Urban Exposure

Lilly Beil, Jennifer Butler, and Emily Huang

Baylor University

Maastricht CES

April 2, 2015

Word Count: 4,875

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary 3

Research and Findings 4

Product 6

Points of Parity and Points of Difference 12

Marketing Campaign 12

Brand Equity 13

Financials 14

Conclusion 16

Works Cited 17

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I. Executive SummaryEveryone knows that quitting smoking is a difficult task that takes time, dedication,

and support.  Many people try to quit smoking using patches, lozenges, or gum, and

within a few weeks end up right back where they started. Through advanced

technological developments Urban Exposure has created the first flash tattoo nicotine

patch.  Our patented technology sets us above our competitors in both the nicotine patch

market and the flash tattoo market.  We will be using the marketing strategy of product

development, because we have created a new and improved product for an existing

market. Our marketing campaign and branding will quickly make consumers aware of

this new product and begin to build consumer loyalty. To promote our product we will

place advertisements in young adult magazines, create sponsorships for music festivals,

facebook advertisements, posters in train stations/bus stops, celebrity promotions, and

spotify/youtube advertisements. We have decided to price our product competitively with

current nicotine patches and current flash tattoos.  This means that our product will cost

30 Euros for a pack of 14 patches of 21 mg, 30 Euros for a pack of 14 patches of 14 mg,

and 30 Euros for a pack of 7 patches of 7 mg. If consumers wish to customize their own

flash tattoo nicotine patches, it will cost an extra 7 euros per pack.  We based our prices

off of the average price of competitor's nicotine patch boxes and the average price of

competitor's flash tattoo packages.  Our target market is large and provides great demand

for this product.  We have decided to target young adults, specifically women, ages 18-

24, who smoke,  We chose this as our target market because it is reported that 33% of

Dutch 18-24 year olds smoke, and 21% of that group smokes everyday(CBS).  The target

market of young adult smokers is large and the problem facing this group is large.  It is

known that The Netherlands is ranked #7 in the world for annual number of lung cancer

related deaths(WHO).  We hope that our product will encourage the citizens of the

Netherlands to quit smoking and help lower their ranking.  We have decided to focus

more on women because our product tends to attract a female consumer.  Also, it is

reported that 85% of female smokers are positive about their health (Statistics

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Netherlands), so we believe if we offer them a fashionable, easy way to quit smoking and

thus become healthier, then they will be more likely to buy it.

We are a company driven by our mission statement:

Urban Exposure strives to help young adults to quit smoking cigarettes, while

also allowing creative expression through artistic designs.

We want young adults to be proud of their choice to quit smoking and persuade

others to do the same by wearing our stylish flash tattoo nicotine patches. We will be

remembered by our business mantra:

"Health-conscious Beauty"

We will make sure that in everything we do, we do not lose sight of our goal to

increase the health-wellness of our consumers, while adding a touch of beauty and

creative expression into their everyday lives.

II. Research and FindingsWe researched the leading causes of death in the Netherlands to help decide what

to focus our health care project on. We found some similarities and differences between

the United States and Netherlands. One of the top three leading causes of deaths in both

countries is lung cancer. The Netherlands is ranked #7 in the world for the annual number

of lung cancer related deaths and the United States is ranked #9. According to the

American Cancer Society, “All cancers caused by tobacco use and heavy alcohol

consumption could be prevented completely.” We see the problem at hand and

substantial amount of research linking smoking and lung cancer together as a strong

opportunity for the development of our product.

According to the Dutch governmental institution Statistics Netherlands, 33% of the Dutch

population in the age group 18-24 years-old smoke and over 21% of Dutch 18-24 year-

olds smokes every day.  Of this age group, 10% are considered heavy smokers (smoke

twenty or more cigarettes a day). In Statistics Netherlands’ latest report in December

2014, it was noted that heavy smokers are more likely to be less positive about their

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health than smokers and  nonsmokers. Even though there is much research and public

knowledge on the health-hazardous effects of smoking, many young adult smokers are

positive about their health. 91% of male smokers and about 85% of female smokers are

positive about their health. However, only 80% of male heavy smokers and 71% of

female heavy smokers are positive about their health. We thought the health positivity

rates seemed high for both smokers and heavy smokers given the known dangers of

smoking. We attribute these perceptions of positive health to the short-term effects

cigarettes may give a consumer, such as decreased appetite and stress release. From this

information though, we think it is safe to assume that the vast majority of this age group

cares about their health or are health conscious.

