Study Planner M&Q for Students
Overview
As a product management intern at Pacemaker, an education startup,
I designed a study planner for middle and high school students, secured six sales channels, and achieved cumulative sales of 3,000 units.
Distribution Management
Marketing
Product Design
A new business team of 4 interns
(worked as a product lead)
2021. 07 - 2022. 07
Figma
Goal
Pacemaker is an admissions consulting platform startup targeting middle and high school students as well as their parents. To enhance brand awareness and secure its target audience, the company sought to launch a new business initiative. A team of undergraduate interns was formed to explore and develop this new venture, and I joined as a product lead of this team.
Process
Through surveys and interviews with middle and high school students, we discovered a common need among them to develop better study habits.
"I see everyone using planners diligently every day, so I use one too... but I don’t really understand how it can help with studying."
"I just record the studying I did today in my planner, and I’m not sure if that’s actually helpful."
"I don’t know how to make a proper plan."
- from the interview
Our team became confident that we could address this need with a new type of planner.
Based on insights from interviews and market research, we developed a study habit planner that allows users to systematically set long-term, medium-term, and short-term goals. It also enables them to record, analyze, and organize school grades and online lecture progress all in one place.
Planner M
A monthly planner designed for students who want to focus on short-term goals.
Planner Q
A quarterly planner tailored for students who wish to manage both mid- and long-term goals simultaneously.
After creating two types of planners, we launched a crowdfunding campaign to validate their marketability.
We determined that to persuade customers with a new product, it was essential to convey its value through storytelling. Therefore, we created a detailed product page
As a result, the crowdfunding campaign achieved 306% of its funding goal, paving the way for expanding sales through additional open-market platforms.
Additionally, we established a brand persona named "Gongshimi," a college mentor, to engage with students through Instagram and build a loyal customer base.
Some of the instagram posts with Gongshimi
Sales continued to grow steadily, ultimately leading to the successful placement of our product in a major stationery select shop. Additionally, we ranked in the Top 10 among all planner products.
My Role and Achievements
Distribution Management
- Coordinated promotional events and advertisements with MDs from online shopping platforms.
-
Successfully secured placement on the following online platforms :
- Created the crowdfunding campaign detailed product page.
- Oversaw the entire crowdfunding process, from project registration to customer service.
Marketing
-
Oversaw Instagram promotions and content planning.
- Planned and executed various events including product testing programs.
Product Design
- Identified user needs through a survey in the form of a type test.
- Planned the Basic Planner Line & Newsletter “Habit Formation Program”.
Takeaways
Leading the entire process from initial concept to launch and marketing allowed me to directly experience the importance of user-centered thinking. I learned firsthand that placing users at the core of decision-making leads to better outcomes.
For example, while creating the detailed page for our crowdfunding campaign, I focused on crafting a layout that wasn't just informative but also engaging and easy to relate to. Instead of simply listing features, I designed the page to flow naturally, making it compelling for users to connect with the product—an approach that resulted in great success.
This experience deepened my commitment to designing and improving products in partnership with users to deliver meaningful value.
Additionally, I took on the challenge of reaching out to major retailers that I had never contacted before. By proactively knocking on doors and requesting meetings, I successfully secured partnerships and retail placements. On a personal level, this experience taught me the invaluable lesson of not giving up before trying—anything is possible if you take the initiative.