Fitbit's Market Entry Strategy in Australia

This assignment analyzes Fitbit's potential for success in the Australian market and proposes a strategic marketing plan. It emphasizes partnerships with fitness clubs, insurance companies, and healthcare providers to drive sales and brand recognition. The plan considers budget, profitability, monitoring, and control measures, ultimately aiming to position Fitbit as a leading health and fitness technology provider in Australia.

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Executive summary
The report presents a marketing plan for Fitbit to govern the launch of wearable fitness and
exercise tracking devices in the Australian market. It starts by introducing the company giving
the history and the current position. The industry has several competing companies with big
brands and is described as being conscious and is overgrowing. The following part highlights the
strengths of Fitbit in an industry that has many opportunities amid threats. The marketing
objectives and strategies have been developed from the situation analysis. A marketing mix is
created with a brief profitability analysis. The plan is finalized by laying out a monitoring
procedure to keep the process in control. The conclusion and summary part gives a quick recap
of the marketing plan.

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Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................4
Situation analysis...........................................................................................................................4
Opportunities and issue statement...............................................................................................5
Marketing objectives.....................................................................................................................6
Marketing strategies......................................................................................................................6
Marketing mix................................................................................................................................7
Budget and profitability analysis.................................................................................................7
Monitoring and control.................................................................................................................8
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................8
Summary........................................................................................................................................8
References.......................................................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Fitbit International has operated in the local Australian market through the past one year. The
company provides products that help in transforming the lives of people through enhancing
fitness activities. The company aims to help the customers feel empowered and have fun as they
engage in physical exercise to manage health. Fitbit dates its operation in the past one decade
since its formation in Boston, U.S.A. The company has been expanding operations to Japan,
Singapore, China, South Korea, Denmark, England, Ireland, Belarus, India and the latest country
of is Australia just recently. The market has grown steadily and is expected expand up to five
times in the next five years. Wireless technology and sensors technology have been greatly taken
up in the development of health and fitness trackers and enjoy an enormous market. The entry
into Australian market has been facilitated by the steadily growing local market. The Australian
population has been labeled to have a high early adoption of the wearable technology. This
report analyzes the launch of Fitbit’s wearable fitness and health trackers in Australia.
Situation analysis
The wearable health and fitness tracking products that are available in the local market are priced
at US$19, and the highest is at US$349. There are several sellers in the market including
Samsung, Garmin, Misfit, Nike, Google, Microsoft Apple, and Jawbone. The products of Fitbit
are mid-priced, and the other established markets have grown through massive advertising and
promotion strategies. Television media has been the most influential approach followed by
magazines and lowest effect being reported in digital advertising. The market of wearable health
and fitness tracking devices spreads across all types of the population from the young to the old
in with more users being the women although the male consumers have a nearly high number.

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Retailers of sporting goods and supermarkets form the majority of the distribution channels
(Sivapalan, 2017).
Opportunities and issue statement
i. Strengths
Fitbit has a specialized product line as compared to the competitors in the fitness and exercise
monitoring industry who engage in a wide range of products like computers and phones. Fitbit
has a broad awareness of its brand with wide utility capabilities and device portfolio. The
company uses a strategy of partnering with health insurance providers as the industry is
mainstreaming toward healthcare. Fitbit products do not have third-party applications (Irina,
2017).
ii. Weaknesses
The single product line of Fitbit is also a drawback in diversity branding. The company has a less
established credibility in health and fitness when compared to some of the competitors. Most
competing firms in the industry have a long-term brand loyalty because of the long presence in
the market.
iii. Opportunities
Corporates are continuing to expand their employee wellness programs through partnerships
with healthcare providers. A great opportunity stands in the future development of capabilities of
the devices. Fitbit will also be able to sell data for research as long as the privacy of consumers is
protected.
iv. Threats

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Start-ups in the industry pose a challenge to the growth and position of Fitbit because of low
prices. Other competitors constitute a threat to the youth portion of the market which is image-
conscious (Mayura, 2014). Other long-time established brands occupy the industry with a
significantly high customer loyalty.
Marketing objectives
The Australian market is conscious of health, fitness and exercise tracking and this means that
Fitbit has to stay at the brink of technology to be ahead of the competitive and fast-changing
industry (Camilleri, 2017). The objective of marketing programs in the new market will be to
position the company on top amid competition by reclaiming the taken market share. All the
plans should propel the firm to create customer loyalty so that it will grow without many
difficulties. Fitbit has divided its products into active and performance fitness according to price
(Rosenthal, 2017).
Marketing strategies
The segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies
Marketing mix will be aimed at targeting the appropriate market segment, promotion of value,
positioning and branding to create a competitive advantage. The 7P’s tools of price, promotion,
product, people, placement, physical environment, packaging, and the process will be used to
develop an appropriate marketing strategy (Wood, 2016).
Market segmentation will be based on capabilities which determine the needs of users and
pricing. Target segmentation in the international market is centered on levels of fitness. The
fitness levels are divided into casual exercisers and the consumers who are seriously focused on
fitness. Fitness level, gender, education, age, and income will be used for targeting the market

