Midterm: Fisher-Price Brand

• Identify four well-known brands
• Analyze a well-known brand in terms of customers, competitors, identity and position in the marketplace.
• Illustrate the way in which a well-known brand creates and cultivates a “community” centered on the product.
• Chart the development of a well-known brand, which has been sold in the U.S. for more than 20 years. (Midterm)

Brand: Fisher-Price
Company Perspectives:

“Our mission is to support today's families with young children, through a breadth of products, including toys and children's products that make early childhood more fun and enriching.” (http://www.answers.com/topic/fisher-price)

As the most trusted name in quality toys,
Fisher-Price® has been helping to make childhood special for generations of kids. While there still loved for their classics, their employees’ talent, energy and ideas have helped Fisher-Price keep pace with the interests and needs of today’s families. Now they have added innovative learning toys, toys based on popular preschool characters, award-winning baby gear, and numerous licensed children’s products to the list of Fisher-Price favorites. (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_n6_v39/ai_20303414/)

Fisher-Price Inc. is the world's largest preschool products company. Fisher-Price has dominated the infant and preschool toy market for over 60 years and has become known for the high quality and durability of its products. Wholly owned by Mattel Inc. since 1993, Fisher-Price consolidated with other divisions of its parent to make up a single, massive marketer of toys principally for children under the age of five. Some of its best-known products include Little People playsets and Power Wheels ride-on toys. It markets several licensed toy lines, such as Sesame Street products and Disney.“Fisher-Price has outstanding brand name recognition and customer loyalty. The company operates as an umbrella over several Mattel units: Fisher-Price, based in East Aurora, New York; Tyco Preschool, based in Manhattan; and Mattel's Preschool unit, based in El Segundo, California.”(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_n6_v39/ai_20303414/)

In the face of major competition, Fisher-Price has become very aggressive in ad support for all its products,' Fisher-Price's director of advertising Robert Moody said, “reaffirming the company's commitment to advertising of over 75 of the new and existing toys in its line on a year-round basis.” To support its new plan, Fisher-Price increased its ad budget by 90 percent to $50 million in 1986. “Fisher-Price® has a long tradition of corporate giving and is committed to the communities surrounding its headquarters in East Aurora, New York. Over the years.

Fisher-Price has supported initiatives ranging from playgrounds, music and arts appreciation, and education, to children’s hospitals – placing special emphasis on charities that serve children from birth to six years of age.”(http://www.answers.com/topic/fisher-price)

Fisher-Price has been around for over 60 years and they still keep coming up with great innovative ideas but one quote which I simply fell over with was “F-P wants to augment its position as the "Dr. Spock" of toys,” I think this is a true statement, because if you want to be the lead you got to be knowledgeable and we all know Dr. Spock was very intelligent. I think it’s a fun statement and also a truthful one. (http://www.fisher-price.com/us/hr/aboutus.asp)