Other products
•DuPont’s CORFAM —synthetic
leather
•Reaction extrusion technique in
powder coating production
• Mattel’s Aquarius
• Timex’s Sinclair
• Clairol’s Touch of Yogurt Shampoo
(1979)
• Rely tampons
• Relax-a-cizor—vibrating chair
•Louisiana World Exposition—and
its gondola.
key to a long-term successful product
contribution. Without opening into a
long-drawn-out discussion of which type
of market research is better for uncovering current and unmet customer needs, it
is sufficient to say that a well-conceived
upfront market research can go a long
way in addressing these known dynamics.
So where does that leave us? There
are product introduction challenges that
can be partially addressed through good
old market research and other factors
ranging from fickle consumers through
winning / losing streaks. However, an-
other factor exists . . . . . , and that’s cor-
porate culture.
Using these potential causes of a product or brand failure may help to avoid
committing those same errors. Learning
from these “lessons” can be beneficial to
avoid some of these pitfalls and increase
the chance for success when you launch
that next product or brand.
Launch is always a good term to use
when considering bringing forth a new
product. Consider the oft-used comparison of a product launch to a spaceship
rocket launch. If unchecked, we are off
by one degree when we launch a rocket
to Mars, we will miss it by over a million miles.
However, our experience strongly indicates upfront accurate market research
properly incorporated into the product
design and launch tactics is the central
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