Competitor Research at ASI

Hey everyone!  I’m wrapping up my third month as the marketing intern at Advanced Sports International.  Not only have I learned a ton about the bicycle industry, but I’ve also learned a great deal about how much goes into a marketing plan, in particular, advertising.

The advertising project I’ve been working on for the past few weeks is competitor research.  I have spent countless hours flipping through a variety of bicycle magazines and browsing bike websites.  To the right is a picture of just a few of the magazines I looked through.  All of this research has opened my eyes to so much, such as where the competitors advertise and what the content of their ads are.  I have made note of bicycle brands with successful campaigns to learn from their ideas.  I have also acknowledged the not-so-great ads, to make sure ASI’s bike brands can learn from these mistakes.

Not only are the content of the ads important, but the placement of them is also crucial.  Which magazines our competitors are choosing and when is all valuable info.  This research is all valuable to help the marketing team plan ASI’s 2014 ad schedule to guarantee success.  All of this work has reinforced the fact that planning is a necessity in creating a successful advertising schedule.