The Challenge
Wacom had been a brand associated with best-in-class performance in creative arts. Think of all the animated movies, cars, clothes and shoes you LOVE, and I bet you they were designed on Wacom products. In fact, I’ll almost guarantee it!
We owned the creative community with 95% market share, but in niche markets growth is hard to come by. Wacom needed to expand into the broader consumer market, and fast. That has been my directive at Wacom. I jumped in headfirst and lead the US development of the Bamboo line of consumer products to grow the business…
The Approach | The Results
- Led 5-member team in the management of the Wacom | Bamboo line of consumer products in the US marketplace
- Reinvigorated art hobbyist portfolio by leveraging consumer insights and launching use-case positioning to grow mature digital pen tablet line by 25%
- Drove Wacom’s category captain merchandising program to increase inventory turns +15%, which included online and in-store merchandising activities (e.g., Amazon, Best Buy, Apple, HSN)
Market research showed that consumers struggled to find the right Bamboo pen tablet for their needs, so we redefined the Bamboo line of creative pen-tablets to focus on use-cases (above). This transition helped to clearly differentiate the offerings and simplify the purchase process. Sales jumped 25% and consumers traded up to more profitable SKUs.
- Spearheaded Wacom’s strategic marketing programs for emergent new category – capacitive and smart stylus for mobile tablets – established 3rd party category leadership and deep integration with leading app makers to enhance performance
- Bamboo has broken through the clutter to become the global leader in the premium segment of the stylus accessory market >$19-$79 USD
Bamboo Stylus has come along way from the early days as an opportunistic product line extension into a full blown business unit delivering insight driven new product innovations, new product categories and revenue streams north of $35M USD.
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