). The site was launched in October 1999 after severalmonths of planning and development. With a newly acquired MBA (in electroniccommerce and international business) and 20 years of horse-industry experience,the founder and CEO, Diana Swain, recognized the need for an Atlantic Canadianhorse site. She expected it to be well received, based on the rapid growth of theWorld Wide Web and the striking similarities in demographics of internet users andhorse owners (see Exhibit 6-3).

Initially, the portal blended paid and free services to appeal to individual horseenthusiasts, as well as horse-related businesses (such as stables, tack andequipment stores, insurance agents, and others). Free services to individualsincluded a discussion board, classified ads, weekly newsletter, featured riders,tributes, and listings of events. Free web design and hosting (five-page sites) wereoffered to non-profit horse clubs within the region. There were also free reciprocalhyperlinks for those with existing sites to increase the visibility and traffic ofAtlanticRider.com.

Exhibit 6-1 ATLANTICRIDER.COM STATISTICS

Site Traffic in Page Views, October 1999 to December 2003

Year Average/Month Year Total1999 (Fourth

Quarter only) 66 024 198 0722000 224 701 2 696 4212001 298 896 3 586 7632002 906 347* 10 876 164*2003 1 286 279 15 435 350

* Estimated due to problems with monitoring software.

Detailed Statistics as of January 200486 373 page views (first 10 days in 2004)9 forums1129 registered members223 paid classified subscribers25 paid hyperlinks from front page ($120 each)

18_solomon_cases.qxd 2/18/10 4:47 PM Page 1

Case 62

Exhibit 6-2 ESTIMATED NUMBER OF HORSES PER PROVINCE

Province Estimated # Average # % of Horses on % of of of Horses Estimated # National 1996 National

Participants per Owner of Horses Total Census Farms Total

Canada 110 574 886 431 100% 443 889 100%

British Columbia 19 754 5.74 113 387 12.79% 49 305 11.11%

Alberta 20 101 15.38 309 146 34.88% 149 960 33.78%

Saskatchewan 13 035 9.47 123 441 13.93% 66 372 14.95%

Manitoba (adjusted for PMU farms) 7 143 5.99 70 786 7.99% 68 783 15.5%

Ontario 36 875 5.12 188 800 21.30% 76 553 17.24%

Quebec 9 815 6.42 63 015 7.11% 25 108 5.70%

New Brunswick 2 183 4.89 10 677 1.20% 2 757 0.62%

Prince Edward Island 346 4.43 1 534 0.17% 1 869 0.42%

Nova Scotia 1 083 4.60 4 982 0.53% 2 907 0.65%

Newfoundland and Labrador 239 2.78 664 0.07% 275 0.06%

Source: Adapted from 1998 National Horse Industry Study/tude de lindustrie canadienne du cheval 1998 (Table 3.3: Estimated Number of Horses per Province). Accessed atwww.equestrian.ca/EC/EC_HIC_IR_1998Study_Table3-3.shtml on January 26, 2004.

Exhibit 6-3 DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF HORSE OWNERS

The Canadian Horse Industry (1998 Equine Canada Study)

880 000 horses in Canada with 110 000 owners

More than 1.3 million people ride each year (riding lessons, competition,trail rides, etc.)

Average investment of $1700 per horse

Average investment in tack and equipment: $1500 per horse

77 percent female

Median age: 4049 years

60 percent attended college or university

Usually more than one rider per horsehold

83 percent have been riding/driving for 10+ years

93 percent own another pet

68 percent to 70 percent own a computer

47 percent use the internet; 86 percent of those research horse-relatedinformation

Estimated total economic impact: $2.1 million$4.7 billion

Normal household incomes for horse owners: $40 000$60 000 per year

18_solomon_cases.qxd 2/18/10 4:47 PM Page 2

3Case 6

The initial business model offered web design and hosting services to horse-related businesses. In 1999, very few horse-related businesses had existing web-sites, and only the early adopters were motivated to navigate the information high-way. As the site grew, however, business owners began to feel the pressure toaffiliate with the site, whether they chose a hosting package with AtlanticRider.comor purchased a hyperlink to their existing site. As a result, the number of purchasedhyperlinks to existing websites began to grow. The hyperlink package offered (andcontinues to offer) a link from the front page, a link from the businesss free direc-tory listing, and a profile in the regular e-zine, called e-Rider (see Exhibit 6-4).Stallion owners were offered the opportunity to promote their stallions on the sitethrough a customized one-page site that included up to two photos, an extendedpedigree (ancestry), text, and contact information. Finally, business owners couldchoose to advertise on AtlanticRider.coms front page in the form of a banner orblock ad (see Exhibit 6-5).

