No-Fly Zone Corporate Strategy

1. Introduction

With the development of the times and the improvement of people's life, people are beginning to spend more and more money and energy on clothing and fashion. The main positioning of our product is fashion costumes. According to statistics, the Halloween-related costs sold each year earn $10.14 billion [1]. This is also the main reason why we think our product has a future. The other reason we think our idea would work is that the future of trendy items (our product) is positive because new ideas and fashions are developing to attract people’s attention. With the rise of social networks, people are beginning to pursue fashion and trends increasingly. Take the simplest example: Fidget spinners. In 2017 Fidget Spinner first appeared on YouTube and became popular at a crazy pace. In the video, a person was playing with the spinner to achieve a calming effect. Relevant statistics show that in the past five years, the scale of China's tide game market has increased by nearly 3.5 times, reaching 20.7 billion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of 34.6%, leading to the global level in market growth [2]. During the New York Toy Fair, the Trend Expert Team of the American Toy Association combed through thousands of exhibits and released a forecast for toy trends in 2019 [3]. These include six major categories of toys that are expected to be popular this year: toys with surprise elements and nostalgic feelings, toys that encourage children to try different activities and explore new worlds, unique licensed toys that can improve development skills through play, and more. It's not just this company that is optimistic about the prospects of toy trends. In April of this year, the All-Media Center for Chinese and Foreign Toys released the "2018 China Toy Trend Report" which points out that "big children" have become an important group of toy consumers, and their huge consumption power has driven the development of toy culture. CCTV also conducted in-depth reports on the toy trend market in July this year with "New Consumption, New Life: 'Secondary Universe' Toy Collections Booming" [4]. Mediatization will become a phenomenon of social development in the future. Mediatization refers to the fact that the function and value creation of the Internet are constructed in the way of "connection and reconnection" [5]. After that, people started to share their videos of playing Fidget Spinner and discussing the benefits for patients with ADHD and anxiety disorder. With the explosion of these videos and media reports, the popularity of the Fidget spinner has reached an unprecedented climax. The low manufacturing cost, price, and various styles also make people fonder of the Fidget spinner. However, this boom has always been short-lived. After a period, people no longer have much interest in the Fidget spinner, but it also makes us discover how effective social media is in promoting a popular trend. Our product will also use social media promotion methods for promotion and profitability in the future; for example, we can put Ads on Instagram, WeChat, and Facebook.

2. Product Presentation

Our inspiration comes from the ultimate skill of Atrox in the game called League of Legends. Players in China named him the Sword Demon, when this demon spreads out his lava-like scarlet wings, the wings will block the skies. His wings made him look like there was no one in the world who could stop him ever again. Because of his extraordinary wings, there are millions of players started to see him as their favorite character in the game. Similarly, our design also pays tribute to Marvel's hero called Falcon. As we all know, the wings of Falcons are made of high-tech metal and can freely change shape, helping Falcons soar in the sky and one-shot their enemies.

Our Product contains a customized backpack and concealing wings. One is a backpack. The style and the material of the backpack can be customized by the customers themselves. If you are a student, you may want to wear a canvas backpack, business people prefer high-end leather bags. Let us say you are environmental-friendly. Renewable plastic is for sure the perfect raw material for your backpack. Of course, the prices of different materials will also fluctuate. The second part is the wings, which are folded and hidden behind the inside part of the backpack, perfectly concealing the wings from the appearance. This will be even more stunning when the wings pop out while also retaining an extent of mystery. In order to make this backpack more comfortable, we have added an extra layer of soft and breathable fiber between the wings and back of the backpack.

Our wings also support custom styles, sizes, and colors, and customers can choose the corresponding wings according to their preferences. For example, girls can choose pink or white wings, which will make them look holy and pretty, like angels down from heaven. In other cases, black or red fits the males better because it is cooler and dashing. Animation fans or brand followers can choose co-branding. To give a simple example, we can make a New Orleans chicken wing version and cooperate with KFC, or add the logo of Supreme or North Face on the wings and co-brand with them, which will grant us a lot of attention among the audience.

The last part is our mobile app. When users press the “fly” button, the folded wings hidden behind the back of the backpack will shoot off, just like in Transformers. Imagine how cool and unique it is, and you will be the center of the world any second.

