Exam 11: Developing and Managing Products

When the manufacturer of L'Oreal shampoo introduced shampoos designed specifically to appeal to preteens, which of the following best describes the product?

What is the main goal of the global product development process?

Which of the following is NOT a likely source of new product ideas?

When Glade brand air freshener began marketing a clean linen-scented air spray, how could the action be classified?

Victorinox has long manufactured Swiss Army knives and recently developed a line of upscale Swiss Army watches. Which strategies did Victorinox use to create new products?

TechSys is in the process of developing a new cell-phone. They must first aim to link the new-product development process with the objectives of the marketing department, the business unit, and the corporation. What is this process also known as?

Many products may experience short-term fluctuations in sales, but a long-term drop in sales probably signifies that a product is in the decline stage of the product life cycle.

Scenario 11-2 After years of development and testing, Jabra Corporation unveiled the Jabra 1000 earbud phone. The entire device fits in your ear. It resembles those tiny in-ear speakers that let you listen to an iPod in private-except that Jabra's unit is a transmitter as well. It picks up your voice by amplifying sound vibrations in your bones. Therefore, there's no microphone boom to jut out in front of your face. Because the bone vibrations must be amplified, a special chip in the part of the system that connects to the base of your phone uses noise-cancellation technology to screen out background sounds. This anti-noise chip generates a mirror image of outside noises, and the colliding sound waves erase each other. The main electronics package-about the size of a deck of cards-also monitors the quality of the phone line and automatically raises the volume of voice transmissions when the connection is weak. This tech-talk isn't cheap: the earbud phone lists for $329. -Refer to the scenario. When the first Jabra 1000 was sold, the initial sale signalled the start of which stage of the product life cycle?

The city a firm chooses as its test market should reflect the demographic and other characteristics of the whole nation only if that is an accurate representation of the producer's intended market for the product.

Scenario 11-2 After years of development and testing, Jabra Corporation unveiled the Jabra 1000 earbud phone. The entire device fits in your ear. It resembles those tiny in-ear speakers that let you listen to an iPod in private-except that Jabra's unit is a transmitter as well. It picks up your voice by amplifying sound vibrations in your bones. Therefore, there's no microphone boom to jut out in front of your face. Because the bone vibrations must be amplified, a special chip in the part of the system that connects to the base of your phone uses noise-cancellation technology to screen out background sounds. This anti-noise chip generates a mirror image of outside noises, and the colliding sound waves erase each other. The main electronics package-about the size of a deck of cards-also monitors the quality of the phone line and automatically raises the volume of voice transmissions when the connection is weak. This tech-talk isn't cheap: the earbud phone lists for $329. -Refer to the scenario. When the Jabra 1000 was first launched, it most likely appealed to which product adopter category?

Scenario 11-4 When friends of Brian Richardson went to the carnival, they always wanted to take him with them because Richardson had an uncanny ability to win almost every arcade game he played. Usually by the end of the evening his friends were also winning because Richardson did not mind sharing his secrets. His friends urged him to write a book. After several attempts, Richardson created The Secrets of Amusement Park Games-Revealed. In the 85-page book, Richardson reduces the art of playing arcade games to a science. According to him, the trick is to realize each game is not a game of chance. Richardson's mini-book is available at Amazon.com for $5.95. -Refer to the scenario. In terms of the new-product development process, which stage is the book's availability on Amazon.com?

When General Mills changed the formula for its Oatmeal Crisp cereal, it added ingredients to reduce the risk of high blood pressure, to lower cholesterol, and to reduce the risk of stroke, thus providing greater value to the consumer. Since it was not trying to reach a new target market, which new product strategy was General Mills using?

What is normally the longest stage of the product life cycle?

Diffusion is the process by which the adoption of an innovation spreads.

Oakley, a manufacturer of protective eyewear for various kinds of sports, has introduced sunglasses that play music. The glasses weigh a little over a pound and can hold up to 120 songs. What are these sunglasses an example of?

Which of the following is NOT considered a new product?

Typical Apple users were shown advertising and other promotional materials for the new Apple iPhone as well as actual handsets. In addition their reactions to the handsets were recorded in an actual Apple store. What is this also known as?

The two techniques that are considered most useful for generating new-product ideas are customer generation and competitive imitation.

Studies of the new-product development process over 30 years have concluded companies that are likely to succeed in developing and introducing new products exhibit certain characteristics. List three of the characteristics that improve the likelihood of successful product introduction.

The maker of Lysol disinfectant tested consumers' reactions to its Lysol Sanitizing Wipes by getting consumers to look through a newspaper with grocery store ads, make out a grocery list, and then "shop" in a mock store filled with real products, including the new cleaning product. What is this an example of?