In the September 2014 country report on smoking cessation in the Netherlands

from Euromonitor International, it is stated that the Netherlands has one of the highest

smoking rates among men and women in Western Europe. The Netherlands also happens

to be one of the few countries where smoking prevalence amongst women has actually

increased. We want our product to be consumed by both young men and women. But

because of this information, we will focus more on targeting our product towards women

as they have lower health positivity. Very good

Recent statistics for rates of people who quit smoking in the Netherlands was unavailable,

but we found that in the U.S., approximately 5 out of 10 smokers aged 18-24 years

stopped smoking for more than 1 day in 2010 because they were trying to quit (Sailor).

According to a study from the University of South Florida, nearly 90% of people who try

to quit relapse.

One of the most common ways to quit smoking are through the use of nicotine

replacement products, such as nicotine patches (Sailor). Nicotine patches work by

providing low levels of nicotine to the user—helping lessen the physical signs of

withdrawal symptoms. The current patches look like large bandages and are not

necessarily visually appealing. Most users place the patches in places on their body out of

sight of others. The statistics for the prevalence of tattoos in the Netherlands specifically

was unavailable, but information available for the U.S. shows that in the U.S.,

Millennials are increasingly getting more tattoos than generations in the past. Twenty

percent of Americans have a tattoo, and of that group 40% are millennials. Additionally,

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a University of Leipzig study reported that, the number of women in Germany getting

tattoos has been doubling across every age group between at least 2003-2009, and one in

five people in the UK have a tattoo (Srah). We think these trends in the U.S., U.K., and

Germany will hold true to the Netherlands as well given the worldwide popularity of

actresses, models, and public figures with numerous tattoos such as Cara Delevingne,

Angelina Jolie, and David Beckham.   

III. ProductA. SWOT AnalysisStrengths:

One major strength of our product is its unique design.  The idea of disguising a

nicotine patch as a flash tattoo is aesthetically appealing to our target market of people

ages 18-24 that smoke.  These people do not want others to know that they smoke in the

first place or that they are trying to quit.  Classic white nicotine patches are boring and

visually unappealing.  Our new flash tattoo nicotine patches will make quitting smoking a

stylish possibility.  Flash tattoos are an up and coming product that is popular among this

age group.  This means that with our added technology that provides a health benefit, this

demand can be further increased.  Another strength of our product is currently there is no

fashionable nicotine patch option, therefore we are providing customers with something

that doesn't currently exist.  We are a company based in the Netherlands and we plan on

selling our product to the Netherlands and the  European Union as a whole. Smoking is

an activity of around 25%-30% of each country in the European Union's population

(OECD), which means that our business location is perfect for this demographic area.

Weaknesses:

Every product has both strengths and weaknesses, and it is important for

companies to determine those weaknesses so that they can try to eliminate them. Some

weaknesses of our product include that we are a new company entering the market, and

therefore customers do not know us. This means we will have some substantial initial

startup costs, as well as fairly high marketing costs to increase customer awareness.

Another weakness is that we do not have the skills or knowledge to develop this kind of

technology in house, so we will have to find a third party to develop the technology for

us. A weakness that will be present in the early stages of our product is the fact that we

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will have limited product assortment.  We will design the flash tattoos and offer a wide

variety, but we will not allow personal customization until further into the future.

Opportunities:

One reason why we chose this product and this particular target market was

because of the opportunities it presented.  Lung cancer, which is caused by smoking, is

the second leading cause of death in the Netherlands Reference!.  Our product will

hopefully decrease this number and help solve a problem that is very large and current.