Our production line has two products. The first one is Model A, which is for minors. We hope that children can wear this backpack on Halloween, eliminating unnecessary costumes. By just pressing the app on their phone, and they can transform from mortals to their favorite characters or heroes. We have considered the safety issue of the product, so the children's version is smaller and lighter than the adult version, and the material is also made of soft and harmless high-end plastic. In this way, even if the children pop out this pair of wings in the school hallway, they will not hurt the children around them but will receive enormous admiration from their friends. Because this backpack is for kids, we have considered the circumstance that children would put books in it. Therefore, this backpack is not only sturdy, but the price is also more friendly. In the American market with higher income, the pricing is $79, while in China, the price will be 349 RMB.

The second one is a trendy item for grown-ups, called Model X. Compared with the children's version, the wings of Model X are more exquisite and well-knit, and the feathers are more distinct. It is specially made by designers. Our designers have given the Surrealism meanings to the wings, which makes Model X more artistic. At the same time, the wings of the adult version are larger and more solid than the children's Model A. Our Model X has a stronger visual impact and is also eager to collaborate with other brands to make the styles more fashionable and trendy. Because the adult Model is a trendy item and adults have more disposable income, our Model X is priced at $149 in the United States and 849 RMB in China.

3. Problem Analysis & Solution

3.1. SWOT-analysis

SWOT analysis is a commonly used strategic analysis tool for evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a project, organization, or individual. Meanwhile, SWOT analysis is a widely used tool to identify an organization, department, product, or service’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats [6]. However, despite the tool’s wide use, it has been criticized for being too simplistic and not considering all aspects of a situation. It helps identify key factors in both the internal and external environments to provide guidance for developing strategies and making decisions. The purpose of a SWOT analysis is to provide an objective and data-driven assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats facing an organization. It considers both internal and external factors and can be useful in identifying potential areas for improvement or growth, as well as potential risks and challenges [7]. We use SWOT-analysis to look at what position do our products have in the contemporary market. Meanwhile, we are able to find the question and its solution. And then, we analyze the mixed strategy:

(1) SO (Advantages + Opportunities): Aggressive strategy, rapid development

(2) WO (Weaknesses + Opportunities): Improvement Strategy, leverage strengths and avoid weaknesses

(3) ST (Advantages + Threats): Buffer strategy, take advantage of opportunities while avoiding risks

(4) WT (Weaknesses + Threats): Conservative strategy, focus on internal development, and wait for the right moment to act

Based on the results of the SWOT analysis, corresponding strategies should be developed. Utilizing strengths to seize opportunities, improving weaknesses, and responding to threats (see Table 1).

Table 1: SWOT

3.2. AHP

Based on the decision factors of the product, we determined to choose AHP analysis to decide our products’ key factors [8]. Because the AHP method can carry out a comprehensive evaluation of multi-objective and multi-judgment conditions. Therefore, we decide to select AHP to have an analysis. The logistics and transportation target are set as the "best choice", and the criterion layer was divided into “cost-effective”, “hot point”, “content IP”, “service”, “quality goods”, “brand”, “function”. and the solution layer was competitors like “toy wings”,” costume sets”, and our product -”NO-FLY ZONE”. After comparing these three products, we can work out the final result of which one is the optimized product. We use Yaahp software to build an AHP model, as shown in the figure below (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: AHP Graph

The problem Model is established. A comparison matrix is established using 1-5 quantitative indexes, and the importance of each factor is quantified. the decision-maker divides the importance of the two factors into equally important, slightly important, obviously important, strongly important and extremely important; It is divided into five levels (see table 2) [3].

Table 2: Scale and meaning

Therefore, according to the above hierarchical model, the establishment of a judgment matrix is the most critical step in the analytic hierarchy method. The so-called judgment matrix is in the form of a matrix to express the relative importance of each element in each level relative to its upper elements. Assuming the relationship between the features in the hierarchy and the elements in the next level, it is necessary to analyze the relative importance of the elements, and then the hierarchy is divided into the target layer versus the criteria layer, and the criteria layer versus the scenario layer. We asked experts to rate our table (see table 3).

Table 3: Rate and corresponding relationship

Using this AHP-analysis method, we are able to obviously know that, out of these 3 products, which one is the optimized option and which vital factor is our products’ advantage.

STEP1: First establish the judgment matrix G-A of the target layer and the criterion layer, and then establish the judgment matrix of the criterion layer and the measure layer B1, B2, B3, B4, B5and B6 as follows.

