Post It Overview 1. Market Analysis 1.1 Market Environment 1.2 Market Segment 2. Competitor Analysis 3. Consumer Analysis 3.

1 Consumer Trend 3.2 Consumer Needs And Wants 3.3 Consumer Behaviour 4. Post-it Analysis 4.1 Target Segment 4.2 Distribution Characteristics 4.3 Business Performance 4.4 Business Strategy 5Ps 4.5 SWOT Analysis 5. Proposed Marketing Plan 5.1 Target Segment 5.2 Positioning 5.3 Strategy 5.4 Conclusion 1. Market Analysis The repositionable notes market is made up of paper or tabs with adhesive, which allows the product to be stuck on surfaces and moved, without leaving residue. They are also known as sticky notes and the idea was first conceived by 3M innovators. Post-it, the original inventor of sticky notes have seen other competitors entering the market, yet having little success in toppling Post-it as the market leader. This is especially so in Singapore, where most of the brands shy away from competing head-on with Post-it, by differentiating their products. 1.1 Market Environment 1.1.1 Technology

The ease of accessing wireless networks via Wireless@SG, since its introduction in 2006, has led to a surge in consumers switching to 3G phones. The implications of this on the repositionable notes market is that gadgets like phones are increasingly being used as a substitute in place of sticky notes, in reminding people of certain events or things. Instead of physically placing a post-it on the desk, people choose to set reminders on their phones, with alarms. People also choose to send short messages via their handphones, instead of writing notes on sticky notes and placing them on a colleagues desk, for example. 1.1.2 Social Trend Research has shown that Singaporeans are consuming even more paper than before, despite the recent bids of environmentalists to cut down paper usage across the nation. According to a study done by Spire Research & Consulting, A check of 100 companies in March showed that 43 per cent reported a rise in paper usage, with just 18 per cent registering a decrease. This however may be good news to companies in the repositionable notes market, as this means that the demand for repositionable notes will remain strong. 1.2 Market Segment 1.2.1 Demographics Consumers of the repositionable notes in Singapore can be generally categorized into 3 large groups, consisting of the office consumers, home consumers as well as school consumers. The office consumers are made up of the office workers and the working professionals. Home consumers consist of home-makers or tuition teachers and school consumers are teachers and students. 76.5% of the population are between the ages 15-64, which make up a large part of the people who most likely belong to the 3 categories of consumers in the market. As the literacy rate of Singapore stands at a high 96%, the repositionable notes market has a potentially large market it can tap into as anyone who is literate is able to make use of repositionable notes. 1.2.2 Psychographics Consumers in the repositionable notes market can be described as people who are productive, like to be organized, sometimes maybe even forgetful and definitely, people who value convenience. 2. Competitor Analysis The repositionable notes market in Singapore is primarily led by Post-it, with other competitors trailing behind. These competitors are mostly made up of smaller companies providing office supplies. Some of these competitors choose to compete head-on with Post-it, for example, the Popular house brand, while others, usually smaller competitors, choose to differentiate their products slightly, to cater to a niche market. However, upon analyzing the competitors in this market, it can be concluded that Post-it clearly remains the market leader in the repositionable notes market in Singapore. 2.1.1 Popular house brand The Popular house brand is Post-its largest competitor in Singapore and they compete on price. It carries the widest range of products that are most similar compared to that of Post-it. Popular positions itself as a provider of quality products at value-for-money prices. In this aspect, Popular wins consumers who go for low prices, for example students, who may not be able to afford Post-its pricier products. Another reason

for the strong competition posed by the Popular house brand is the strategic placement of Popular products compared to Post-it products. Popular products are placed along major aisles and areas which will catch the attention of consumers, resulting in consumers deciding to buy Popular sticky notes, before they even get to see Post-its. However, the Popular house brand still loses out to the brand variety that Post-it carries. Populars sticky notes are mostly made up of the traditional canary yellow shade, whereas Post-it has extended their product range by offering many other colours like purple, orange, pink and more. In terms of visual appeal of the colours, Popular is also on the losing end, with its dull and unappealing colours. Finally, the packaging of Populars sticky notes and tabs fare poorly against Post-its professional-looking package design. 2.1.2 Smaller competitors There are smaller competitors in the repositionable notes market which attempt to differentiate themselves from Post-it. For one, Earthscope offers sticky notes and positions itself as a motivational brand. Its sticky notes contain motivational one-liners with simple colours and designs. Its target segment consists of students or office-workers and it attempts to win the mind-share of these consumers, as everyone needs motivation and these sticky notes provide them. Stick-O is another brand in the repositionable notes market that carries products which differ slightly from Post-it. Its most signature product would be a memo glass, which helps to cover certain contents and is useful especially for photocopying. Consumers can choose to write and make notes on the memo glass as well. This brand also has simple tabs which are extremely similar to the ones that Post-it has, at a lower price. 3L is a brand from Denmark that offers a wide range of office products, and only competes directly with Post-its in its sale of index tabs. The tabs provided by 3L is strictly for office use, with a wide range of size and colours. Usage is targeted for quick referencing of official documents, compared to Post-its, which can also be used for the flagging of textbooks and notes. Post-it clearly has a wider target market, in its index tabs, as compared to 3L. 3. Consumer Analysis 3.1 Consumer Trends 3.1.1 Hectic Lifestyle Disposable paper products have always been a popular alternative for non-disposable products due to their convenience and hygienic qualities. As such, the demand for disposable paper products will most likely continue to embark on healthy growth. Increasingly busy lifestyle in Singapore explains the demand for convenience. 3.1.2 Perkonomics Perkonomics adds a new dimension to the current concept of mere promotions and discount offers. It comprises a new breed of perks and privileges, added to brands' regular offerings. In todays competitive world, consumers go for the best products out there because they are well informed. Consumers want to pay less for more especially in the repositionable notes market where products are very similar. 3.1.3 Eco-iconic

