Idea Napkin No. 1

My Idea Napkin: The Purrfect Litter Box

1) My name is Kristine Donnelly and I world describe myself as an innovator. I have great customer service skills and have over three years of retail experience. In basic terms, I understand what customers want. Although my main aspiration in life is be an advertising executive, I also aspire to manage my own innovations on the side, such as The Purrfect Litter Box.  This business will be almost similar to hobby, but it will be taken more seriously than a friendly game of tennis.

2) I am offering a new lease on life to cat owners with this product. The elevated feature of the litter box keeps owners from bending over and from having back pain. It also keeps average-sized dogs from eating out of the cat litter.

3) The demographic of my customers is between two sections. The first section is of elderly people that also own cats; they are typically female, over 50, and have arthritis/arthritis-like pain. The second group is younger. They are families with or without children, but own both cats and dogs. The elevated litter box keeps out the dogs and young children.

4) Why should customers care? I will tell you three different stories.

            1. Jennifer is worried about her 70-year-old mother, Edna. Edna has arthritis and owns a cat, Yarnie. Jennifer is worried that Edna will bend down one day to clean the litter box, but not get back up. Jennifer comes across this new product, The Purrfect Litter Box. "Perfect!" screams Jennifer. Ten years down the line, Edna is still alive and bonds with Yarnie everyday; Jennifer is happy knowing that her mother is doing well.

            2. Bob lives alone in his apartment. He has one cat and one dog. His cat's name is Treble. His dog is a dachshund named Sparky. When Bob is working, Sparky likes to jump around in and eat out of Treble's litter box. Bob comes home from work to a sick dog and a messy apartment. Bob is driving to work the next day when he hears a commercial for The Purrfect Litter Box on the radio. He buys one for himself and brings it back to his apartment. Sparky is angry when Bob is at work because now he can't get into the litter box. He can't even push the cart around because the wheels are locked. Bob comes back to find Sparky playing with a chew toy, not cat feces.

            3. Anne and Rob are new to parenting and live in a single-story home with their 9-month-old daughter, Belle and their cat, Pepper. Pepper uses the litter box that is placed in the kitchen. Belle is starting to walk and is getting fast. When Anne is at Work, Rob is home taking care of Belle. Rob has a sneezing fit and next thing he knows, Belle is nose deep in the litter box. Rob freaks out and takes Belle straight to the hospital. She did not consume anything, luckily. On their way home, Rob stops at the store and picks up The Purrfect Litter Box. Anne comes home to an exhausted Rob, a sleeping Pepper, and a wide-awake Belle. What is Belle doing? She is trying to get into the litter box but can't; it is too high up for her.

5) What sets me apart from others is that I innovated on the cat litter box. I did not make it electronic like some, but simply taller. The issue with going on your knees to clean the litter box has been around for ages; unlike others, I decided to find a solution to this problem.


These elements of my product fit well together. They connect so well that newer ideas to market and add to the litter box came to mind as I went down the list. They flow from problem to solution. In all honesty, It was not until I came to number 3 that I realized that I could market this product to families with young children. The information I gave for number 2 helped me come to making young families as a target audience in addition to the elderly and dog owners. All three categories for my target audience own cats as well.