product, market-research, brand, launchI really don’t know how to ask this question, so please bear with me. I’m doing some research on companies that succeed launching products/services that already existed on the market, but using a different approach/perception. What I’m looking for are examples of companies that didn’t come up with something new. Instead, they launched something that was already established on the market, but they did some tweak. This something different can be as subtle as calling the same product that already exist on the market with another name or a bit more deep as improving its design. I’m interested on subtle examples. They can be just a product a name change, the way this new product was presented, or finding new uses for it.
I hope I made my self clear.
Apple’s iPod is a good example. When it launched it was famously derided as “No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.” by the technical crowd and reviewers. They all missed the forest behind the tree: iTunes made it easy to purchase songs, and iPod made it easy (and fast) to upload songs. This was pretty clear at the time in Apple’s mind, too. If memory serves me well, Jobs spent some time explaining how cool Firewire was during the announcement.
The iPhone is another good example. The press was awaiting some kind of iPod phone. Apple delivered that and more. Paraphrasing how Jobs introduced it: it was a widescreen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough internet communications device. It was derided as nothing new under the sun, except that, well, it was… Phone execs (and reviewers) laughed out loud. The debate is still open as to whether they were in denial or not as they did. Only Google took note and changed course on the spot. The rest is history.
The expression of not seeing the wood because of the tree’s comes to mind. Examples are all around you. Several airlines fly the same route yet some are more successful than others. Think pop drinks, cell phones, tv’s, stereos, car’s, hotels, breakfast cereal, even toilet paper.
I believe you are seeking what is often described as a USP or Unique Selling Point. I’ve read https://www.amazon.de/Confessions-Advertising-Man-David-Ogilvy/dp/190491537X and David Ogilvy goes into some great detail (with examples) on this. He points out when he had the KLM account and he makes clear that airlines are, for the most part offering same service but he packaged them (as it were, via marketing) in a different light which results in an increase in sales… In this example, he said unlike other airlines at the time, he referenced their reliability of arrival, the average age of their aircraft, the popularity of their destinations which in reality, were compariable to other airlines, but was less referenced, allowing the customer to see KLM in a different light.
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