Being eco-friendly and going green is no longer valued in the eyes of the consumers. Consumers want something more. Eco-friendly products used to be ugly and that is not what consumers want. It is not their top most priority when they choose to purchase. For example, the only factor that seems to influence consumers to purchase eco-friendly cars is their aversion to high fuel prices. Nonetheless, for consumers to be attracted to eco-friendly products, they have to be iconic and representative. 3.2 Consumer Needs and Wants The general consumers just need a piece of paper to jot down some reminders and paste on places where it is noticeable. However, consumers want a repositionable note that can really stand out and has longer longevity. A longer lifespan will mean that the note can stick onto a wall longer. Portability is also a characteristic that consumers expect from the repositionable notes. Consumers expect the price of repositionable notes to be low but do not mind paying slightly more for notes that come with designs. To them, repositionable notes are simply repositionable notes and they do not demand any more from them so long as the notes can achieve the simple duty of a reminder. Sizes and color are certain features that will satisfy consumers various wants. Different occasion demands different types of note pads. Consumers want different colors to represent different categories of information that they want to represent. Strong and bright colors stimulate the consumers visually. It literally brightens up their day! 3.3 Consumer Behavior It is typical to see a notepad besides a phone, on a computer desk and even in the bags of consumers as repositionable notes have been made convenient to carry around. Their hectic lifestyle forces them to jot down notes to constantly remind them of their work. It is also a psychological thing that Singaporeans like to read words on papers as it is less stressful on the eye. The dawn of the Information Technology age has done little to reduce the amount of paper that Singaporeans use. 3.3.1 Purchase pattern The traditional consumers tend to visit bookstores and purchase notepads to replenish their stocks. Nonetheless, office supplies will also be replenished by the purchasing managers of the company as purchases made in bulk often come with discounts. Purchases tend to be occasional as consumers do not usually visit a retail outlet to simply purchase notepads. Hence, purchases are made on the spot such that consumers will often only think about purchasing a notepad to assist their work when they see notepads on the shelf. 4. Post-it Analysis 4.1 Target Segment The ease and convenience of using Post-it products have given Post-it an additional niche in the repositionable notes market. Being the pioneer in this industry, Post-it also gets the advantage to be the first in meeting the needs and wants of the different segments. Currently, Post-it targets on 3 different groups of, namely people at work, home and school. Thus the types of consumers would range from schooling students to working adults to even homemakers. Post-it has

done an excellent job in ensuring that majority of their target segments which their products could be used in have been tapped on. 4.1.1 Focus Post-it products have seek to achieve four different focus aspects such as convenience, productivity, getting organized and lastly the expression of ones inner self. 4.2 Distribution Characteristics Repositionable Notes Market Stationery Distributors Stationery Wholesaler Retail Wholesaler Retail Key Accounts Direct Office Suppliers Stationery Shops Hypermarkets Supermarkets Grocers Office End Consumer Home End Consumer The repositionable notes market in Singapore mainly has 4 different distribution channels. The stationery distributors supply directly to the office end consumers and are given rebates if targeted sales of a product are reached. Singapores largest stationery distributor is Boon Lay Stationery, and they supply Post-it products as well. More commonly, the stationery wholesalers sell products in bulk to direct office suppliers as well as stationery shops, which in turn, sell to office end consumers. Direct office suppliers and stationery shops sell products at a much lower quantity. Retail wholesalers in Singapore sell products to other shops, as well as in their own retail shops. An example would be Evergreen Stationery, which has its own retail outlets, yet continue to purchase in bulk to sell to other retailers as well. Lastly, retail key accounts supply their products directly to home end consumers. They are able to do so due to the large volume of purchases made by consumers on a regular basis. Retail key accounts are usually large store chains which are frequented by home end consumers. An example of this would be the Popular brand in Singapore. 4.3 Business Performance As at 2008, out of seven business segments run by 3M, the Consumer and Office business segment takes up 13.6% of the consolidated sales. The percentage change of this segments operating income declined for