Another opportunity is the increasing use of social media, especially since our target

market is between the ages of 18 and 24. Explain why somewhere in the paper  This age

group consists of heavy social media users, which creates several marketing channels for

us to use.  Communicating our product over social media will help it seem more

appealing and popular, which will help build our customer base.  Social media is also free

and will help with our rising marketing costs. Another opportunity is related to our

competitive advantage, which is our design.  There is currently no aesthetically appealing

nicotine patch on the market.  Our design combined with the nicotine patch technology

sets us apart from our competitors.  This will attract customers because we offer a

product that no other company does. It is reported that one in three people ages 18-24

smokes in the Netherlands.  This is 33% of people ages 18-24 (Statistics Netherlands).

This is a large target market, especially when you look at the European Union as a whole

and see that around 25%-30% of each country’s' population smokes(OECD).  Smoking is

a huge problem in the European Union, which is why lung cancer is their second leading

cause of death.  These statistics provide us with another opportunity, which is the the

opportunity to partner with the government in order to receive financing.  The

government finances almost all quit smoking campaigns, and therefore a strategic

partnership with them would allow us to raise money to fund our marketing efforts.  We

will discuss the mutual benefits of this partnership in a later section.  Our product is

aesthetically appealing to those ages 18-24 and by targeting this group we can help them

quit at a fairly young age.  This will help them live longer, healthier lives, as well as

encourage them to raise their children as non-smokers. The opportunities in this market

are endless, and flash tattoos for people ages 18-24 is just the beginning.

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Threats:

Threats are an important aspect that every company should evaluate before

entering a new market or releasing a new product.  The threats that exist for us are the

fact that consumers could simply reject our product idea.  Another threat is that the stores

that we wish to sell our product in might be hesitant to collaborate with a brand new

company offering a brand new product. Another threat is directly related to our

competitive advantage.  Once companies hear about our product they will begin trying to

copy our technology and design.  This is a threat because if customers have strong brand

loyalty or trust already existent companies, then they might not choose our product.  We

can help prevent this threat by continuously innovating and beginning to offer the

customization option.  As long as we stay one step ahead of our competitors in the design

aspect, this threat can be diminished. Another large threat to our company and product

success is that smoking is a big part of European culture.  It is a common social activity

and trying to persuade people to quit will be difficult, let alone trying to convince them to

quit by using our product.  We will try to reduce this threat by focusing our advertising

on showing the negative effects of smoking and how harmful it is.  Fear is a great

marketing tool that can help us attract consumers.

B. Partnerships

Urban Exposure will develop a strategic partnership with the government of the

Netherlands in order to gain financing for our marketing efforts.  The government

currently finances almost all of the quit smoking campaigns.  This partnership will be

beneficial for both parties involved.  Urban Exposure will benefit by receiving financing,

which will allow us to promote our product and increase customer awareness.  The

government will benefit because when the citizens of their country quit smoking, then the

health costs for these people will go down, as well as for others who suffer from second

hand smoke.  In addition, the Netherlands will be rated as a more healthy country overall

and will therefore attract more people to visit or even move here.  The government will

be inclined to finance our campaign because we are promoting a healthier lifestyle and

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discouraging smoking. This partnership will help us fund our marketing efforts, while

helping the government achieve benefits and cost savings by having healthier citizens.

Urban Exposure will also develop strategic partnerships with many popular,

young adult clothing stores in the Netherlands. These stores include Zara, Topshop,

Mango, H&M, Free People, and Urban Outfitters.  This partnership will also be mutually

beneficial.  We will gain more brand exposure by placing our products in these stores.

We will also gain more promotion, without having to pay for it.  The store will want to

advertise our product to make money and will therefore fund their own marketing

campaigns that include our product.  The store will benefit because if people don't want

to order their flash tattoo nicotine patches online and wait for it to be shipped to them,

they can go directly to one of these stores and purchase a box directly.  This will increase

customer traffic in the store, and we will allow the store to keep 10% of the total profits

from all the boxes sold.  This partnership will help increase our brand awareness and

customer base, while helping the stroes increase their own traffic and profits.  