Exhibit 6-5 PRICE SCHEDULE FOR ADVERTISING

Front-page ad (one month) $150.00Same ad (subsequent months) $100.00Hyperlink from front page (yearly) $120.00Stallion advertising (yearly) $120.00Website hosting (yearly) $300.00Domain forwarding (yearly) $120.00e-Rider sponsorship (issue) $50.00Classified subscription (yearly) $24.50

Exhibit 6-4 NUMBER OF E-RIDER SUBSCRIPTIONS

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0

Num

ber

of S

ubsc

ribe

rs

Date

01/1

1/99

01/0

2/00

01/0

5/00

01/0

8/00

01/1

1/00

01/0

2/01

01/0

5/01

01/0

8/01

01/1

1/01

01/0

2/02

01/0

5/02

01/0

8/02

01/1

1/02

01/0

2/03

01/0

5/03

01/0

8/03

01/1

1/03

e-Rider Subscriptions

18_solomon_cases.qxd 2/18/10 4:47 PM Page 3

The website itself was designed with best practices in mind. A professionalappearance, ease of navigation, and simplicity of design were of paramount impor-tance to attract visitors who were new to the web. Frequent site updates andchanges were implemented to keep visitors coming back, and the weekly e-zinekept visitors apprised of upcoming events, new classified ads, and news that hadbeen added to the site. The initial components of the site included Rider of theWeek; Show Results; Upcoming Events; Local, National, and International News; aweekly e-zine (e-Rider); Kids Pages; a directory of horse-related businesses in theregion; Tributes; Photo Gallery; and Stallion Barn.

The success of AtlanticRider.com can be attributed in large part to the market-ing strategy that was employed even before the site launched in October 1999. Thechoice of name was strategic and aimed to appeal to an Atlantic Canadian audi-ence, while not conflicting with any existing business in Canada to facilitatenational incorporation. A graphic artist was hired to create a logo that would notexclude any type of rider or riding discipline.

The promotion strategy began with ads in the Horses & Equipment andLivestock sections of major newspapers in the four Atlantic provinces (NewBrunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland) and was sup-plemented with other promotional activities. Registration with search engines wasa key element in ensuring that surfers could find the new site. (The site was opti-mized for search engines through strategic choice of design features and key-words.) Free components, such as classifieds and horse-club sites, also helped togenerate traffic.

These efforts were augmented with participation at trade shows and the cre-ation of a booth that included a cart, banner, and computer with the new site avail-able for surfing. Promotional materials distributed at these events included busi-ness cards, notepads, and tri-fold brochureseach with the site address andbenefits clearly identified. Contests at trade shows and on the site included drawsfor AtlanticRider.com baseball hats, horse-oriented books, and a toy stable.

Changes to AtlanticRider.comThe skeleton of the site has remained essentially stable since its initial launch, withminor changes that included discontinuing the kids pages, which were not receiv-ing significant traffic. Software has been added to the site to make it more user-friendly for visitors and site administrators; automated classified ad software (toreplace the original practice of posting ads manually with one that allows usersthemselves to post ads, including photos); bulletin-board software; newsletterdistribution service; and a real-time chat room. A domain-forwarding service hasbeen employed so that hosted sites can choose their URLs (for example, www.mystable.com), while still enjoying the benefits of hosting within AtlanticRider.com.The weekly schedule for e-Rider has been changed to a monthly schedule to reducethe time required for publication, and Rider of the Week has been changed to Riderof the Month. The most recent change to the business model occurred in September2002, when the site began charging for classified subscriptions. Advertisers now paya yearly fee to post their ads on the site.

Current ChallengesThe company is now facing a number of challenges to its continued success. Afterfour years, the site is in need of an overhaula new look and feel to keep it fresh.Keeping the content current is very labour intensive and challenging, especially fora company of this size. The company must constantly battle the persistent attitudethat services on the internet should be free, and it faces potential competition fromsites offering free classifieds.

Case 64

18_solomon_cases.qxd 2/18/10 4:47 PM Page 4

5Case 6

1. What is the nature of the market segment(s) served by AtlanticRider.com?2. How well does AtlanticRider.com serve its market segment(s)? How much is this service worth to

the segment(s)?3. How well does AtlanticRider.com do relative to its competitors?4. What must AtlanticRider.com do to overhaul the website?

2004 Donna Sears, Acadia University. This case is based on a real situation and written for the sole purpose of provid-ing material for class discussion. It is not intended to reflect either effective or ineffective marketing solutions. Only theidentity of the CEO is disguised.

QUESTIONS

18_solomon_cases.qxd 4/17/10 9:20 AM Page 5