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Most memorable consumer products of 2004 31 Jan 05 There were over 30,000 new consumer products introduced last year. A recent survey by Schneider & Associates, which I discussed last week, found that most American consumers could not recall a single one.
The Schneider survey also highlighted the products that consumers found most memorable in a forgettable year. In this update, I’ll discuss the three most memorable new products of 2004. All three have complex histories, but none may achieve enduring success.
Here is what the survey found to be the three most memorable new product launches in 2004:
1. Glad Press‘n Seal Plastic Wrap, remembered by 26% of those surveyed
2. Cocacola C2, remembered by 24% of those surveyed
3. Clorox Toilet Wand, remembered by 22 % of those surveyed
You may not yet be able to buy these products at your grocery store. None of them, for example, are available on Peapod, a large online grocery store serving the East Coast of the US. This lack of availability is itself remarkable, and reinforces one of the main messages from the Schneider study – there are high structural barriers to success with new consumer products.
Will these most memorable products eventually be successful? Applying the four factor framework for new product success provides some insight to the fortunes of each. (For those who want a detailed explanation of the four factor framework, I’ve attached a link to a recent Harvard Working Knowledge article on the framework in the “more information” section below.)
1. Glad Press ‘n Seal plastic wrap – high benefits, moderate barriers.
Glad’s new plastic wrap provides the most unique benefits and features of the three, and is my personal favorite. Because the product seals rather than clings, you can do things that were previously impossible with plastic wrap. For example, you can use the wrap to:
Ø Seal open containers Ø Freeze single servings Ø Create custom, sealed bags for items like fruits and vegetables Ø Protect countertops or other surfaces
The product is the result of joint research sponsored by the Clorox Company (owners of the Glad brand), and Procter & Gamble. P&G tested a similar product in 2001 under the brand name “Impress.” At the time, there was a great deal of very positive press coverage.
But P&G never launched the product nationally. According to Glad’s website,
“P&G’s plans for a national launch were held back due to other strategic priorities.”
Did P&G make a mistake in not launching this product? Glad’s executives certainly think so. Seeing an opportunity, Glad stepped in with its version of the product, which uses the same technology as P&G’s Impress.
Glad Press ‘n Seal – high benefits at a premium
Glad’s Press ‘n Seal wrap follows a classic pattern in consumer product innovation – offer higher benefits at a premium price. The introductory price of the wrap is $2.99 for 75 square feet – more than twice as much as regular Glad wrap. Of course, the product does many things that regular plastic wrap cannot.
Will consumers value these new functions? I expect they will, and that the product will generate enough sales to be a success for Glad.
2. Coca Cola C2 – same taste, lower calories
On 12 January 2005, the US Department of Health and Human Services released its revised dietary guidelines. The guidelines leave little room for the kinds of “empty calories” found in soft drinks.
When the federal government starts warning people about your core product, you know you’re in trouble.
Coca Cola C2 is one of Coke’s responses. According to the company, it tastes just like regular Coke, but it has half the sugar, carbohydrates and calories. No one imagines that C2 will get the government’s endorsement – less of a bad thing does not equal a good thing. But, like the introduction of low tar cigarettes in the late 1960s, C2 may fill a place for those Coke drinkers who want the taste with fewer calories.
The fortunes of this product are hard to predict, because the product’s success depends so much on its taste, on consumer’s changing attitudes towards the calories in their soft drinks, and on the ability of the Coca Cola company to execute. It has the potential to be a significant product if successful, serving as the foundation for a range of non-diet soft drinks with fewer calories than the current range.
3. Clorox Toiletwand
Several years ago, P&G scored a major success with its Swiffer brand dust mop. The product was stylishly designed and performed better than most other mops available.
P&G also introduced a disposable element – the “Swiffer sheet.” Each time you used the product, you put a Swiffer sheet on the mop base. The product performed better because every mopping started with a clean Swiffer sheet.
With its Toiletwand, Clorox brings the same logic to the toilet bowl. Instead of a multi-use toilet brush, the Toiletwand’s scrubby sponge is designed to be used once, and then discarded.
Many new consumer products deliver improved performance, and charge a higher price for doing so. The Toiletwand takes this approach to a new extreme. Rather than paying four or five dollars for a multi-use toilet brush, customers can pay $10 for a “Toiletwand Starter Kit,” good for cleaning six toilet bowls. The cost per cleaning increases by a factor of a hundred.
Here’s how the product looks on the four factor diagram:
Clorox Toiletwand – priced too high?
For most customers, I’d expect that this product is too expensive for the benefits offered. There might be some specialized areas where a disposable toilet brush is needed, but it’s hard to see this succeeding as a mass market product. Stranger things have happened in consumer products innovation, and next year I might be writing about the new motorized Clorox Toiletwand.
But I don’t think so.
More Information:
http://www.biz-architect.com/forgettable_consumer_products.htm
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