Strategic development for a Philips’ lifestyle product that enhances mental wellness through sensory stimulation

Strategic development for a Philips’ lifestyle product that enhances mental wellness through sensory stimulation

Giraldo, F.

Buijs, J. (mentor)
Mugge, R. (mentor)
Jager, M. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Product Innovation Management

Master of Science Strategic Product Design

2010-09-17

The Brain, Body and Behavior department of Philips Research have been working on the development of a new technology based on the stimulation of the human brain through the visual sense. This stimulation is made by a light source that presents specific characteristics (frequencies given by flickering conditions) that can influence the brain activity and thus the mental states of the people. Since Philips as a company embarked in a new strategy of becoming a world-leading brand for health and well-being products, the research team has the aim of finding product applications for this technology in which it can improves the well-being of the consumers. The main objective of this project is to reach a conceptual approach for a product that applies this innovative technology being developed by Philips through a strategic process containing a market analysis, consumer research, conceptual exploration and finally a strategic advice for the product launching. The light stimulation technology gives the possibility to reach mental wellness states such as relaxation and cognitive performance. From this point, the current situation of the market is assessed, defining the product category as well-being enhancer products in which, traditional solutions as well as innovative ones are already competing. After analyzing the circumstances of the category, it has been found that the category is attractive for introducing a new product developed by Philips due to its large size and fast growth. Although there are some competitors already playing in the market, most of them are not fulfilling the needs as it can be done by the product in development. Moreover, Philips with its valuable brand awareness and image has a great advantage against the identified direct competitors that are mainly small companies. One of the objectives of the project is to define the appropriate target group for the product. For doing so, a segmentation analysis was conducted based on the behavior of the population towards health and well-being helping identifying which segment has the need for the benefits that the light stimulation can offer. The target group was defined as ‘Young professionals’ from 25 to 35 years old. This group has a visible stress and busy lives, are open to technology and new alternatives, and have a proactive behavior towards their health and well-being. Through focus group sessions, insights were gained from the selected target group that proved the attractiveness of these consumers for the developing project. The need for a solution to improve their mental well-being (mostly in the work environment due to their stressful lives) was visible. Moreover, possible usage scenarios were discussed leading to define that the usage of the product should fit and be adapted to their daily activities rather than demanding extra time. During the sessions, participants also tested competitor products, which gave the conclusion that what is being offered is not fulfilling their needs and expectations. From this point, it was possible to define the specific direction for the concept development. The product should be used on a working environment, and fit their working activities without being intrusive or distracting. The core benefit of the product was defined as light stimulation for recharging energy. This formed the base for the concept exploration, which was made through a creative session with participants that generated several ideas and some concepts through generative methods. The concepts were assessed and evaluated against the product requirements that were formed from the conclusions drawn from each phase of the project. A further development of the chosen concept was proposed and later taken as the base for the launching strategy. In the final phase, the strategic advice has the vision to support the communication of the value and benefits of the product to facilitate the adoption. It is designed keeping in mind the goal of adding value to Philips as a brand, being in line with the brand promise of sense and simplicity and spreading the image of their commitment to improving people’s health and well-being.

Strategic Product Design
Philips Research
Consumer Research
Light Stimulation
Well-being

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:5ac46a9c-64c4-47ec-b1d6-ed85ec3a61de

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2010 Giraldo, F.