The commercial potential of the Wristband Sleep Detector (WSD) is buoyed by the depth of its prospective markets, which include students, office workers, and night workers, among others. Recent surveys have shown that respondents from all walks of life recognize the importance of staying awake while working or at school. Sizable majorities of respondents claim to have inadvertently fallen asleep at work or at school, and would purchase a device to correct this behavior were one available. The WSD attempts to address this need. The WSD organization's initial marketing strategy will be directed toward sales in large, nationwide discount retail department stores, with special marketing emphasis placed on college students. To this end, most of our marketing effort will be in establishing a relationship with a national retailer who will carry the WSD in their stores. Given an initial production run of 25,000 WSD units, retailers must purchase each WSD unit for a minimum price of $75 in order for the WSD project to realize profit within the the first year. After the initial research and development expenses have been paid, production runs of 25,000 units will yield profit at a minimum supplied price of $57.

The retail partnership will be established by approaching a national retailer with the results of internal surveys which support the breadth and enthusiasm of the projected markets, along with the results of internal testing and validation which will establish the efficacy of the WSD. With the aid of legal counsel, the WSD organization will ideally establish a contract providing for the sale of WSD units to the retailer at a price point guaranteeing a return on investment within the first production run of 25,000 units. Recognizing that such a contract is crucial to the WSD's initial financial success, the organization must be willing to settle for less advantageous contracts in order to establish the product in a national retail market. In the case that the initial retail contract provides for the sale of WSD units at less than the projected minimum price point of $75, the WSD may have to be sold at a price point such that repayment of the research and development costs is amortized over the course of several production runs. The organization should also be willing to accept initial retail sales on a consignment basis. Given the quantity of the initial production run of 25,000 units, the organization will attempt to establish relationships with many retailers in order to identify the most successful retail environments.

In addition to the exposure provided by national retail stores, some marketing effort will also be directed toward the university student market, identified as particularly viable in marketing research surveys. Local interest in the product will be established by providing, potentially on consignment, limited numbers of WSD units for sale in university bookstores. This interest will be augmented by a general advertising campaign which may include advertisements in university publications, placement of posters, and distribution of the renowned "tri-fold." In order to minimize costs associated with coordination such a marketing campaign, initial marketing targets will consist of national retailers and universities with locations near the WSD organization's headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia. The organization will refrain from using any university-wide e-mail address which may be used to send unsolicited commercial content to an entire student body.

Further testing and research may reveal that the WSD is suitable for situations in which life may be at risk, such as driving. This will increase the depth of the consumer market as well as expanding the WSD into new markets. Such an expansion will allow the WSD to market directly to business entities which employ workforces for which attentiveness and vigilance is critical. The WSD may then be marketed directly to commercial delivery companies, health and elder care agencies, and security services. These direct sales will allow the WSD to sold at very competitive prices while establishing product credibility in the retail market.