In the past and in recent years, many innovations have taken place. Some have been able to shake the world while others were not able to even make their existence known. There are many theories that can explain why some failed while others became successful. There is no better way to interrogate these failures and successes than using a case study. NIVEA, for instance, is a very successful brand known by many people worldwide. Coca-Cola Blak on the other hand, innovated by Coca-Cola company, lasted less than two years in the market for specific reasons.
The success of NIVEA is evident in the number of anniversaries it has been able to celebrate. It was launched in 1911, and is still very strong 106 years down the line. Analysts argue that the success of an innovation starts right from its name. The meaning of ‘NIVEA’ is snow-white. This is one of the reasons why it has gained a lot of trust in many households around the world. When one mentions the name of this brand, it is associated with purity, care, mildness and multipurpose. This has been cited by many as one of the reasons why this brand became so successful.
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The appearance of its logo is just brilliant. The choice of colors matches its intended purpose. The blue color used by NIVEA is unique in many ways. The psychological effect of colors is very crucial for an organization (Afua & Prakah, 2015). The visual attraction created by this logo has played a very crucial role in the marketing of the brand, which has been very important for its survival. These are some of the factors, including good management and planning, that have made NIVEA one of the most successful brands in the world.
The Coke Company is known for its success in the world of soft drinks. Despite this success, the company ran into a hard rock in 2006 when they tried launching a new beverage product which never lasted long enough to enjoy the trust of many. In 2006, Coke launched a new product in the name of Coca-Cola Blak. This was a coffee flavored soft drink that first made it to the France market before making its way to the United States. Although its purpose was to act as an energy drink, this was not seen as the case by many consumers. The high levels of caffeine in this drink made it taste quite unsweet to many. This has since been cited as one of the things that led to its failure.
The packaging of this new product was not appealing to many. It was entirely sealed and one was not able to see what was contained inside the bottle. Research shows that the bottle containing the drink was an 8-ounce glass bottle. The price tag on it in the United States read $1.49. For a new product, this price was high, considering the size of the bottle . These reasons show that there was poor planning in the journey to innovation of this product. Being an energy drink, Red Bull was a close competitor and given the taste of this new product, many would have still preferred Red Bull as there energy drink.
Having looked at these two innovations, it is evident that planning is the key factor that will determine the success of a new innovation. Goals and strategies form the most crucial part of a successful innovation (Almquist & Roth, 2013). If Coke had considered the fact that there was another competitor to their product, they would have changed their tactics. Their inability to satisfy the needs of the consumers shows that they actually jumped into the market without doing thorough studies. The visual psychology is another very important factor in the success of an innovation. NIVEA has a very attractive appearance, but Coca-Cola Blak was sealed and the buyer would be buying the product blindly since it was a new product. The price tag probably played a key role in the failure of the Coke product since it was not proportional to the size of this new product.
References
Afuah, A. N., & Prakah Asante, K. O. (2015). Innovation models. Wiley Encyclopedia of Management .
Almquist, E., Leiman, M., Rigby, D., & Roth, A. (2013). Taking the measure of your innovation performance. Bain & Company.
