Abstract:

Probably 95% or more of all NPD in the durables sector is associated with product evolution and range extension. Once in a while, with luck, the NPD marketer gets the opportunity to substantially innovate a product category. The process isn't that different from managing an evolutionary development, but the risks involved tend to be much higher. No comforting files of historical data plotting the market development and the company's performance against that of its competitors. No carefully structured segmentation or price point analysis. Just an idea, and a belief that it can be turned into a commercial success. This paper outlines one such idea and how that idea was nurtured and finally brought to market with the help, or in spite of the many hurdles and procedures bound up with the product development process in a large company. The paper does not seek to preach any doctrine, merely to illustrate how one project was successfully completed.