C. Brand Name

Urban Exposure represents expressing yourself in an urban atmosphere.  The

word exposure establishes the idea of no longer hiding your attempt to quit smoking.  We

want our uniquely designed flash tattoo nicotine patches to be seen by everyone, so they

know that you are a health conscious consumer who is trying to quit smoking in a stylish

way. Our name Urban Exposure gives the product a chic, city feel, that instills in you the

confidence to tell the world you are trying to quit smoking.

D. Target Market

Geographic:

Our customers are most likely going to be European citizens. We are

starting our business in the Netherlands, but we are able to ship throughout

Europe. Eventually we would like to target to customers outside of the EU in the

United States.

Demographic:

Our customers are typically ages 18-24 years old. They are most likely

still in college or just recently graduated. Therefore, they most likely do not have

children. Most of our target market is women. Some male tattoos are going to be

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produced, but our brand is mainly targeted at women. Our target market also

includes residents of the European general area. This would specifically be in big

cities such as Amsterdam, Paris, London, etc.

Psychographic:

Our target market is most likely your typical “music festival goer”. They

are very artistic, and love to express themselves in a variety of ways. This could

include the way they dress or the music they listen to. They probably started

smoking for several reasons that are related to their personality. This could

include the need for affirmation and desire to “fit in” with the culture. Our target

market cares about the look they represent. They care about what other people

think of them, so it may be hard for them to quit smoking and wear an ugly

nicotine patch. They wear the flash tattoo because they still want to give off a

carefree personality and modern lifestyle but also want to communicate that they

are becoming more health conscious.

There are many benefits consumers will receive when they use our product. The

main benefit is that it helps with their journey to quit smoking. It also helps that it

provides style and a new “accessory” to their everyday look. We also want our

customers to feel proud of the lifestyle choice they are making. This will help

them communicate to others that they are taking a new step forward in improving

their personal health.

Behavioral:

The target market is going to be consistent and committed to their

practices to quit smoking. The target market must be willing to take initiative in

improving their health. They also will have a desire to educate their friends and

family about the risks of smoking. Our product will be beneficial to them when

they are at the readiness stage because they will be willing to actively wear the

flash tattoos. Quitting their addiction is not something they will be ashamed of, it

is something they are going to wear proudly in a fashionable manner. These

behaviors will also contribute to their  brand loyalty. Our product is stylish,

alternative, unique, and health conscious.

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E. Distribution -Business-to-Business & Business-to-Consumer

Urban Exposure's choice of distribution is critical to our success, because how we

choose to distribute our product to our consumers will have a large impact on their choice

to purchase it.  We have decided to conduct a business-to-consumer marketing strategy,

because we will be offering our product for direct purchase online, as well as selling it to

consumers at promotional events such as music festivals. We will also be conducting a

business-to-business marketing strategy, because we will be selling our flash tattoo

nicotine patches in popular, young adult clothing stores such as, Zara, Topshop, Mango,

H&M, Free People, and Urban Outfitters.  In this case we will be marketing our product

to the stores themselves and persuading them to advertise and sell it to their customers

F. Price

We have decided to price our product competitively with current nicotine patches

and current flash tattoos.  This means that our product will cost 30 Euros for a pack of 14

patches of 21 mg, 30 Euros for a pack of 14 patches of 14 mg, and 30 Euros for a pack of

14 patches of 7 mg. If consumers wish to customize their own flash tattoo nicotine

patches, it will cost an extra 7 euros per pack.  We based our prices off of the average

price of competitor's nicotine patch boxes and the average price of competitor's flash

tattoo packages.

G. Expansion

Urban Exposure has lots of room for growth.  We plan to focus our efforts mainly

in The Netherlands in the beginning, but once we gain a significant customer base we

plan to expand to all parts of Europe.  We also plan to initially start focusing on the

women in our target market, however we hope to expand and reach men later on. We

have found that women will be the best group to target because they are the group

wearing flash tattoos, and they are the most concerned with their outward appearance.

