How to Launch a New Product Into a Crowded Space- Part 1

The strategy Gibson Innovations employed to get the new “Trainer” off the blocks. 

With the “Trainer,” Gibson Innovations wanted a piece of the double-digit growth in the headphone market (nearly $2 billion in the U.S*.; over $8 billion worldwide**). But for obvious reasons, it’s a jam-packed field. How to shoulder through the crowd and get their new entry to the front of the race?

The Winning Strategy

1. Pick a Lane. Rather than create a headphone that was everything to everybody, Gibson decided to focus on the fitness segment. A sound decision, since the unit sales of Bluetooth and water resistant headphones increased 93 percent and 51 percent in 2013***, and some experts forecast the segment’s percentage of overall market will double over the next three years.
2. Run with a Winner. Want to get off to a fast start? Gibson did, so they aligned their new product with the fastest human alive—in fact, the fastest person ever! Usain Bolt is the first man to hold the world record in both the 100 and 200-meter sprints since fully automatic time measurements became mandatory. Who better to help you get up to speed?
3. Grab the Spotlight. With uber-competitors like Beats and Bose already cranking the advertising volume dial up to 11, Gibson needed a way for their differentiation message to be seen and heard through the noise. They tuned in to long-form Performance Marketing TV, because it allowed them to tell the full product story at the consumer level. View a clip from the show here.
4. Track Performance. In any advertising campaign, it’s critical to have a clear understanding of how efficiently your dollars are working. TV Performance Response Marketing offers intensively detailed tracking on a per-airing basis, so Gibson always knew where to run, when to run, and how much they should step up the pace.
5. Harmonize the Message. While Gibson asked the long form TV ad to carry the torch, the company supported it with a comprehensive, harmonious digital effort at the same time. This is key to an effective Performance Response campaign, because a growing number of consumers are multi-screen users, and will make buying decisions online after viewing the long form show.

Coming next… Gibson Innovations brought their new product to market with a comprehensive, thoughtfully conceived and executed Performance Response Marketing strategy. Next month, we’ll take a look at another company’s effort to create space for a new product in a fiercely competitive field.

*NPD Retail Tracking Service
**FutureSource Consulting
***NPD Retail Tracking Service