This presentation shows an idea of a marketing plan for the consumer products of 3D System co. developed for Strategic Marketing and Marketing Plan course. A first evaluation of the product, the market and the company leads to a SWOT Analysis from which the marketing strategy is derived. The marketing plan is structured in three main objectives that can be achieved by specific actions on the variables of product, promotion and placement.

1. 3D Printers
Strategic Marketing and Marketing Plan 20171, Fall Semester 2013
Master of Science in Marketing Management
Università Bocconi
Lecturer: Deborah Raccagni
Amore Bonapasta Alessandra, Ascoli Martina, Baggini Francesca,
Cabrera Santana Santiago, Ferri Marco.

2. Table of Contents
1. Introduction
a. Product
b. Company
2. Analyze
1. Demand Analysis
2. Competitors Analysis
3. Market Gaps
4. SWOT Analysis
3. Decide
1. Marketing Objectives
2. Marketing Strategy: 4Ps
4. Plan and Budget
5. Appendix

3. Executive Summary
This presentation shows an idea of a marketing plan for the
consumer products of 3D System co. developed for Strategic
Marketing and Marketing Plan course. A first evaluation of the
product, the market and the company leads to a SWOT
Analysis from which the marketing strategy is derived. The
marketing plan is structured in three main objectives that can
be achieved by specific actions on the variables of product,
promotion and placement.

4. 1.Introduction
What are we talking about?

5. Product
3D printers are machines that make threedimensional solid objects of any shape from a
digital model. The printing process is additive,
which means that successive layers of material are
laid down in different shapes.
The models can be downloaded from websites associated with 3D
printers bands and modified with a simple software available online.
Printers upload the model through a simple USB port.
Introduction

6. Product
Product Life Cycle
Introduction

7. Product
Introduction
Occasion of Usage
Professionals
Aerospace/Defense
Architecture/Geo
Arts/Entertainment
Automotive
Education
Healthcare
Artists &
Designers
Prototyping and
Object Creation
Hobbyists
DIY applications
Ornamental Objects
Board Games pieces and
Scenarios
Jewelry and Fashion
Families
Practical Household
Application
Toys for Kids
Personalized accessories

8. Product
Introduction
What can we work on:
Complementary Market
Strengths
High possibility of future
revenues in the cartridges and
software market
Creative
3D printers allows users to
express their creativity by
designing and producing a wide
range of products.
Rapid Technical Development
3D printing industry was born in 2007, but
the technology was available since 1984.
Every company launches on average one
new consumer product. Performance are
very easy to improve by the adaptation of
other devices existing technology.
Social
Supported by an online
portal where people can
share, download, buy and
sell 3D models
Practical
Gives the consumer the
possibility of printing objects of
practical use personalized and
use-specific

9. Company
Introduction
Research and Production in
Switzerland, UK and USA
Holding Company Inc.
founded in Delaware “No matter what your application,
if you can imagine it, you
can print it, and we can help.”
Subsidiaries in
France, UK,Italy, Germany,
Netherlands
Australia, China, Japan, Korea
44.5% revenues outside US

10. Company
Introduction
Personal 3D Printers
Cube®
CubeX®

11. Company
Introduction
Printing Materials
Cube®
Focused on usability (plug and play, 25 free
designs included, wi-fi connection with computer,
simple and free dedicated software) and compact
dimensions (26x26x34 cm, 4.3 kg). Max printable
size is 14x14x14 cm. The only 3D printer certified
for safe-at-home use. 16 supported colors. Prints
only one color and one material at the time, but
this is true for all consumer 3D printers in its price
range. Not very quick: time to print out a chess
piece is approximately 90 minutes.
Ideal for widespread casual usage.
Price: starts from 1399$, it’s in the low price
segment of the industry.

12. Company
CubeX®
Consumer oriented but more professional than
the regular Cube. Its direct competitor is
MakerBot’s Replicator 2, which has higher
processing speed but is slightly less easy to use.
Compared to Cube it’s bigger both in hardware
dimensions and in printable objects dimensions
(27.5x26.5x24 cm, roughly a basketball),
supports more colors (18) and has higher print
definition.
Price: starts from 2799$, in line with the direct
competitors with the added benefit of
upgradability from one up to three colors.
Introduction
Printing Materials

13. Company
Introduction
Cubify
Cubify is an online hosting and publishing
platform providing simple-to-use apps for
content creation, content downloads, cloud
printing services, hosting for third parties
and Cubify Invent software.