[ \( \begin{matrix}\begin{matrix}1 \\ 5 \\ 1\2 \\ \end{matrix} & \begin{matrix}1\5 & 2 & 1\2 \\ 1 & 5 & 3 \\ 1\5 & 1 & 1 \\ \end{matrix} & \begin{matrix}2 & 3 & 5 \\ 3 & 3 & 5 \\ 1\3 & 1\3 & 2 \\ \end{matrix} \\ \begin{matrix}2 \\ 1\2 \\ 1\3 \\ \end{matrix} & \begin{matrix}1\3 & 1 & 1 \\ 1\3 & 3 & 2 \\ 1\3 & 3 & 1\2 \\ \end{matrix} & \begin{matrix}1\2 & 2 & 2 \\ 1 & 1\2 & 2 \\ 2 & 1 & 2 \\ \end{matrix} \\ 1\5 & \begin{matrix}1\5 & 1\2 & 1\2 \\ \end{matrix} & \begin{matrix}1\2 & 1\2 & 1 \\ \end{matrix} \\ \end{matrix} \) ]

Matrix G-A

[ \( \begin{matrix}1 & 2 & 1\2 \\ 1\2 & 1 & 1\2 \\ 2 & 2 & 1 \\ \end{matrix} \) ]

B1

[ \( \begin{matrix}1 & 1\2 & 1\3 \\ 2 & 1 & 1\2 \\ 3 & 2 & 1 \\ \end{matrix} \) ]

B2

[ \( \begin{matrix}1 & 1\2 & 1\3 \\ 2 & 1 & 1\3 \\ 3 & 3 & 1 \\ \end{matrix} \) ]

B3

[ \( \begin{matrix}1 & 3 & 3 \\ 1\3 & 1 & 2 \\ 1\3 & 1\2 & 1 \\ \end{matrix} \) ]

B4

[ \( \begin{matrix}1 & 1 & 1 \\ 1 & 1 & 1 \\ 1 & 1 & 1 \\ \end{matrix} \) ]

B5

[ \( \begin{matrix}1 & 5 & 1\2 \\ 1\5 & 1 & 1\4 \\ 2 & 4 & 1 \\ \end{matrix} \) ]

B6

[ \( \begin{matrix}1 & 3 & 1\2 \\ 1\3 & 1 & 1\4 \\ 2 & 4 & 1 \\ \end{matrix} \) ]

B7

STEP2: Let's take the G-A matrix as an example, first we normalize the matrix, then we add the matrices again, normalize it again, and finally perform a consistency test. Only when the judgment matrix has satisfactory consistency, the results of analytic hierarchy method reasonably calculate the maximum eigenvalues of the matrix: A is the judgment matrix, W is the eigenvector, (AW) is the ith element of the vector AW. The closer the CI is to 0, the better the consistency, and the larger it is the monthly consistency difference. We can do a consistency check to find CR, and when CR<0.1 is consistent (see formula 1,2,3).

\( λmax \) = \( \frac{1}{n}\sum _{i=1}^{n}\frac{(AW)i}{wi} \)

formula 1

\( CI=\frac{λmax-n}{n-1} \)

formula 2

\( CR=\frac{CI}{RI} \)

formula 3

Using this formula, we can find the CR of the criterion layer and the measures layer:

CR_B1=0.05

CR_B2=0.01

CR_B3=0.05

CR_B4=0.05

CR_B5=0.00

CR_B6-0.09

CR_B7=0.02

Therefore, CI<0.1 satisfies consistency, so the AHP standard hierarchy method is established.

Comparing with next 7 factors of products (see figure 2), we can find out that “hot point’ is the most critical factor, and then “cost-effective” is the second most important factor. Meanwhile, function is the least important factor among fashion items. The result is relatively subjective, the weight score of “hot point” is 0.36, which is much more than other factors. Because purchasing fashion items is always a subjective option. If the society has such trend, everyone will be long to buy a same thing to show their status, which is called keeping up with the Joneses. Like that if some buy an awesome toy and post pictures on the social media, which may make me to buy a similar one, So, obviously, our products (NO-FLY ZONE) mainly focus on “hot point” and cost-effective.