the year 2008 at 4.1% although there was a positive change for the years 2006 and 2007 at 3.4% and 9.2% respectively. The decline could be attributed to the weak US consumer spending. 4.4 Business Strategy- 5Ps 4.4.1 Product Besides the normal repositionable notes which Post-it produces, it also markets other products such as flags & tabs, easel pads, cut to fit display boards, dispensers and custom printed products. The vibrant colours of Post-it products have gained much attention. Other than the typical yellow colour of Post-it notes, Post-it has begun to introduce different colours over the recent years such as purple, pink, blue and more. Other than the traditional square shape, Post-it has also introduced their repositionable notes in different shapes and sizes too in the form of star, flower and heart. The package design of Post-it products have been successful in bringing out the exclusiveness of their products. Their products will always be either packed or sealed with the Post-it logo as the background or as a storage holder. The package design exuberates class yet appeals to all. In addition, Post-it products are consumer friendly which increases the productivity level for consumers. One example would be their Post-it Flag Highlighter & Pens. Its portability allows consumers to bring their office with them wherever they go. The durability and quality of their products also ensures satisfaction from consumers. Finally, our group admires Post-it for their understanding towards the society. One example would be the manufacturing of a customised type of Post-it note pads and tabs which are longer and thinner than their usual products hence suiting Japanese writings. 4.4.2 Price Given the product characteristics and the frequent promotions, consumers receive more value than what they pay for. Post-it products are generally affordable, with none of their products exceeding $10. The normal yellow repositionable notes are priced between $1.45 to $3.90, depending on the colour and sizes. Even the premium products with exceptional quality, are priced reasonably. 4.4.3 Promotion In relation to the new premium product, Pop-up notes dispenser, Post-it has offered an introductory offer at $4.80 (usual price at $7.80). In addition to that, the new pop-up notes dispenser comes with a free pack of repositionable notes at a more valuable price. Post-it has a brilliant way of bundling their product together to introduce their new products to consumers. Take for example, they bundled a free recycled repositionable note together with two original post-it notes so as to introduce the free product to consumers at $2.90. Post-it participates in many communication strategies including social networks like Facebook and Twitter. The use of the Facebook group is a simple yet effective way to reach out to their consumers by posting contests and gathering consumer feedback. This brings all Post-it consumers together on the same platform.

Another communication tactic for promoting Post-it products is the Promotional Post it notes for companies to imprint their logos on Post-it repositionable notes. This is a cost effective promotional item with a huge marketing value attached to it. Post-it notes are portable and can be used anywhere thus making it one of the most popular items companies include in their marketing giveaways. In addition, the new Post-it Flag Highlighter & Pens can be tried virtually to replicate what it would be in reality. Post-it also has digital post-it notes similar to the physical product on their website for consumers to purchase or participate in their 30 day trial. Lastly, we also found a blogger who leaves Post-it notes with expressional quotes all over Singapore. Coming back to Post-its focus, they have successful achieved the portion on expression of ones inner self. As a testimony to Post-its successful communication strategy, we also found an individual who leaves Postit notes with expressional quotes all over Singapore. This acts as an advertisement for Post-it, one that was not even conceived from the company itself! 4.4.4 Place Post-it products are widely accessible and can be found in leading bookstores and even in supermarkets. Their customized decorated shelves are in tangent to the products that they are selling. It makes it noticeable to people from afar. 4.4.5 Positioning Post-it products revolve around their 4 main focuses and in addition simplicity and innovation. Hence, one phrase to sum it all, Surprising innovative solutions the hassle free way. 4.5 SWOT Analysis 4.5.1 Strengths Post it has since been a well established brand in the hearts of many Singaporeans. Post-it has not only become a famous brand, it has even been infused into our daily speech. People would ask, Do you have a post-it? even when they are not necessarily referring to the brand. The companys constant involvement in innovation and customer focus have allowed it to be one of the many brands which come to Singaporean minds when they want to buy stationery. Their high quality, together with their excellent packaging, has been an advantage despite them being slightly pricier than their competitors. 4.5.2 Weakness Post-it products lack a mind-share focus unlike brands like Earthscope. Earthscope sells repositionable notes similar to Post-it but with motivational slogans and greetings on them. Furthermore, Post-it is labelled as a more expensive brand compared to the other brands by many. 4.5.3 Opportunities In addition to Post-its constant innovation on their products, it can consider creating more emphasis on improving the sense of touch, sight and sense of smell of their products. Post-it can introduce sweet scent onto their products to entice students in purchasing the products. The texture of the repositionable notes or tabs can be improved to make it even smoother and easier to write on. Lastly, since Post-it products are