14. 2. Analyze
What do we work with?

15. Demand Analysis
Potential Demand
Market development index=
primary demand/potential demand
= $ 87 million / $ 1,950 billion= 0.01%
1. Analysis
Secondary Demand
Market share for consumer goods : 4.4%
Total revenues of the company for 3D printers:
$126,798 million
Revenues for desktop printers: $3,828 million
(cube, CubeX).
Primary Demand
2012
2013
Growth
2014
Enterprise
$325
65%
$536
Consumer
$87
53%
$133
$412
62%
$669
Total
$288
Growth
43%
values in million $

16. Demand Analysis
1. Analysis
Consumers Sector
Consumer Profile
Gender: Male
Age: 20-35 years old
Education level: Bachelor degree
Interests: hacker movement,
open source software community
maker culture.
…from
Zoey Poole is an 11-year-old that doesn’t stop
doing what she likes to do: making things on
the Cube 3D printer!
to…
“I love to make all sorts of things with my
Cube,” she said.
Zoey is also thinking about starting a kids club
in her local neighborhood because she wants to
get other kids interested in 3D printing.
“My favorite creation to make is the shoe
because it is just so fun to watch be made. I
haven’t tried to design anything on my own yet,
but when I do I will let you guys know.”

17. Competitors Analysis
1. Analysis
Similar Resources/Products
Matrix of Competitors
Direct
Potential
Competitors
Makerbot, Ultimaker, RepRap,
Leapfrog, 3D Corporation
HP, Samsung, Canon, Lexmark,
Z Corporation
Apple
Delta Micro Factory Co.
Non Competitors
Indirect
Amazon & e-commerce
DIY alternatives
Parts on Demand
Similar Needs

18. Competitors Analysis
1. Analysis
Direct Competitors
MakerBot
Replicator 2
$2,199
Creatr
$1250
The Ultimaker 2
$1,895
Prusa Mendel I3
$895
Market Share of Desktop
3D printers producers

19. Competitors Analysis
Demand Analysis
Perceptual Map
Sector Analysis

20. Competitors Analysis
Abell Map
Personalization
Usability
Benefits (What)
Speed
Consumers
(Who)
ArtistsDesigners
Makers for
selling
Bricolageurs
Families
Technology
(How)
Compact
Desktop
Professional
1. Analysis

21. Sector Analysis
Demand Analysis Competitors Analysis
Buyers
Personal 3D Printers
Sector Analysis
Consumers belong to a wide range of
categories, very different one another.
Companies have to deal with different
necessities, abilities and preferences.
Power of retailers: when entering the
mass market, 3D printers company
might find difficulties in dealing with
mass retailers purchasing power.
Substitutes
The main substitute of the product are
parts on demand, which will have a
shorter future as soon as 3D printers
will become more popular. Another
substitute is e-commerce that beats
our product in terms of convenience.
Industry Rivalry
For now the market is not
concentrated, it consists in
many firms, all with similar
characteristics, as well as a
great number of smaller startups.
Suppliers
The products is usually assembled by
the company and spare parts are
purchased from producers. A very
common technology is used so the
choice of the supplier is not fully
influential to the quality of the
machine (low purchasing power).
Threat of New
Entrants
There is a very high risk of new
competitors entering the market,
especially 2D Printers producers or
other technology dealers that already
hold a relationship with mass retailers,
have a higher investment capacity and
own advances R&D resources.

22. Market Gaps
1. Analysis
Mkt share= 4.4%
Mkt development index = 0,01%
The market appears as severely underdeveloped because of the novelty of the product/
technology but also because of the very inclusive criterion for determining the potential demand
(every household with a fixed broadband internet conncection worldwide.).
Potential Gap =664,875,000 units!
The gap between the potential purchase quantity and the
actual purchased quantity is the one we have to focus
on. This means we need to increase the number of
customers.
Action levers:
-Product: the printing process takes too much time, the
assortment of printing materials available to the
consumers is too limited, the website has too little traffic
and quality content.
-Communication: the awareness of the product is too
low and the costumers still aren’t familiar with its many
possible uses.
-Price: too high, but should decrease as production
technologies improve
Competitive Gap=71,250 units
The biggest player are MakerBot and
Ultimaker, who had first mover advantage.
However we decide to focus on gaining
potential demand since the potential gap is
way bigger and more relevant than the
competitive one because this is a market that
is still in its early development stage.

