Video Case 1 3M’s Post-It Flag Highlighter: Extending the Concept!
“I didn’t go out to students and ask, ‘What are your needs, or what are your wants?’” 3M inventor David Windorski explainsto a class of college students. “And even if I did ask, they probably wouldn’t say, ‘Put flags inside a highlighter.’”
So Windorski turned the classic textbook approach tomarketing on its head.
That classic approach—as you saw earlier in Chapter 1—says to start with needs and wants of potential customersand then develop the product. But sometimes new-productdevelopment runs in the opposite direction: Start with anew product idea—such as personal computers—and thensee if there is a market. This is really what Windorski did,using a lot of marketing research along the way after hedeveloped the concept of the Post-it® Flag Highlighter.
EARLY MARKETING RESEARCH
David Windorski initially talked to a team of local college
students to try to understand how they study, take notes
and prepare for exams. He then spent several years working
with clay and wood models, a sawed-in-half highlighter,
and finally a computer-generated model using the
latest laser technology.
During this new-product development process, Windorski
and 3M did a lot of marketing research on students.
Some was unconventional, while other research was
quite traditional. For example, students were asked to
dump the contents of their backpacks on the table and
to explain what they carried around and then to react to
some early highlighter models. Also, several times six or
seven students were interviewed together and observed
by 3M researchers from behind a one-way mirror—the
focus group technique discussed later in Chapter 8. Other
students were interviewed individually. And when early
working models of the Post-it® Flag Highlighter finally
existed, several hundred were produced and given to students
to use for a month. Their reactions were captured on
a questionnaire.
THE NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH
After the initial marketing research and dozens of technical
tests in 3M laboratories, David Windorski’s new
3M highlighter product was ready to be manufactured
and marketed. Figure 1-4 in the chapter only skims the
surface of the many research and development, manufacturing,
and marketing issues needed to be overcome to
introduce the new 3M product.
Here’s a snapshot of the pre-launch issues that were
solved before the product could be introduced:
- . Technical issues. Can we generate a computer-aided
database for injection molded parts? What tolerances
do we need? The 3M highlighter is really a technological
marvel. For the snap fits and other parts on
the highlighter to work, tolerances must be several
thousandths of an inch—less than the thickness of a
paper.
- . Manufacturing issues. Where should the product be
manufactured? 3M chose a company outside the U.S.,
which necessitated precise translations of critical technical
specifications. Windorski spent time in the factory
working with engineers and manufacturing specialists
there to ensure that 3M’s precise production
standards would be achieved.
- . Product issues. What should the brand name be for the
new highlighter product? Marketing research and many
meetings gave the answer: “The Post-it® Flag Highlighter.”
How many to a package? What color(s)? What
should the packaging look like that (1) can display the
product well at retail and (2) communicate its points of
difference effectively?
. Price issues. With many competing highlighters, what
should the price be for 3M’s premium highlighter that
will provide 3M adequate profit? Should the suggested
retail price be the same in college bookstores, mass
merchandisers (Wal-Mart, Target), and office supply
stores (Office Max, Office Depot)?
- . Promotion issues. How can 3M tell students the product
exists? Might office workers want it and use it?
Should there be print ads, TV ads, and point-of-sale
displays explaining the product?
- . Place(distribution) issues. With the limited shelf space
in college bookstores and other outlets, how can 3M
convince retailers to stock its new product?
THE MARKETING PROGRAM TODAY
AND TOMORROW
3M has discovered that its highlighter has turned out to bemore popular than it expected. 3M often hears from endusers how much they like the product.
So what can 3M do for an encore to build on theinitial success? This involvestaking great care
to introduce new productextensions to attract newcustomers while still retainingits solid foundationof loyal existing customers.Also, 3M’s productshave to appeal not only to
the ultimate consumers butalso to retailers who wantnew items to display in high-traffic areas.Product and packaging decisions for the Post-it® FlagHighlighter reflect this innovative focus. 3M recently introduceda broader array of colors in a two-pack with anew ‘Samba’ Latin color palette of green and purple withmetallic sparkle for a fall back-to-college promotion. Thisexpanded the existing 3M line of yellow, blue, and pinkhighlighter colors.
As to packaging, it’s critical that it
(1) communicate the 2-products-in-1 idea,
(2) be attractive,and
(3) achieve both goals with the fewest words.
David Windorski also invented another product for students
based on adhesive technology: restickable 3 inch
by 5 inch note cards. Their point of difference: They stick
to surfaces for brainstorming sessions or notebooks when
you want them to and slide across each other without
stickingwhen you want them to do that. Asked by students
how it’s possible, Windorski just smiles.
At 3M, promotion budgets are limited because it relies
heavily on its technology for a competitive advantage.
This also applies to the Post-it® Flag Highlighter. So you
probably have never seen a print or TV ad for it. Yet potential
student buyers, the product’s main target market,
must be made aware that it exists. So Tanious searches
continually for simple, effective promotions to alert students
about this product.
Great technology is meaningless unless the product is
available where potential buyers can purchase it. Unlike
college bookstores that exist largely to serve students,
mass merchandisers and office supply stores track, measure,
and seek to maximize the profit of every square foot
of selling space. So 3M must convince these retail chains
that selling space devoted to its highlighter line will be
more profitable than alternative uses. The challenge for
3M: Finding ways to make the Post-it® Flag Highlighter
prominent on shelves of college bookstores and retail
chains.
If the Post-it® Flag Highlighter is doing well in theU.S., why not try to sell it around the world? But evenhere 3M faces criticalquestions:
Which countrieswill be the best markets?
What highlighter colorsand packaging works bestin each country?
Howdo we physically get theproduct to these market ina timely and cost-efficientbasis?
Questions
1 (a) How did 3M’s David Windorski get ideas from
college students to help him in designing the final
commercial version of Post-it® Flag Highlighter? (b)
How were these ideas important to the success of the
products?
2 What (a) special advantages and (b) potential problems
did 3M have in introducing a new highlighter-withflags
product for college students in 2004?
3 Visit your college bookstore before you answer.
(a) Where would you display the Post-it® Flag Highlighter
in a college bookstore, and (b) how can the display
increase student awareness of the product?
4 In what ways might 3M try to promote its Post-it®
Flag Highlighter and make students more aware of the
product?
5 What are (a) the special opportunities and (b) potential
challenges for 3M in taking its Post-it® Flag Highlighter
into international markets? (c) On which countries should
3M focus its marketing efforts?