1. Henry Ford didn't invent the car. He wasn't
even the first manufacturer of the car. In fact,
when he jumped into the industry, there were
more than 500 manufacturers building
automobiles. That's a heavy market. It's what
some call a red ocean, tainted by the battling
competition. So, why is it that we think of Ford
when we think of cars? Because he didn't sail
that red ocean. He made a blue ocean strategy
that not only built long-term brand equity, but
brought the cost of a car down from $1,500 to
$250 in a matter of a few years, sending him
into uncontested market space.
blue ocean strategy framework
3. On the other side, a blue ocean strategy is one that creates new markets
through differentiating, much like Ford This same strategy should be applied
to new product development Of course, innovating product lines to win the
competition's customers and cutting manufacturing costs with better designs is
important, but creating entire new markets and categories untouched by
competition and keeping costs low paves the way for real success
4. Recently, we worked with a Canadian company, Calego, which focuses on
matching character licenses with a variety of products, some of which fight in a
red ocean They were seeking new innovations for licensed characters
5. We could have slapped these images on current products with hopes they
would sell by the license alone, but it would have been a waste of the value
Instead, we decided to search for a blue ocean strategy
6. What's something blue ocean strategy framework new? What's something no
one has done in the market? We found that consumers with young children
were having difficulty keeping the children focused at the dinner table With
toys and technology vying for dinnertime attention, children are often not sitting
still, much to the grievance of their guardians
7. So we set forth to open this doorway with a line we call interactive mealtime
parents We set a goal to turn otherwise normal mealtime products, such as
plates, cups and bowls, into real attention-grabbers for children
8. We created the Dinner Spinner™, a plate that spins at a touch of a
button; the Talking Tumbler™, an interactive cup that talks when a child
picks it up; and the Slide Show Tumbler™, which sends a lighted film strip
rotating around the cup when activated Taking this blue ocean strategy
approach for our client, Calego, has led to an almost endless supply of
products for us to experiment with in design -- and without the fear of a lot of
competition standing in our way
9. Build value and brand equity by becoming recognized in markets without a lot
of competition Applying a blue ocean strategy to product development gives
you room to grow comfortably and it places you in plain view of your customers
10. Otherwise, you'll be forced to bump shoulders, nearly invisible in a crowded
sea of competitors, and forced to sacrifice value to make it all work