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(Wattenhofer, 2016). A significant portion of frequently exercising consumers are not athletes
aged between 25 years and 45 years, the women who are health-conscious, the educated and the
middle class on the upper end. Price is the primary factor influencing the purchase of wearable
fitness tracking devices. Some cheap end competitors have fewer features and will not shatter
Fitbit in their financial packages. The strategies will help to create and increase awareness of
products and the brand, become a market leader, add new product features and enhance
personalization settings (Weber, 2017).
Marketing mix
The exclusive partnering with corporates, health clubs, and insurance companies will enable
sharing of tracking data. The partnerships will offer discounts on co-pays, premiums, and
deductibles. Classes apparel and membership fees may also be cut. Insurance firms will gain
relevant information that will help in serving their clients (Rosenthal, 2017). Discounts will
assist to develop loyalty and act as an incentive to increase sales for the price-sensitive
consumers. Sharing of data will be voluntary through sign-ups, this way, privacy will not be
infringed. Partnerships will give a shared promotion for Fitbit’s products and brand.
Budget and profitability analysis
Approximately 3,500,000 devices will be sold in the first year of launch costing the company
$1.4 billion manufacturing costs and $5 million in advertising and promotions. The total revenue
for sale is approximated at $3.5 billion. (Oelschlegel, et al. 2017)

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Monitoring and control
The information for checking progress will be provided by the devices. Integration with
computers will help in capturing and analysis of data. The industry trends have to be kept up to
date, and the appliances kept in line with the needs of the consumers (Enama, 2017).
Conclusion
Forging partnerships with fitness clubs and insurance companies seeks to create a win-win
situation for Fitbit, the companies, and the individual users. Fitbit will then increase sales and get
an incentivized beneficiary sigh-ups and save money on costs of health and exercise. Another
benefit is an increase in membership and an encouraged purchase of the apparel. Consumers will
save money as well as get improved health and fitness. The promotion capacity created by
insurers will help in the rolling out of the wearable products and brand awareness.
Summary
The report has analyzed the Fitbit company in its production of wearable exercise and fitness
devices with an aim to create a marketing plan for the entry in Australia. The most appropriate
strategy has been identified to be partnerships with corporates such as insurers, healthcare
companies, and health clubs. Fitbit has several strengths over the competitors, and the local
industry has a high potential for adoption and growth. The effective means of overcoming
internal weaknesses and the industry threats will be to keep abreast in technology adoption to
enhance functionalities.

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References
Camilleri, A., 20171. Market segmentation, targeting, and positioning. Market Planning, 31(1),
p. 27.
Enama, A., 2017. Research on Market Development Strategy. Exercise and Fitness, 4(12), pp. 1-
27.
Irina, E., 2017. SWOT analysis, its implementation, and role for a foreign company. Marketing
Planning, 2(1), pp. 128-136.
Mayura, J., 2014. S.W.O.T analysis. Marketing Strategies, 2(31), p. 97.
Oelschlegel Sandy, Doyle Donna, 2017. Collaboration, Visibility, and Relationship Marketing:
Driving Use and Demonstrating Value of a Consumer Health Information Service. Journal of
Healthy Living, 21(1), pp. 1-10.
Rosenthal, B., 2017. The brand meaning co-creation process on Facebook. Marketing
Intelligence & Planning, 9(4), pp. 188-196.
Sivapalan, A., 2017. An application of retailing service quality practices influencing customer
loyalty toward retailers. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 17(9), pp. 1-53.
Wattenhofer, R., 2016. Outdoor Sports Route Generation. Exercise Tracking, 9(4), pp. 76-101.
Weber, N., 2017. Matching the business model with the unique customer journey. Customer
Loyalty, 18(4), pp. 1-15.
Wood, L., 2016. Methods and apparatus to improve marketing strategy with purchase driven
planning. Market planning, Volume 7, p. 54.

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