Sleepingbag Liners
I'm not much of a camper, I like nice hotels and travelling in comfort, but whilst I was living in Vietnam I got drawn into a few more outdoor activities. I remember clearly on the first of these we were told to bring with us a sleeping bag liner, and I was promptly dispatched by my friends to the backpackers part of town where these were freely available.
Now I am sure many of you, like myself are asking what a sleeping bag liner is, and why I needed one. It is very simply a very thin (in my case silk) sleeping bag designed to do one of two things. It can either be used for hygiene when using other people・s sleeping bags, or it can be used in a hot climate instead of a sleeping bag, similar to sleeping under just a sheet. The ones that you buy in Vietnam are silk and only cost a few dollars, but I have also seen them made of cotton in the UK.
There are a number of beneficial uses here, but they are likely to be required by very specific groups, which will affect your marketing. Some ideas that I had were to market them specifically to students who were intent on taking a year off to travel in hot climates, or possibly to market them to the slumber party crowd of younger children. Parents worried about their little one sleeping at a stranger・s house could provide a sleeping bag liner, or maybe the hosts would provide a clean fresh one for everyone. What I didn・t mention was how cheap these can be at just a few dollars each.
My marketing efforts then would be based around the following approaches:
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Universities and High schools
Travel shops and Airport retailers
Young people's magazines e.g. NME
Travel sections of newspapers
Festivals
Travel websites
Networking
Childrens' lifestyle shops like "Mothercare"
Parenting magazines
Doctor's waiting rooms
EBay
Website
Universities and High Schools are a difficult audience to target as no-one wants to exploit the kids. If you can find a way to give an interesting lecture that revolves around your own, or others travel experiences and that ties in with this product, or several others then you may make some sales. The key is to show the benefits of the product in a way that fits with their aspirations. Many youngsters plan their year off in some detail before they speak with their parents about it. If you can catch them at this stage (in the last term or semester) before they travel then selling them a useful item that is inexpensive is highly probable.
Travel shops and airport retailers that usually sell things like travel pillows, money bags etc will love a product like this, providing you can build awareness of what it is needed for. They can be brightly coloured and are small and light. Folded up they are a similar size to a Cagoule. If you offer to provide some marketing information, and possibly some display shelving as well as providing on consignment this should be a no-brainer for them.
There are very specific magazines that youngsters of the travelling age will read. When I was 18-21 I read NME voraciously and was open to anything that they recommended. I am sure that the "in" publication has changed but your average 18-21 year old will tell you what it is. The ideal would be to get an article placed that explains why the sleeping bag liner is a must for any young traveller but if you can・t pull that off then placing an ad with a sensible amount of text and a nice picture would be worth its weight in gold.
A similar approach might be to target placing an article in the travel section of a major newspaper or magazine. Send a sample of your stock along with the article to the editor and ask that they provide you with feedback if the article is not suitable. Stress that the sample is theirs to keep either way. If after a number of attempts with a number of publications you simply cannot get published then consider advertising, which will be expensive but very targeted.
Rock and pop festivals where people camp out in fields and stay for several days would be a great place to set up a stand and sell your product. It will raise awareness in a ：viral； sense in as much as pretty much everyone there will need one at some time. All you have to do is be enthusiastic and explain why your product is such a good idea. Again the stand will be expensive but well worth it in terms of long term product awareness.
Travel websites that cater to the backpacking crowd would also be a good place to target your advertising. It will be cheaper than offline publishing and they may also have an articles section that you could write for. In order for this to be effective in a global market you will of course need to have your own website.
If you want to target the slumber party market then you should start by telling your friends, family, colleagues, in fact everyone you know about the product and why it is a great idea. You will pick up a few orders this way, but more importantly because it is an unusual product you will start people talking about it. The next step is to meet more parents, join a babysitting circle, throw slumber parties for your own kids, maybe even join the PTA at your kids' school so that you will meet more parents.
If you can, then pitch the product to childrens' lifestyle stores such as Mothercare. These kinds of shops sell prams, diapers, clothes and toys and your product will fit in well in their comprehensive range. Ideally start with some smaller independent shops, or chains before trying the big guys, as they may simply source the item themselves if they are big enough.
The article approach will work here as well as for the travel market. Aim for parenting magazines, or women's magazines that cover parenting issues. Newspapers with a parenting section are also valid targets, and consider advertising as well as placing an article.
When you are starting out a Doctor's waiting room may be an ideal start point, there will always be plenty of parents and children there. Ask for permission to place brightly coloured flyers in the room, where people are often looking for something to read.
EBay may work for you if people are specifically looking for this item. There are 57 items listed which suggests that there is a market for them. Silk ones like the ones I saw in Vietnam are retailing for US$6.95 and I think from memory cost $3-$4 at retail over there, so margins are good.
Setting up a website is of course a must the minute you consider internet sales. This does not have to be expensive and could be blog based, with stories of your own, or friends' travels plus photos of your product range and your contact details, or payment gateway.
You can source these from www.alibaba.com or you can simply search for them online. Be aggressive on the price that you pay, as they can probably be bought for as little as $1-$2 in bulk. I am happy to help anyone interested in this product find suppliers through my own contacts in Vietnam if it proves difficult.
Note that it may be an idea to carry both cotton and silk models, and charge a different price for different quality. Cotton may be more practical for parents of young children, as it is more easily cleaned.
You will need to raise awareness of the benefits of this product.
The fact that this is an unusual product means that you should be able to get people talking about it.
Look into screen printing your samples with a logo so that anyone who sees them knows who you are and how to contact you.