Product development

Competing for the Digital Consumer
http://www.accenture.com/Global/Research_and_Insights/Outlook/By_Issue/Y2008/CompetingConsumer.htm
Extract: Innovation is the name of the game in consumer electronics. But the industry's two types of high performer tackle this critical capability in very different ways.

Few industries are more dependent on the development and marketing of new products than consumer electronics. And few have been more prolific in this regard. Ever smarter mobile phones and high-definition TVs are just two of the more recent in a long line of innovations that have been fueling the remarkable growth trajectory of an industry that was launched with the advent of commercial radio nearly a century ago—an industry now valued at more than $600 billion worldwide.

Recently, however, the industry has been gripped by a highly uncharacteristic crisis of confidence. The cause? Widespread uncertainty about just what form the next big product breakthrough will take.

At the core of the concern is convergence. As voice, data and cable networks become Internet protocol-enabled, and content and devices are digitized, once-distinct sectors are coming together in a single high-tech ecosystem. That's good news for the consumer, of course, who will soon be able to access content at will, using small, handheld devices that jump on and off a mix of private and public networks. But convergence represents a huge challenge for manufacturers, which are battling to win the hearts and minds of consumers with just the right kind of device.
And in the developed world, those consumers are becoming both more demanding and less loyal. If the price and features are right, they won't hesitate to buy the newest must-have gizmo from copycat manufacturers located in any number of rapidly emerging economies.

What's more, a billion new consumers are expected to enter the global marketplace within the next decade, most of them from those same emerging economies. Some will be sophisticated buyers of the latest devices. But many will have different needs—phones that work in rural environments with limited energy, for example—and growing numbers of opportunistic and inventive local manufacturers will be lining up to satisfy them.

With prices for maturing products slumping, product lifecycles shortening and the battle for retail shelf space ever more competitive, manufacturers in developed markets have their hands full. As if the situation weren't already daunting enough, formidable new heavyweight competitors from other industries are entering the game. Amazon.com, for example, recently launched the Kindle digital book reader and associated online book purchasing service that competes with Sony's Reader Digital Book. Meanwhile, Google's Android—an open-source operating system for mobile phones—has the potential to have a big impact on wireless service innovation. (For a related article, see "Catching the Next Wave of Innovation," Outlook, May 2008. Also see "Driving Service Innovation in Communications, High Tech and Media: The Impact of Google's Android Platform.")

In this industry, there are two paths to high performance—and they are quite distinct. We refer to the manufacturers of the sort of breakthrough products that are such a hit with consumers that they actually create a market as Market Definers. Other companies have achieved high performance in this industry as Value Players—by delivering a customer experience characterized by a combination of product quality, brand integrity and some kind of differentiator, usually around competitive pricing or service.

No consumer electronics company has successfully embraced both approaches to achieving high performance. Our research, moreover, confirms that the two types of high performer display dramatically different mindsets when it comes to the key capability that drives performance throughout this industry: innovation. While the Market Definers tend to be more entrepreneurial, focusing on breakthrough innovation to deliver compelling new experiences with new product categories, the Value Players' principal focus is on innovation to improve their existing product portfolio with, for example, new features. They also emphasize execution and the inno-vative use of branding and distribution to extend both their geographic scope and sales volume.

The two approaches are reflected in how the high performers manage the three building blocks that underpin high performance in all industries: market focus and position; distinctive capabilities; and performance anatomy.

For a reward, crowds name new products
http://springwise.com/weekly/2008-06-18.htm#namethis
Extract: Kluster-powered NameThis is designed to provide a quick and painless way for innovators to find a market-ready name for their company, product or service.

Those with a thing in need of a name begin by posting a request for help and paying USD 99. Members of the community then have 48 hours to suggest names and/or invest points in their favourites. At the end of the 48 hours, NameThis's system "does some fancy math" and picks three winners.

Of the fee paid by the thing's owner, USD 80 is distributed to those who contributed to the winners: USD 40 goes to the person who picked the first-place name, while USD 10 is shared amongst the influencers on that name; USD 16 goes to the second-place namer, while USD 4 is shared among the influencers on that one; and USD 8 goes to the individual who picked the third-place name, with USD 2 shared among influencers.