portable and light-weight, incorporation of these stationery into notebooks and pencil cases can be achievable. 4.5.4 Threats The main competitor of Post-it is the Popular house brand. Although they have similar product range, Populars house brand sells them at a lower price. Hence, Post-it faces price competition especially when Popular carries their products. Also, their location in Popular bookshop is not as prominent as compared to their house brand. In future, there will be less physical books but an increasing number of digital books and notes. This might cause a lower demand of Post-it current products as they are not catered for the digital needs. Although Post-it has introduced a digital notepad which is similar to the physical repositionable notes, this might not be enough. Also, the advancement in technology has reduced the need for the traditional pen to paper note-taking. Laptops and even smart phones now provide a reasonable degree of note-taking functions. 5. Proposed Marketing Plan 5.1 Target Segment The education sector in Singapore has been growing over the years, with expenditure on education hitting 7.8% in 2003. To tap on the booming education market in Singapore, we propose that Post-it Singapore venture into the sales of Post-it products targeted at children, to meet their learning needs in a fun yet effective manner. Using Post-it as learning essentials from an early age will help to build up customer equity for Post-it products in the long run. Besides, we feel that the success of Post-it products targeted at the learning needs of children in the United States can be replicated in Singapore as well. 5.2 Positioning Basically, the key positioning of Post-it will still remain the same, which is to bring innovative solutions the hassle free way. 5.3 Our Strategy 5.3.1 The Big Playground Post-it playground provides a third place experience for post-it users and is the only place for all young children to get together and exhibit their creativity all under one roof at one time. It is a carnival, an official launch for the children product line in conjunction with Post-its Anniversary celebrations. At the playground, it is a reminiscence of childhood. This event will be marketed as a family-oriented and fun event not to be missed. Despite the hectic lifestyle of most adults, they tend to seek a hideout place where they can chuck their work away from their stressful lifestyle and enjoy. For children, this is a gigantic playground. Children will be representing their schools and compete against each other to come out with the most beautiful art pieces using post-it. Post-it playground the wonderland for everyone! 5.3.2 Post-it Lab Post-it Lab means Innovation. It leverages on the strong position of Post-it where beauty of innovation and simplicity is advocated. Traditional games like Bingo, Scrabble and Sudoku are all played using Post-it. Children are offered an interactive learning adventure as well in education workshop where languages such

as Mandarin are taught with the aid of Post-it. Education is the top most concern of many parents in Singapore. School work and education have been stressful for todays children and can be quite dull at times despite all the effort to make them interesting. At Post-it Lab, it is clearly emphasized that learning can be fun. No one asks for it but we offer it. 5.3.3 Shopping! See, try and buy post-it products at the Post-it playground. Singaporeans love to shop. We provide the ultimate shopping experience. Promotional offers and introductory offers will be utilized here. Products will also be re-bundled and packaged at the educational offer for parents who wish to purchase for their children learning adventure. Such educational offer has already been implemented in the other parts of the world like the United States and we believe that it will work well with the Singapore market as well. 5.3.4 TRYvertising In a bid to increase publicity and awareness for the premium post-it products, we also suggest allowing Post-it pop-up notes dispensers to be made available for sampling. To deliver the essence of TRYvertising, samples shall pop up at various Post-it stands in bookstores. This helps people to understand the product even better by adding an element of physical touch to it. Popularising the upward-downward motion of pulling the pop-up note from the dispenser will highlight the notes usage ease and convenience. We introduce ourselves and let consumers experience and try the new products first and it is a civilised and effective way to treat our consumers. We go humble with our consumers. We wish to internalise the sheer convenience of our premium products like the pop-up notes dispensers into the mind of our consumers. Consumers will realise that pop-up notes dispensers are really convenient. As simple as an upwarddownward motion, we wish to make it a habit, an association with our consumers. To effective communicate with our consumers on the pop-up notes dispensers; we have to let them experience it. Nothing beats a memorable experience. 5.4 Conclusion Post-it has a strong base business and despite price competition from cheaper substitutes and imitations, we stand firm and build a strong relationship with our consumers. The key to increase the equity and value of the Post-it brand is to utilize and enhance the attractiveness of the premium range of Post-it which has limited penetration so far. Through further analysis and understanding of our consumers, we realise that there is a need for a gathering of Post-it users to get connected with each other. In addition, targeting the children and educational market will seek to increase our customer equity and build a strong relationship with our consumers in their early years. We showcase our honesty and sincerity by allowing our consumers to experience our premium products in an attempt to penetrate the market. In the long run, we hope to bring consumers together and keep our consumers loyal.