The Company
Ancestry unique selling proposition as a company is to provide family history and DNA testing facility for prospective consumers to primarily tie up the relationship found in the family tree in lieu with the genetics and health history that helps consumers to gain a new level of understanding about their family history.
The company is a leader in the family history market and is considered the pioneers when it comes to the online research of family history; the belief system at the launch of the company in 1983 was to connect with people who wants to know their family history in a detailed manner, and the success of the initiative can be gauged from the fact that, ancestry has more than 2 million paying subscribers and more or less 1.4 million DNA samples in the database (About Ancestry, 2016).
The Competition
Ancestry has been awarded the Gold Award this year for Genealogy Search Reviews, in terms of searchable records authenticity and credibility, features, communities and help and support. The other competitions on the list are Heritage, Mocavo Gold, Archives, Find my past, World Vital Records, One Great Family, My Trees, Genealogy Bank and the last on the list The Genealogical Research Library (Genealogy Search Reviews, 2016).
The operational model of Ancestry and My Heritage and Geni are different, as mentioned above the Ancestry have a subscription model, with monthly memberships ranging from $ 19.99 to $44.99 for annual subscriptions, while on the contrary, MyHeritage and Geni operate by providing free access to visitors, and charge varying fees in relation to software and detailed access to records (Ungerleider, 2015).
Ancestry have created multiple paths that include helping people who look for their family tree, by collaborating on a an already established family tree with a relative on it and from an operational standpoint, starting the tree on Ancestry’s Facebook app or Ancestry App available for mobile phones and also taking a DNA test (Ungerleider, 2015).
My Heritage is more private in terms of allowing people to create their own private family website, by helping them share, discover and preserve as per the consumer’s requirements, on the contrary, Geni is referred to as the Wikipedia of family history and it is not private and can be accessed by anybody to contribute and add profiles (Ungerleider, 2015).
The local competition in the genealogy sector is intense and dynamic, in view of the fact that in spite of many companies in the genealogy sector, the most direct recent competition for Ancestry was Mocavo, who established themselves in the sector instantly, as only after three months of the launch, the company was named as one the best 101 genealogy website of the year and has been growing strongly ever since (Find my Past, 2016).
Another global company that is competing with Ancestry is The British Company, find my past, and since its launch in 1965, the company has been growing and expanding strategically to be a force on a global level (Company history, 2016).
The British company in an attempt to be the leading genealogical company has merged the operations with Mocavo early this year, and Mocavo’s wide-ranging collections, periodicals and publications can be accessed from the website, that has helped position find my past to be the world’s leading family history website (Find my Past, 2016).
The Way Forward
Ancestry as a brand needs to position its services in more countries, since the competition in the industry is strong and with services being provided in the UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Italy, France and Sweden, the company’s position are unparalleled, however, in view of the aforementioned mergers, the company needs to branch out from a marketing standpoint to extend its dominance over competitors (International, 2016).
With major locations covered, it is time to connect with the biggest population and oldest civilization in the world, i.e., Indian subcontinent and focusing on India and with a high number of Indian living abroad on a global level, it will help in getting business not only from India but a global Indian audience known as NRI’s, i.e. Non Resident Indians.
STP
The segmentation for Ancestral focus on the Indian segment will start with the demographics that will focus on consumers aged 24-60+, male and female, ethnicity will be predominantly Indian with the religion being Hinduism, Muslims and Sikhs, educated and the occupation will be corporate professionals and entrepreneurs.
The psychographic aspect will focus on the personality of the target segment, that will be risk takers, know what they want and the behavioral pattern will be inquisitive and focused.
The market target will be primarily the urban and affluent class with high spending with the consumer spending in India to increase by US $3.6 trillion by 2020 (Consumer Markets, 2016).
The positioning of the services of ancestry will be focused on highlighting the company as the leading and premier genealogical company with the world’s largest online community of people interested in their family histories, and we believe that this network is highly valuable to our subscriber (About Ancestry, 2016).
Major Environmental Facts and Trends
India is one of the fastest growing economy, and to launch the services in the region, it is important to examine the external factors that may affect Ancestry, with a brief PESTEL analysis.
