Market-Ability

Marketplace, a daily economics news program heard on National Public Radio, featured a story on January 8, 2002, titled “Microsoft Invades the Kitchen.” In this segment, reporter Aaron Schachter describes consumers’ enthusiasm, or lack thereof, for two new Microsoft products and explores the concept that the process of innovation and consumer response has in ongoing market development.

https://www.marketplace.org/ , a daily economics news program heard on https://www.npr.org/ , featured a story on January 8, 2002, titled “Microsoft Invades the Kitchen.” In this segment, reporter Aaron Schachter describes consumers’ enthusiasm, for lack thereof, of two new Microsoft products and explores the concept that the process of innovation and consumer response has in ongoing marker development.

• Demonstrate understanding that a market exists whenever buyers and sellers exchange goods and services.
• Demonstrate understanding that the introduction of new products and production methods by entrepreneurs is an important form of competition and is a source of technological progress and economic growth.
• Conduct a market survey to determine if an invented product is marketable.

• Marketplace Website: A daily economics news program.
  https://www.marketplace.org/
• National Public Radio: An audio web program.
  https://www.npr.org/
• Microsoft Invades the Kitchen: A January 8, 2002, article, audio segment, and transcript of the audio segment about two new inventions introduced by Microsoft.
  marketplace.publicradio.org/shows/2002/01/08_mpp.html
  Transcript
• The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Kids’ Pages: The Patent and Trademark Office website, to be used in the extension activity.
  https://www.uspto.gov/kids/
• The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Kids’ Pages: The Patent Time Machine, to be used as a part of an in the extension section activity.
  www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ahrpa/opa/kids/calendar/index.html
• The interactive Flash activities: In this activity, students will conduct their own market survey for the product they designed.
  “Survey Construction Zone Part 1”
  “Survey Construction Zone Part 2”

Activity One:

Listen to the Marketplace segment titled “Microsoft Invades the Kitchen,” from January 8, 2002. Forward to the time-stamp of 11:19. You may also read the article transcript. As you are listening or reading, answer the following questions:

• Which two products did Microsoft offer at the most recent Consumer Electronics Show? [Mira and Freestyle]
• What are the demographic groups toward which these products are marketed? [students, elderly, children?)(young to middle-aged adults who are technologically savvy]
• What is the purpose of the two new products? [To integrate common household technologies, such as remote controls, into existing PCs]
• What was the general reaction to the introduction of the two new technologies? [Moderately negative]
• How did the writer determine whether these products were marketable?[He conducted an informal survey.]
• What would you be willing to pay for “Freestyle”?

Activity Two:

Divide your students into groups of three.

Students in each group should spend five minutes brainstorming a list of products that would make their lives easier or more enjoyable. At the end of the allotted time, they should answer the following questions with your group:

• Which of these products could realistically be developed? Circle each of those products.
• Of the products you have circled, which do you think would be desirable to your targeted demographic [teenagers]? Place a star next to each of those products.
• Of the products which you have starred, which do you think would be most profitable? Select one product. (Provide suggestions about how to settle disputes about which product to choose. The students might vote, select randomly or use a contest to determine which student can choose the product. Remind the students that “profitability” involves cost of producing the item, the price it is sold for, and the number of consumers that are willing to be at each possible price.)
• Finally, write a paragraph to describe your product. This description will be read by each student participating in your “market survey” in the next activity.

Activity Three:

Complete the activities Survey Construction Zone Part 1 and Safety Construction Zone Part 2.

In this activity, you will conduct your own market survey for the product you just designed. When you have finished setting up your survey, wait for your teacher’s instructions about how to participate in your classmates’ surveys.

[Note to teachers: After students have entered in their product descriptions, have them “rotate” to complete one another’s surveys. The surveys are set up to accept up to ten responses. Each group should act as one responder. After each survey has been completed by each group, students will return to their own survey and click through to see their results.]

Review the results from your market survey and on the following:

• Was your product received favorably?
• Would you consider developing your product?
• Would you change anything about your product to make your it more favorably received?
• Now that you have read other surveys, would you change any of the questions in your survey? If so, which questions would you add? Which would you remove?
• Which question provided you with the most important information?
• Does your product contribute to technological process? Explain.
• Would your product be able to compete successfully against existing products?
• Compare the expected benefits of this product’s development to its expected costs?

Your students have brainstormed, evaluated and described products that would make their life easier or more enjoyable. They have also conducted a market survey for a product that they have design. With this information have your students take a moment and visit the following sites:

• Explore the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website’s “Patent Time Machine” to learn more about the history of patents in a user-friendly calendar format. This site will provide your students with a listing of patents created over time.
• Visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office website to explore opportunities for participation in a contest for student inventors. After your students have explored the contest opportunities, they should detail an idea to develop an invention for the contest. Lastly, your students can link to the “Pose a Question” link from this page to ask questions to famous inventors.