Figure 2: Weight of factors

The following generated results are derived from the analysis results of yaahp software (see Figure 3). Based on our ideal product design, we can get weight below. Weight score of our product-NO-FLY ZONE-is 0.4617, which is approximately equal to weight of “toy wings” plus weight of “costume sets”. Therefor, we can draw a obvious result that NO-FLY ZONE is the optimized option.

Figure 3: Best option

4. Marketing Strategies

4.1. Target Marketing and Product

Our product is a trend backpack with folding wings, which means this is a trend and fashion item. Also, because the product has two product line, including Model A (Lower price) and Model X(Higher price), it has two different target groups. In terms of Model A, its target group is the minors and our main competitor is toy backpack. In terms of Model X, the target audience is the grown ups, so our main competitors are fashion or trend items and decoration.

4.2. Characteristics

We use the recyclable materials (PLA, PHA and other biodegradable polymer materials from biobased sources). The products use co-branding and celebrities to wear the way to enhance our visibility, in addition to high quality, our products are also unique products in the market, it integrates backpack, role play and fashion elements, so that people can use the backpack at the same time can feel the pleasure and fun of transformation.

4.3. Competitor

China:

(1) Pop Mart

China's largest lake play brand, mainly in the speech box play, has a number of own 1P and exclusive IP, such as MOLLY, DIMOO, PUCKY, etc., and more than 350 artists around the world, covering the whole industry chain of trend toys.

(2) 52TOYS

The well-known domestic science and technology trend play brand, represented by "BEASTBOX", "KIMMY MIK" and other original series, while cooperating with a number of films, motion and humidity, game classics 1P, such as" Disney Princess ", "Frozen Strange Line", "Avengers" book.

(3) 19八3

It is a leading multi-course 1P platform operator in China, integrating fashion retail, artist brokerage, derivative development and authorization, star Lake operation, ATS Lake exhibition hosting, with more than 50 original design brands and 2000 multi-scattered products.

(4) Twelve cultures

Domestic companies focusing on the speech box business, special Caoyan Tuanzi, broken ear free, etc., have 1P in the form of hand action on the line of the speech box, highlighting the most and the sense of generation, the speech box in the doll machine, the speech box is set up online, and the speech box is probing in the field of live broadcasting.

International:

(1) LEGO

The Danish toy company, known for its colorful plastic blocks, gears, miniature figures and various other parts that can be formed into a variety of model objects, is the world's most valuable toy brand.

(2) Bearbrick

The Lake play brand launched by the Japanese MEDICOM company takes building blocks as the main image, and cooperates with a number of big names and luxury goods, becoming one of the famous collectibles in the tide play country.

(3) Sonny ANGEL

Japanese multi-dream company launched the sound box brand, with Angel family name as the main image, there are a variety of styles and themes, is one of the pioneers of the domestic sound box wind.

(5) Hasbro

American toy company, with a number of well-known toy brands, such as the transformation of gold, pony Polly, revenge, topics, magic sets, etc.

4.4. Market Environment

(1) Expanding Marketing Size

The fashion industry of China is continuously growing in size with every passing year. The younger generation is getting increasingly drawn towards fashionable culture and trendy accessories. This has resulted in a swift rise of the fashion gaming sector, which has caught the attention of numerous domestic and international companies and business owners, leading them to enter this domain (see Figure 4,5).

Figure 4: Changes in the market size and growth rate of China’s tide game industry from 2015 to 2020

.

Figure 5: Market size forecast of China’s trendy gaming industry from 2021 to 2026.

(2) Innovative Design

Innovation and uniqueness are the main focus of China's fashion industry. Several Chinese brands and designers have introduced modern, fashionable, and idiosyncratic fashion items that integrate traditional cultural elements, technological advancements, and artistic expression. These products are designed to satisfy the individuality and uniqueness required by the younger generation.

(3) Online Sales and Networking Media influence

Innovation and uniqueness are the main focus of China's fashion industry. Several Chinese brands and designers have introduced modern, fashionable, and idiosyncratic fashion items that integrate traditional cultural elements, technological advancements, and artistic expression. These products are designed to satisfy the individuality and uniqueness required by the younger generation.

(4) Brand Cooperation and IP Authorization

The fashion industry is showing an increasing trend of collaboration with other fields, especially in terms of intellectual property licensing. For instance, some popular fashion brands are partnering with renowned entities from various industries such as movies, anime, and games. As a result, they have launched a line of trendy products based on popular intellectual properties. This collaboration has not only led to more creativity and variety in the fashion industry, but it has also bolstered brand recognition and market impact.