The social factors are in favor since; the market is growing with a large affluent and educated base looking to try new things, just like the services offered by Ancestry and online portals are the key to enter the market (Consumer Markets, 2016).
The technology is factor is important since Ancestry focus will be on getting maximum online subscribers, and the introduction of 3g and 4g services in India and being recognized as the second largest telecommunications market showcase a strong technological system that will help Ancestry’s operations (Telecommunication, 2016).
The environmental factor in view of ethics in operations and also issues that may impact the image of the brand needs to be taken care of by Ancestry and the legal aspect needs to be in line with the local regulations for online operations and needs to be taken very seriously since the legal system is not that clear yet in India.
Marketing Mix
The marketing mix is the key to create awareness and buzz around the services of Ancestry.
Product/Service
The product and services offered includes the providing family history with the largest database of more than 70 million family trees and 6 million profiles, the DNA testing and genetics and health history will connect with the Indian consumers, since, from a religious perspective the majority Hindus, believes in rebirth and Muslims and Sikhs have a long history that can be traced.
Price
With a growing economy and the anticipated income expected to be doubled by 2025 and a high economic growth, the price offered needs to be competitive at the launch just a shade below the US prices of monthly memberships ranging from $ 19.99 to $44.99 for annual subscriptions.
Place
The online connects point are the major avenues to connect with the inquisitive and affluent consumers, however, since the service will add a new dimension in the market with regards to the services offered, it is important to create an infomercial that will be placed on YouTube and major media outlets. Product placement in a major movie or TV show is a sure way to grab the maximum eyeballs in terms of brand mileage at the launch. Brand activations at major universities, restaurants, gyms and events are a great way to connect with the urban consumer.
Social media pages of Ancestry and Website will be connected with all the places where the services will be offered.
Promotion
The promotional campaign and tactics will be based on an emotive theme and connect that will showcase the history of Indian cultural evolution and the need to connect with the past and the roots in a very modern manner. The promotion will involve social media connectivity, introducing friends and family and getting promotional benefits of cost of the memberships and subscriptions and the Facebook apps of the company will be promoted through all channels.
Ethical Marketing Considerations
The ethics of marketing need to be in line with the Indian culture, since, the culture is poles apart that of an American culture, it is highly recommended that local advertising agencies to be taken on board to make sure the ethical considerations are taken into account in a more direct manner.
In U.S the ethical considerations in marketing are set upon by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and all communication is set within the strict regulations, predominantly focusing on advertising to children, harmful products and the tactics used (Ingram, 2016).
References
About Ancestry (2016). Corporate About Us. Ancestry.
Retrieved from http://corporate.ancestry.com/about-ancestry/
Company History (2016). About find my past.
Retrieved from http://www.findmypast.com/content/company-history
Consumer Markets (2016). Indian Consumer Market. Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).
Retrieved from http://www.ibef.org/industry/indian-consumer-market.aspx
Find my Past (2016). Welcome to Mocavo on Findmypast.
Retrieved from http://www.findmypast.com/mocavo-info
Genealogy Search Reviews (2016). 10TopTenReviews.
Retrieved from http://genealogy-search-review.toptenreviews.com/
International (2016). Ancestry.
Retrieved from http://corporate.ancestry.com/about-ancestry/international/
Ingram, D. (2016). List of Ethical & Legal Issues When Advertising. Chron
Retrieved http://smallbusiness.chron.com/list-ethical-legal-issues-advertising-11466.html
Telecommunication (2016). Telecom Sector in India. Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF).
Retrieved from http://www.ibef.org/industry/telecommunications.aspx
The Economic Times (2016). India a good place for investors, FM Arun Jaitley tells World Bank team.
Retrieved from http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2016-05-20/news/73226590_1_fm-arun-jaitley-global-investors-world-bank-group
Ungerleider, N. (2015). Ancestors, Inc.: Inside The Remarkable Rise Of The Genealogy Industry. Fast Company
Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/3048513/ancestors-inc-inside-the-remarkable-rise-of-the-genealogy-industry
