Barnes and Noble Product Positioning Essay Example

a product line for Barnes and Nobles during a time they were facing declining sales and customer loyalty. The company was in need of a way to keep their existing consumer base and also extend their business in to the advancements made in literature from a technological standpoint. The company has been trying to combat the industry's ongoing decline in sales of physical books by diversifying its in-store offerings (Trachentberg). To build the digital business, Barnes and Noble has installed what it calls

Nook boutiques in 40 stores, with the hopes of expanding to more in the future. The boutiques can offer in-person customer service that a top competitor like Amazon cannot (Townsend). Barnes and Noble made an announcement on January 5, 2011 that it has possible plans to spin the Nook in to a separate business. Barnes and Noble investors did not agree with this statement and caused stock to tumble 17 percent. William Lynch the company’s chief executive officer had this to say about upset investors. Whatever happens with the digital unit, he says, its future will still be intertwined with the stores because that's where a majority of Nook devices and accessories are sold. They've been nothing short of vital, he says. A possible separation of the digital business doesn't mean that Nook and Barnes & Noble sever the relationship. In fact, it's just the opposite. We have plans to expand the footprint of Nook in our stores. We are doubling down. " The typical consumer learns of the Nook from two basic channels of direct marketing communication.

Barnes and Noble uses telecommunications to advertise the Nook through television commercials and the internet. They

also use emails for special promotions about the Nook and send them to people who have shopped Barnes and Nobles online or in store. They have a facebook fan page devoted to the Nook and public testimonials about how much people enjoy using their Nook E-Reader. Barnes and Nobles has run a print ad in urban areas of the United States to target people who frequent public transportation. These ads display the Nook and how cheap and affordable it is.

These is a terrific strategy since people who use public transportation want a source of entertainment that is easy to take with them and is low maintain to use on a daily basis. The Nook is able to provide a solution to this (Barnes). The overall message of the Barnes and Noble marketing campaign for the Nook is the importance of lifelong reading and the ease of using the Nook to achieve lifelong reading. The commercial featured in our powerpoint ad depicts how people from different areas of the world and of different ages can use the Nook for reading, internet browsing, and playing games.

All of these people are demonstrating how easy it is to use the Nook at home, at school, at the park or at work. The ease and versatility of the Nook is the focal point of its marketing campaign. Since the Nook is sold exclusively by Barnes and Noble it has been an obvious choice for them to target their current consumer base. Barnes and Noble has released a series of commercials that show people reading books and using the Nook since both are product line extensions for Barnes and Noble.

Barnes and

Noble is currently utilizing the internet for a large portion of the promotions. Barnes and Noble currently sends emails notifications to people who have registered their email with them either in store or online. These emails often coordinate with upcoming holidays and will entice the customer to purchase the Nook by offering them a $25 gift card with their purchase. Barnes and Noble ran a large print ad in October 2010 for the release of the Nook Color, the newest version for the original Nook in black and white.