Page 1 - Target Market for my nightlight.

by abuelgasim (student)

The target market is for both children and parents/guardians of the child. The child’s automatic night light will be made for the use of little children (of both genders) aged between 2-5 years olds, which therefore must appeal to them and be a product which is both enjoyable for them and safe. However, the night light must also attract the attention of parents/guardians, as they will be buying the product, and so costs must also be moderately low as the product will be aimed and brought by middle-class citizens, earning around £25,000 in a household yearly and so they will have disposable income and will be able to spend £5-£10 on a night light for their child. These parents/guardians will be working either full-time or part-time and will also be family orientated. The child’s night will also be portable and so the parents may enjoy going on holiday with the children.

The child’s night light will be used whenever light is needed to brighten up a dark area, this is likely to be during night-time before a child is going to sleep or when a child wakes up during the middle of the night needing to go to the toilet. Therefore, the product, will be beneficial for night time trips to the bathroom as there will be no need for the child to fumble around for the light switch and no longer will the child feel scared to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The night light will also be beneficial for children who need a light to help them sleep or children who prefer to sleep with the lights on. Children will feel more secure, during the night and reduce worries of parents/guardians, as they will be reassured their child is sleeping safely. Furthermore, the night light will monitor the safety of the child waking in the night needing the bathroom and then settling back to sleep.

The child’s night light will be placed on a bed side table and so must be freestanding and aesthetically pleasing as the child will look at it frequently.

The child’s night light will be sold in large department stores such as ‘John Lewis’, but also in large toy stores and supermarkets like ‘TOYS ‘R’ US’ and ‘Tesco’.

RESEARCH

I produced a survey (primary research) and distributed it to 50 people who were parents of young children, both male and female, asking them about what they thought of the product. My results were as followed:

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The child’s night light will be placed on a bed side table and so must be freestanding and aesthetically pleasing as the child will look at it frequently.

The child’s night light will be sold in large department stores such as ‘John Lewis’, but also in large toy stores and supermarkets like ‘TOYS ‘R’ US’ and ‘Tesco’.

RESEARCH

86% of the people I asked were middle class and were earning over £20,000 in a household yearly.
50% of the parents wanted a motif to be of a famous cartoon character which would attract both genders of children. The other 50% wanted the motif to be night-time related. All the parents wanted the colours to be unisex.
64% of the people said they would pay up to £15 for an automatic night-light.
All of the parents I asked said that safety was the biggest issue. They didn’t want exposed electric or any sharp edges. They also all agreed that the product must be portable.

I also looked through an Argos catalogue (secondary research) and found that all their child night light were freestanding, portable and battery powered. All of them also had a motif, however only one was suitable for both genders. This means that there will be place for my product in the market.

From the research, I have concluded that my product will also be battery powered as it will be safer, because no electricity is involved. I will also have a motif that is of a famous cartoon character, but is also night-time orientated.

ANALYSIS OF A COMPETITIOR PRODUCT

The product in the photo is a competitor product- an automatic night light for children of both sexes; to help them go to sleep and feel more secure during the night. The night light is also portable and so if a child wakes up during the night needing to go to the toilet he will not be afraid to do so as he can carry the night light with him. It is vital for my night light to also be portable.

This product costs only £3.99 and can be purchased online. It is a large brand (LITE-CITE), which specialises in night lights, and so is sold in a variety of chains of shops. The product is mass produced to produce large amounts to satisfy demand.
The competitor product fits onto a wall (mounting brackets/tape for easy installation), cot and is also freestanding; so can be placed on a bed side table. Each light will come on at night and automatically switch off in the morning. There is also an easy accessible on/off switch on the front.

The output is a large white LED, producing enough intensity to light up an entire bedroom. LED lighting is growing in popularity because of its efficiency (LEDs last up to 50,000 hours compared to an incandescent bulb which lasts up to 1,200 hours) and low energy consumption. The LED is a good feature of the product as it will attract environment conscious consumers.
The circuit and electronic components are protected by its plastic casing and many components are used in this product. The components are soldered onto the circuit using reflow soldering and the cartoon characters and text is printed onto the product using screen printing.
The product is 21cm by 10cm which allows the motif on the acrylic to be large and clearly visible in the dark, when the LED shines through it. The product is light as the young child can carry it and move it from place to place. The motif and colours used suit both boys and girls and so by making the product unisex the market has grown.
Most of the product is made of a clear impact-resistant plastic. Even though, this material is very durable (10x more impact resistant than glass) and can be easily shaped (which reduces manufacturing costs), it carries environmental issues as it not easy to recycle and it is not biodegradable.
The competitor product has only rounded edges to prevent the child form getting hurt and screw heads are sunk to prevent the child from gaining access to the batteries and circuit.

FINAL DESIGN BRIEF

I am going to design and make a portable, freestanding child’s night light, which automatically lights up at night and switches off in the morning. The night light will also monitor the safety of the child waking in the night, needing the bathroom and then settling back to sleep.