H. Intellectual Property

In order to protect the intellectual property of Urban Exposure, a patent will be

made for the technology behind the combination of the nicotine patch and the flash

tattoo.  A trademark will also be bought to protect Urban Exposure's brand equity.

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IV. Points of Parity and Points of DifferenceA. Points of Parity

Urban Exposure can compete in the nicotine patch industry by offering the same

features that competitors offer.  The patches offered by Urban Exposure will contain the

same nicotine dosage amounts as competitor patches, and will therefore allow consumers

to quit smoking in the same amount of time claimed by competitors.  Urban Exposure can

also compete in the flash tattoo industry by offering the same stylish designs as other

competitors, as well as the easy flash tattoo application process.  

B. Points of Difference

No other product on the market offers the technology or design features that

Urban Exposure delivers.  With our stylish flash tattoo designs and option for personal

customization, consumers are able to create a flash tattoo that fits their style.  These

uniquely customizable tattoos, combined with our nicotine patch technology, allows our

consumers to show the world they're trying to quit smoking rather than trying to hide the

boring nicotine patches that our competitors offer. Urban Exposure has made quitting

smoking trendy and popular.  

V. Marketing CampaignWe have already discussed our product, place, and pricing, so now we will

discuss our promotion, packaging, and people.     

A. Promotion and Advertising

We will advertise our product by placing ads in young adult magazines focused

on fashion and health such as, Glamour, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Women's Health.  By

advertising in Glamour we hope to reach 263,000 readers and by advertising in Vogue we

hope to reach 284,000 readers (condenastinternational).  Bases on these readership

statistics, we estimate that we will reach around 240,000 readers through our ads in

Cosmopolitan, and an additional 220,000 readers through our ads in Women's Health.

Urban Exposure will sponsor music festivals, as well as design facebook ads, spotify ads,

youtub ads, and posters to be put in train stations and bus stops.  Urban Exposure hopes

to get a celebrity to endorse our product, one that is well known and well liked in the

Netherlands, such as Famke Janssen.

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B. Packaging

Packaging for Urban Exposure's flash tattoo nicotine patches will be in an

environmentally conscious, reusable box that has our logo on the outside and an image of

one of the flash tattoo nicotine patches contained within that box.  Each tattoo will come

on a separate sheet for easy application.  These sheets will also be recyclable.

C. People

We will have employees running the website that will be available to help

consumers with any questions they may have.  These employees will be knowledgeable

about our product, pricing, and distribution methods.  Our product will also be sold in

stores as we mentioned above.  The employees of these stores tend to be women, around

the age of our target market (18-24), which will make them relatable to the consumers

buying our product.  They will also have knowledge about our product and how it works,

so that they are able to help answer any questions the consumer may have.  

VI. Brand Equity

The brand value that Urban Exposure strives to represent is: achieving a healthier

lifestyle through our stylish products. This is shown through the brand pyramid.  The

bottom tier of the pyramid is salience, which is defined as the category identification and

the needs satisfied.  Urban Exposure has created a new product, a nicotine patch designed

as a flash tattoo.  This satisfies the needs of people who are trying to quit smoking, but

don't want to wear the boring and plain patches that currently exist in the market.  Our

product allows our consumers to express themselves artistically, while achieving personal

health goals.  The second tier of the pyramid consists of performance and imagery.  Our

product will work the same as competitor's nicotine patches, it will simply be more

aesthetically appealing.  It will be reliable, safe, and fashionable.  Since our product is

mean to be seen, we will gain a lot of consumers through word of mouth.  We want to

show that our target market consists of people who care about their health and are

motivated to make a change towards a healthier lifestyle.  The third tier of the pyramid is

judgments and feelings.  Urban Exposure will be seen as a brand that is reliable, caring,

and trendy.  The feelings our brand will evoke are: fun, peace of mind, and beauty.  The

top tier of the pyramid is resonance, which will develop through our loyal customers.