23. Marketing Objectives
What do we aim at?

24. SWOT Analysis
1. Analysis

25. SWOT Analysis
1. Analysis
SFAS Table: Analysis of the most influential factors
The table summarizes the most critical elements of the SWOT Analysis rated by probable impact on the
company strategic position (Column 2) and the company response to that particular factor (Column 3).

26. Marketing Objectives
From Analysis to Marketing Objectives
From the SFAS table we considered the following relevant factors
for building our strategy:
W: We a k d i s t r i b u t i o n
channel.
O: Market Growth and
temporary absence of the
product in mass retailers.
The presence in mass
distribution retailers is
becoming essential to
keep the pace of the
g ro w i n g m a r k e t ) a n d
gaining share with firstmover-advantage.
S: Experience in services
and online platforms.
O: Long tail economy and
expansion of social media.
Our online platform needs
to be improved to surf the
re c e n t t re n d s i n t h e
society.
W:Low brand awareness
O:Expansion of social
media and technological
development.
Communication should be
delivered through modern
media. The consumer is
becoming more familiar
with online information
research.

27. Marketing Objectives

28. Marketing Objectives
Market
Penetration
Product
Development
Market
Extension
Diversificatio
n

29. Product
Promotion
Placement
Marketing Objectives
How’re we rocking?

30. 1. Product:
2. Plan
Our strategy: Positioning /differentiation
Evaluation of product, service, brand impact on customer
value.
work on the augmented product
service:
We focused on the company online sharing platform because it is a key to
move towards the usability of the product as well as brand recognition and
gain competitive value.

31. 1. Product:
Solutions
1.Get social!
Build a follower system and the
relative dashboard. Allow the
creation of collections.
2.User-Generation!
Incentivize free user-generated
content through contests and a
“most popular” section.
3. Customize!
Substitute the current customizing web
apps with one like “Customizer” by
MakerBot, which is able to handle
multiple and user-generated designs.
4. Sort!
Testing all the designs for each printer would
be costly and time consuming. A way to
bypass this problem would be to increase
the number of free objects and keep the
marketplace and the “free objects” sections
separate. The possibility of sorting by
dimensions would be an immediate way to
distinguish the designs that are printable at
home and the ones that have to be cloudprinted.

32. 2.Promotion:
e-contest
2. Plan
We will organize e-contests every month, both to promote the website and
to involve more people in the online community. Each contestant will be able
to upload his/her own project that will be evaluated by other users through a
rating system. The designer of the best project of the month will win 5 free
3D printer cartridges.
This strategy will also
stimulate word of
mouth and attract
new customers.

33. 2.Promotion:
e-advertising
We aim to create a viral online movement made
of short ad videos that can spread product
awareness and stimulate curiosity of potential
customers.
The core element of the ad is a Retrofutristic
concept, able to thrill the Generation X and all
the sympathizers of the maker movement.
Actual and potential users of a 3D printer are
technology oriented people, so the main
promotional tools are going to be online videos
and ads.
2. Plan
It’s R
Retro
etrofu
futuris
m
t
in
uristic
!
spirat
i
ion fro s based on
in pas
the id
t pop m the per
ceptio ea of taki
ular c
3D pr
ng
ult
n
inting
were ure. Conce of the futu
scien
re
ce
c
p
reality fiction, n ommon in ts similar t
ow w
e see 50s and 6 o
didn’ and every
0
th
day l
t hap
pen f
ife, s em come s
imagi
or
om
to
nary p
roduc a good nu ething th
a
mber
ts.
of oth t
er
“today is yesterday’s world of tomorrow”
We developed a simple add with scenes
from Star Trek and Twilight Zone to
reproduce a Retrofuturistic theme. The
music belongs to Hypnagogic pop often
used in Retrofuturistic art works.
S
a
m
p
l
e
a
d
:
h t t p s : / / w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ?
v=0GavyqEZ0jg

