Archive
Innovation, Marketing Specs & the Volkswagen Diesel (TDi) Scandal
Years ago I purchased a white 2011 Golf TDi (the TDi moniker means “turbo-diesel” for those unfamiliar with Volkswagen naming). It had a manual transmission. I bought it for myself also looking for my son to learn to drive a stick (a lost skill among millennials).
My son and I both loved the car — he nicknamed it “the Stormtrooper.” It had a shocking amount of room in the back seat and was tremendous fun to drive — despite low horsepower the torque was incredible.
Unlike my experience with BMWs since 2000, the Stormtrooper really WAS a car for those who love to drive. (BMWs used to offer that experience — like those I drove from time to time in the 1980s and 1990s.)
A Botched Introduction: Lithium-Ion Batteries for Power Tools
We love to rate innovations as “success” or “failure”. Yet most innovation suffers a far more ignominious fate: mediocrity. And that sums up the introduction of Lithium Ion (LI) Batteries for power tools.
LI batteries offer outstanding buyer value for cordless tools than their NiCAD predecessors.
There’s a power advantage which can be used one of two ways:
- LI can be used to deliver more power in the same size package.
- LI can be used to deliver the same power in a lighter weight package.
There’s an incredible set of charging/usability advantages:
- LI batteries charge faster (a major issue for tool users).
- LI can be re-charged at any time without building battery memory.
- LI hold their charge well. After 1 year they usually retain 80% of the original charge.
All this adds up to tremendous advantages for power tool users. Yet they limped slowly onto the market. Even today, tool purchasers hesitate to pay a premium for LI based tools.
What should we learn from this market mediocrity?
Key to New Product Success: Avoid “Death by Brand Advertising”
Brand Advertising is Often the Wrong Choice for New Products
Unfortunately, the ad/creative business is obsessed with brand advertising. And, sadly, choosing brand advertising for new products is a leading cause of Shelf Potato-dom. (With the term “brand advertising”, I refer to advertising that spends the bulk of time and energy building brand connections – often by saying either “this brand understand you” or “our brand’s cool will rub off on you if you buy our products”.) Read more…
Even Cars Can Be Shelf Potatoes. Consider Volkswagon’s Eurovan
Eurovan vacation in Eastern Washington
The Eurovan excites passion among those who own them or would like to own them. We Eurovan owners wave to each other on the road and stop to talk in the parking lot. I’ve even had an owner leave me a note asking me to help him find a roof rack setup like the one on ours. BUT, in 2003 VW cancelled the product in the US.
And that leads us to today’s installment of ShelfPotato Diaries. Why did a car that excites this passion eventually fail? It seems their rationale for cancellation included two primary reasons: Read more…
The Shelf Potato 