Women's W Line Racquets - Marketing Geniuse?

[bismark]

Blue Shadow, Black Whisper, Spicy Ruby, Savage Lime, Savage Sapphire, Cobalt Storm, Red Fury, Wild Crimson, Blue Steel

http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/WilsonWLineRacquets.html

Anyone else notice or pay attention to the above W Line racquets? What on earth are the marketing guys at Wilson thinking! These marketing geniuses assume women will actually fall for these racquets if they use names and colors from cosmetics and perfumes. And the sales copywriting is something to behold:

"The W6 Wild Crimson is the perfect match for a wild and outgoing personality seeking a racquet...."

"Give your game the brilliance of a gemstone with the W4 Savage Sapphire"

"....can show a little of your wild side with the W4 Savage Lime"

IMO, I don't think these W Line of racquets will go far. Unlike men, many women are NOT seriously interested in racquets, no matter how exotic or 'feminine' Wilson tries to make them sound. Out of curiousity, I sent the link to a bunch of women players at my tennis club and asked them what they thought of it. And I got their feedback. They told me although the names sound nice, they wouldn't spend money on them. They said these racquets don't really generate much interest and they're hardly exciting at all. They added they would rather buy a nCode 4 or 5, or a Prince O3 Red for example.

I believe such marketing concept will work on fashion & sports apparel, or even cars (esp. for women drivers). But certainly not racquets. How many women can tell you they actually feel 'sexy' holding a racquet?!! I guess some people at Wilson have not done their research (or survey) thoroughly enough. :)

[FuZz_Da_AcE]

I actually think that Wilson have shown a lot of initiative in creating a line of racquets specifically designed to match the physical properties of the female body, and that these racquets will be highly successful. Regardless of the names they are given, no other companies have designed a line of racquets suited to women, and Wilson will reap the rewards for intuitive thinking.

[Extremebb300]

I think they are smart..There are plenty of dumb women that will fall for it..

[bluegrasser]

My friend who owns a tennis shop sent all the "Woman Line Racquets " back, as he did't sell uno.

[bismark]

My friend who owns a tennis shop sent all the "Woman Line Racquets " back, as he did't sell uno.
Maybe TW can tell us if the W line is selling well. :)

[thinkhard]

...no other companies have designed a line of racquets suited to women, and Wilson will reap the rewards for intuitive thinking.

Doesn't Dunlop make a woman's racquet?:confused:

[tpduke112]

Doesn't Dunlop make a woman's racquet?:confused:
yep, m-fil lady

[coachrick]

It would be pretty hard to 'design' a line of rackets to 'fit' one gender or another...plenty of females stronger than males, juniors who haven't fully developed, females who hit harder than males, etc, etc. At our very busy tennis center with a large Dunlop presence, I have seen only one Lady G on the court. Seems silly to alienate 50% of the market by saying the line is developed only for women. Would expect to see them soon at a Sports Authority near you--heavily discounted. Maybe Costco will take a shot.

[bismark]

Good point, coach.

[ruth]

i bougth one w4 cobalt storm. And i think it is better that the other the o3 red n4 and 5. The racquet gives me power with plenty of control for a good placement. And i feel like strong player, and i am very good at tennis now. And i can keep going. This racquet is amazing. IT is good

[ruth]

my junior has one too. he is a boy. he likes it tooo.

[JacktheDu]

I believe these rackets would appeal to the middle age or perhaps slightly younger women or housewives who are starting to play tennis or haven't been playing tennis for long. It's definately a smart idea, that market had not been fully exploited yet, and it's not a small market. These rackets give them something to chat about on the tennis court and I think that's what many of them are looking for. Just the marketing of these rackets doesn't seem to be very good, I did not hear about these rackets until I clicked on the W line section on tennis warehouse purely out of curiousity.

[slewisoh]

I would much rather see a prominent company EMPOWER women to make intelligent choices about their racquets. I found the advertising for the W Line to be just silly...

At a minimum, you could educate women about the importance of racquet weight and flex. Many of the women I play with would like to know more but don't know where to start.

[pached]

my junior has one too. he is a boy. he likes it tooo.

Give him my sympathies. Why in the world would a boy use a W-Line W4 racquet when he could get a much better tweener racquet for less money and not look like a f4g?

[FuZz_Da_AcE]

Doesn't Dunlop make a woman's racquet?:confused:

that's just one racquet, whereas the W-line is about...8,9? im not sure.

[CornNutz]

3 with 3 saucy colors so rich housewives can be stylrific!

[bismark]

my junior has one too. he is a boy. he likes it tooo.
I wonder if adult males would get one too - to bring out his feminine side. It's like a sensitive-new-age-guy kind of thing. :)