Music reading represents a major cognitive challenge for many children learning to play a new instrument. Due to the difficulty and the unpopularity of the mentioned task, teachers usually struggle to motivate their students to acquire music literacy. The Tony Game was developed by a project team of the FHNW and enables piano students the learning of music reading skills in a playful and easy way. However, given the novelty of the pioneering application software, it is not yet known by potential users. The goal of this bachelor thesis is therefore, to create a cost-efficient marketing strategy to establish a customer base before imitators can copy the game.

To create an effective marketing strategy, the authors first had to gain a profound understanding of the Tony Game and the music education industry. The former was acquired through meetings with Mr. Gazdzicki, project leader of the Tony Game, whereas the latter was obtained by conducting secondary research of relevant marketing studies and books. The marketing strategy was then elaborated on the basis of a strategic marketing process developed by experts of the given field. Aligned with the proposed framework, a situation assessment was conducted, a strategy was formulated and ultimately a suitable marketing mix was suggested. Within these main sections, various frameworks were applied.

The findings indicate that Switzerland represents an ideal market to launch the Tony Game due to its political and economic stability. Moreover, the strong education system, as well as the trend towards digitalized teaching methods account for major advantages for the application software. It was identified that in addition to piano beginners, the game may be demanded by organizational buyers, such as private piano teachers and music schools. Based on research about the industry, the authors have developed a marketing strategy that aims to create interest and promote sales within the target groups. The following communication tools have been deemed as most suitable for B2C customers: Landing page, search engine optimization, search engine advertising, display advertising and press releases. For the respective target group, the App Store was found to be the most effective distribution channel. Considering the B2B market, the subsequent tools are suggested: Personal selling, e-mails, demonstrations and free trials. For the distribution to organizational buyers, a customized solution may be developed alongside a subscription-based pricing model. Eventually, the project team should be able to profit from a cost-efficient and effective way to market the Tony Game with aid of the marketing strategy.