Once a consumer sees in week one that they can quit smoking by using our product, they

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will continue to buy from us until the eight week process is over and they are fully

nicotine free.  Since consumers will wear our flash tattoo patches where others can see,

we will gain more consumers through word of mouth and begin creating a community of

people trying to quit smoking.  Through our partnership with the government, our

consumers will trust our brand.  Also, we will display the negative effects of smoking in

our advertisements to instill fear in our consumers and encourage them to avoid this

future by quitting smoking using our product.  Urban Exposure will stay true to its

mission statement, "striving to help young adults to quit smoking cigarettes, while also

allowing creative expression through artistic designs", while building brand equity

through marketing and partnerships.

VII. Financials

To determine our breakeven point we must consider all of our costs, which

include our yearly costs such as production costs, marketing costs, website maintenance

costs; and our one time costs such as website development, research and development,

and any other legal or licensing fees.  We estimate that our production costs will be

around .50 per patch, which would be 7 euros per box.  This will provide us with a 23

euro profit margin per box.  We estimate that we will sell 2,902,962 euros worth, which

is 96,756 boxes.  This will allow us to capture about 10% of our target market in the first

year.  We plan to produce 100,000 boxes the first year, which will cost us 700,000 euros.

To develop our website from which the consumers can directly order their flash tattoo

nicotine patches it will cost us about 15,000 euros.  We estimate that our yearly website

maintenance will cost around 5000 euros.  Our marketing costs will be high during our

first few years, so that we can make consumers aware of our product.  We estimate that

for the first three years our marketing costs will be around 500,000 euros each year. Our

total costs for the first year will equal 1,342,000 euros.  This means to break even our

first year we will need to sell 816,869 patches, which is 58,347 boxes.

First Year Budget Cash Needed % of

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to Start Total

Yearly Costs

Salary of owner-manager 80,000 6.0%

All other salaries and wages 120,000 8.9%

Advertising 500,000 37.3%

Supplies 5,000 0.4%

Insurance 7,200 0.5%

Interest 6,000 0.4%

Website Maintenance 5,000 0.4%

    Subtotal 715,000 53.9%

One-Time Costs

Website Design 15,000 1.1%

Legal and other professional

fees 6,000 .4%

Licenses and permits 6,000 0.4%

Research 600,000 44.7%

    Subtotal 627,000 46.6%

Totals 1,342,000 100%

Income Statement- Year 1

Sales 2,902,692 euros

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Cost of goods sold (2,300,000) euros

Gross profit 602,692 euros

Yearly Costs (715,000) euros

One time costs (627,000) euros

Government Assistance 200,000 euros

Net Income (539,308) euros

VIII. Conclusion

We believe that Urban Exposure will be a successful product socially and

financially. Our product has the opportunity to save the lives of many by helping our

target market quit smoking. With Urban Exposure being a blend of healthcare and

fashion, we believe will be able to draw consumers in with a mix of Maslow’s hierarchy

of needs. The health component of Urban Exposure appeals to physiological needs while

our fashion element will appeal to self-actualization needs. Ultimately, we believe Urban

Exposure will be more than just a product and our customers will find comfort in the

identity of our brand in leading a life of health-conscious beauty.  

Works Cited

American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2015. Atlanta: American Cancer

Society; 2015.

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CBS. (2014). Statistics Netherlands: 10 Percent of 18-24 Year-Olds Who Smoke are

Heavy Smokers, One Fifth of this Age Group are Overweight. Statistics

Netherlands. Retrieved from http://www.cbs.nl/en-

GB/menu/themas/dossiers/jongeren/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2014/

(2010). Glamour. Conde Nast International. Retrieved from

http://www.condenastinternational.com/country/the-netherlands/glamour/

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health- profile/netherlands>.

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http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/9789264183896-

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en&_csp_=bc3da9a79108c2160f7cb21300faa0fe

Sailor, Matt.  "How often do smokers relapse when they quit?"  10 January 2011.

HowStuffWorks.com.<http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/smoking- cessation/how-

often-do-smokers-relapse.htm>  23 March 2015.

Srah, Pavel. (03 Dec. 2013), “Getting under the Skin of Tattoo Cultures.” DW.DE.

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cultures/a-16583850>.

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profile/netherlands

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