CAREER FOCUS

The course is appropriate for students anticipating a career in which sensing opportunity for new products/services/business models and successfully bringing those ideas to market are key activities. That’s the “innovation” part of the course title. A key feature of the course is that it also addresses “renovation” of the product line over time. New products are added at established price points, e.g. the horizontal Coca-Cola product line extension with Coke Zero. Or, an existing category is expanded by “trading up” (a higher priced/performance item added, e.g. an iPod with greater storage capacity) or “trading down” (a lower price/performance item added – e.g. Titleist “Tour Speed” golf balls to hit the $40 price point – as compared to the top-of-the-line $50 ball.) The course will cover a wide variety of contexts and thus be useful for those starting their own companies or joining an established organization.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

The course is designed to build student skill in:

1. Sensing new opportunities

• Where do new product ideas come from?
• What are the most useful sources?
• How best to assess potential market size?

2. Specifying the process of new product development and role of various market research procedures

• What can target market customers tell you about their wants? What can’t they?
• How can you best learn quickly at the concept stage before prototype development?
• What new learning opportunities open up with prototype development and beta testing possibilities?
• How are data best converted into useful insights?

3. Managing the product line evolution over time

• When does the product need a refresh?
• How long should the product line be?
• When should you worry about cannibalization? When not?
• How far can you stretch a brand?

COURSE CONTENT/ORGANIZATION/GRADING

After an introductory session, anchored by a conceptual note on “From Idea to Launch: Process Design and Management” setting out the fundamentals of new product management, the course is organized around three modules. Rather than a “snapshot” in time, most of the cases have a dynamic, over time dimension, set out either in a standalone case or through a case series with class handouts.

MODULE 1: Marketing Intelligence and Sensing Opportunity

The module develops understanding of key market research procedures in two conceptual notes: “Marketing Intelligence” and “The How and When of Effective Beta Testing.” The techniques are applied in cases such as Carvana’s pioneering of the entirely on-line car buying experience and Evernote’s reconfiguration of its product line and pricing based on conjoint analysis.

MODULE 2: Product Line Extensions

Product lines tend to get “longer” over time. Some view this as “lazy marketing” while others have seen extending lines as key to satisfying customer needs more precisely and blocking competitive advances. The key arguments are set out in the course note “Product Line Extensions: Optimal or Overdone?” Cases fully exploring the issue and setting out key principles include multiple case series tracing the development of Peloton and Casper Mattress from firms with a single product offering to a broad array.

MODULE 3: Product Line Breadth/Extending the Brand

While module 2 examines line evolution within a given category, module 3 looks at evolution of the company’s offering across product categories. The module features a conceptual note on the issue. Cases include Topgolf as it extends from its golf range/bar/entertainment complexes into related categories, e.g. golf simulators leased to hotels and casinos and “pop up” events at major sports stadiums. Can it manage the portfolio so that the different categories are complementary rather than competing? How far can one stretch a brand?

The three modules taken together provide a comprehensive look at both Innovation and Renovation of the product line over time and how to Optimize Product Line Architecture. While the case lineup does tilt some toward consumer products (2/3 B2C and 1/3 B2B), the lessons derived from the cases are broadly applicable. The course was an “Innovation” in Fall 2021 as a new course offering. While the course was well received by students, the initial offering also provided useful direction to currently underway “Renovation” efforts for Fall 2022.The majority of cases are newly developed, augmented by several “classic” cases which have served as the foundation of courses on product policy at a host of business schools and companies around the world.

Grading will be 50% class participation and 50% a final exam.

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