34. 2.Promotion
Fairs and Events
Taking part in fairs and business events is important
to be up to date with the trends of the sector. It also
enables the company to understand the demand
and to network.
There are several
international fairs around the
world that present the latests trends in technology
and design, which the company should participate
to:
London, Paris,
New York
Milan
Berlin

35. 2.Promotion
Project Evangelist
"
"
Four total evangelists are needed: one in the US, one in
Japan, one in Germany and one in the Netherlands. By
2015 we they will be also in Korea, UK, Italy, Russia and
China.
Four marketing directors, one in each country, are
needed to handle the project. They’re already employed
by the company.
The goal is to generate and develop positive
w o rd - o f - m o u t h , e s p e c i a l l y i n o n l i n e
communities.
We want to base in countries where we want to enter in
mass retailers but also in countries that we believe have
an high growing potential in online sales.
Marketing evangelists serve as brand managers. They are
responsible for crafting and managing the identity of a
brand from beginning to end. Their input will affect
research and development, customer service, and
marketing, among others. Ultimately, their goal is to
create memorable and exemplary experiences for
customers.

36. 2.Promotion
Cubify4Design
“Cubify4Design” is a project aimed at
improving the number and the quality of free
printable contents on cubify.com and at
building a better brand image. It will involve
students of high recognition design schools.
The students will be asked to upload original
designs on the website and will be paid 5€
each (up to a maximum of 25,000€), the
designs themselves will be downoadable for
free. There will be monthly prizes for the most
downloaded files.
A CubeX Duo 3D printer will be given for free to
each partner school.
The company will invest 100,000 € each year to
renovate the program.

37. 3.Placement
2. Plan
Entering Mass Retailer Distribution:
Where?
Europe
Is a strategic area for our company because here is where our production center of consumer printers is based
(Clevedon, England). Europe offers a rich retailing market and short distance between point of sales. Moreover,
the interest in design is here widespread and this area leads global trends in the field.
Germany and Netherlands:
Germany and Netherlands together make
about the 20% of Europe total population.
Germany’s turnover worths 1/4 of EU total
value of high-tech manufacturing and the gross
domestic expenditure in R&D is the third of the
continent, after the scandinavian countries.
Retail sales per year in the area maintain a
positive growth despite the economic crisis
and consumer’s confidence rate is one of the
highest in Europe.
Both Germany and Netherlands are known to
have prestigious design schools and qualified
professional designers, therefore a sensibility
for product creation.

38. 3.Placement
2. Plan
Entering Mass Retailer Distribution
"
"
"
Specialized mass retailer: MediaMarkt stores. Mediamarkt is the most successful specialized retailer in
Europe and will allow us to expand also in a big market like Russia.
" Germany: 235 stores
" Netherlands: 25 stores
A total of 288 Cube and 108 CubeX Duo in the Netherlands (1st year) and 2592 Cube and 972 Cube X
duo in Germany.
We will approach Russian market in 2015 and Italian market in 2016 with the same retailer company.
Russia is an interesting and growing market for new technologies and Italian market has been showing
interest in the product.
Cube
stores performance
High
Medium
Low
Not
considered
Total
N. of stores
CubeX Duo
Exposition
To sell
Exposition
Quantity Sold
To sell
Cube
Cube X Duo
60
1
4
1
2
240
120
75
1
3
0
2
225
150
85
1
3
0
0
255
0
40
260

39. Budget
3. Budget

40. Budget
3. Budget
Sales values already include production costs and shipping costs, i.e. it is shown the profit of the sales, not the
revenues

41. Budget
3. Budget
Notes on Budget
Selling price online and in-store will be the same, otherwise customers will mostly purchase online, giving no incentive to the
retailer in selling the products. Consequently, the company will have an higher margin on online sales.
However, selling online requires higher shipping costs for the 3D printers (no economies of scale), while for cartridges the shipping
costs will be charged to the consumer
Online sales will grow according to the rate of the market, i.e. +50% every year,
For cartridges we considered that each of a 3D printer owner will buy one pack per year.
We suppose that the costs remain stable for three years, while selling price will decrease in the following years due to increasing
competition.
We did not include expected inflation because we do not consider it as relevant to our market

42. To know more
Makers, The New Industrial
Revolution
Chris Anderson
14-17 Nov. “Knowledge, modi
e mondi nuovi”
Museo della Scienza e della
Tecnica, Milano