Product Disasters

Even great Companies, despite their marketing savyy and research capabilities make himalayan blunders,

Coca Cola came up with New Coke. The idea was to position it as a replacement for what they called the 'old coke' that was in existence for decades. Coca Cola launched it as only they could but had to beat a hasty retreat when its loyal customers revolted and virtually demanded the old product back. Having lost millions, with tail firmly tucked between their legs, Coca Cola bit the bullet, withdrew New Coke and continued with Old Coke. The moral of the story is that 'Dont tinker with a hugely successful product if you can help it'.

The product that is synonumous with marketing failure is the Edsel Car from Ford. Launched in 1958, the Car bombed in the market as none before and none after. Reasons are aplenty. Poor designing, poor branding, poor quality, wrong product at the wrong time, poor styling, misreading the market sentiments - you name the problem and you can stick it to Edsel. How an automobile giant like Ford ever conceived a marketing disaster like Edsel is a mystery still. If you want to learn by looking at how things should not be done, then read the Case history of Ford Edsel.

Every marketer tries to differentiate. But too much of differentiation can lead you into trouble. Polaroid Instant Camera and Instant film is a case in point. Created as a highly differentiated product as compared to comparative film based camera that needs a visit to the studio to get the print, Polaroid came up with the instant film that just needs exposure to sunlight for the picture to be clear. The problem was 1) the Camera was very bulky 2) There was no consistency in the quality of the picture 3) the Picture clarity was hopess and 4) The exposed films deteriorated in quality over a period of time. Of course, there was this small issue of not being able to make multiple prints. The whole package was NOT what the consumer wanted. Anyway technological advances in the Digital photography field killed it once for all.