(5) Investment and Market Competition

The fashion industry has attracted the attention of many investors, and a number of powerful fashion startups have emerged. With the intensification of market competition, brands and enterprises continue to seek innovation and improve product quality and user experience to maintain competitive advantages.

4.5. Target Customer

The target customers of the fashion toy market are mainly divided into the following categories:

(1). Children: Children are the main customers of the fashion toy market. They like toys with novel designs, bright colors and interesting shapes. For children, fashion, fashion, environmental protection and other elements are not the primary consideration.

(2). Young people: The fashion toy market is gradually attracting the attention of young people. They pursue a different way of life, the pursuit of trend, novelty, personalized, limited and other elements. They buy toys more for collection, display and their own interests.

In general, the target customers of the fashion toy market are people between the ages of 3 and 35, and their different purchase needs come from different consumer psychology and purposes. And there is no educational background needed for this group customer. According to the Figure 6, we will see that most of customers would like to purchase these fashion toys at the range from 51-500 (see Figure 6).

Figure 6: The range of acceptable price

4.6. Positioning& Role-playing Fashion Toys

The fashion toy industry in China encompasses a range of fashion toys and associated items, such as blind box toys, building blocks, plush toys, educational toys, animation peripherals, and role-playing toys. In fact, there are numerous other types of fashionable toys available on the market. With changing consumer demands and market trends, there is a high likelihood that new market segments and product formats will arise. Cosplay is a popular toy with the theme of modules and role-playing. There are many cosplay-related products in the Chinese market, such as costumes, props, masks, etc., for consumers who like to imitate and perform.

4.6.1. Distribution

Sales channels and models are interwoven to meet the diversified shopping needs of consumers. Online e-commerce platforms and official channels of brands have played an important role in the sales of trendy toys, providing a wider range of sales and convenient shopping experiences.

4.6.2. Physical Retail Store

Toy store: A physical retail store specializing in selling all kinds of fashion toys, providing a rich selection of products and professional sales consulting services. These stores are usually located in business districts or shopping malls and attract consumers for an offline buying experience.

Department stores: Set up special sections in some large department stores to sell all kinds of fashionable toy products.

4.6.3. Official Channel

Brand official store: Set up their own official online mall, offering the brand's full range of products and exclusive offers. Consumers can buy both genuine and limited-edition products directly from the official online store. Brand investment store: Choose to cooperate with authorized stores for sales, these stores are usually recognized and trained by the brand, can provide better product display and sales services

4.6.4. Online Platform

E-commerce platform: China's e-commerce platforms such as Taobao, Tmall, Jingdong, etc., provide convenient online shopping channels, and consumers can browse and purchase various fashion toy products on these platforms. There are a large number of sellers and brands on these platforms, and the competition is fierce. Social e-commerce: Through social media platforms, some individuals or small shops through live broadcasting, WeChat public accounts and other ways sales, attract fans and users to buy trendy toy products.

5. Conclusion

In this article, we actively analyzed the background, development trends, and marketing strategies of trendy toys. We used AHP and SOWT-analysis methods to identify and explore issues in order to find solutions. Although our product is a completely new product with little competition in the market, when we first enter the market, we can quickly seize the market share and occupy a large portion of it. There may be similar products that perform better than us in the future, but as the leader of the industry, we don't need to worry about a large number of competitors anymore. Our product will definitely become popular in the future. Furthermore, we also considered the potential challenges that our product may face in the market, such as changes in consumer preferences or technological advancements. To address these challenges, we have developed a comprehensive plan to continuously improve our product and stay ahead of the competition. This includes conducting regular market research, seeking feedback from consumers, and investing in innovation. In addition, we have also implemented effective marketing strategies to reach our target audience and increase brand awareness. This includes leveraging social media platforms, collaborating with influencers and bloggers, and organizing promotional events. By utilizing these tactics, we are confident that our product will not only become popular but also generate significant revenue for our business. Overall, by actively analyzing the trends and developments in the toy industry, developing a unique product, and implementing effective marketing strategies, we believe that our product has the potential to become a major player in the market. We are excited about the future of our business and look forward to bringing new and innovative products to consumers around the world.

Acknowledgement

Zixing Fang, Chenglin Han, Xiaoyan Tang, Ankang Zhao contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.