new product development

Growing Wacom’s Consumer Portfolio

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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)
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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

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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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Innovating the Future @ Philips Sonicare

 

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Problem Statement

sonicare-airflossmessageSonicare had been playing in the power toothbrush category for over 12 years, with limited or, let’s be honest, no true innovation.  OK, maybe some feature improvements and UV brush head cleaning lights and such, but nothing major.  I was asked to lead a Six Sigma Black Belt  process improvement project in innovation management as part of a high potential program within Philips Domestic Appliances division.

It was an opportunity to jump headfirst into building our 3-5 year plan for growth in the oral care division and step into entirely new categories for the business.  We needed innovations to win in market and maintain our leadership position, yet we needed a new, insight-driven approach.  I was their guy to make this happen…

 

Program Development 

I had the opportunity to build out a team and process from scratch that ultimately became a Philips model for innovation management.  In overview, I accomplished the following:

  • Worked to disrupt the oral care category with the help of a 6 member cross-functional team consisting of engineering, marketing, clinical studies, product development and finance, plus an external innovation agency, Maddock-Douglas
  • Staked out Sonicare’s 3-5 year product innovation pipeline plan based on leveraging market trends, dental professional insights, ethnographic research and technology mapping
  • Delivered 5 new, fully vetted product propositions that showed high-level purchase intent based on quantitative market research
  • Set a portfolio that was valued at $50M of NPV, plus $3M of R&D efficiency gains
  • Pioneered innovation management process that has been recognized and used across Philips Domestic Appliance as a best-in-class approach

 

In-Market Result

Identified next generation win for Sonicare with the AirFloss.  airfloss

  • A simple concept that played off the insight – consumers don’t floss and hate to floss
  • The idea:  let’s simplify flossing (or eliminate it) with a handheld micro-burst system that is as efficient as flossing without all the hassle
  • An easier way to floss was born – Sonicare AirFloss

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Now you know…

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