案例故事(CaseStory)Attheendof1990s,shampoomarketwasboominginChina.WiththeflourishingChinesebrands,P&Gwasconfrontedwithatoughtimeincompanydevelopmentinternationally.Inshampoomarket,P&GwaschallengedbyC-BonsandUnilever.InordertofindanewgrowthpointandchangeChinesemarketsituation,P&Gfocusedonlocalization.In1997,P&Gmadeanewproductstrategyandbeganthemarketresearchandconcepttestingwhichlastedforthreeyears.Itadopteditsusualmethodswhichbasedonscientificandstrictmarkettestinginnewproductdeveloping.In2000,anewbrandAscend(pronouncedinChinese:runyan)appearedinpublicwithanimpliedmeaningofmoisteningandbeautifyinghair.Withtargetwomenconsumersagingfrom18-35,Ascendmadeitspurposeaspresentingorientalwomen’sbeautifulblackhair.TheappearanceofAscendshockedthewholeshampoomarket,especiallyitspackaging,advertisingimageandpublicitypropagandagavepeoplegreatimpressionbecauseoftheadvancedlevel.Ascendespousednaturalbeauty,andregardedwomen’sbeautyastheglintingdiamond.Itaimedforhelpingwomentopresenttheirattractivelymovingappearance.AscendshampoocontainedtraditionalChineseherb,polygonumwhichishelpfulinmoisteninghair.What’smore,itwasthefirstshampoowhichcontainednaturalherbingredient.AscendwassuitablefortheOrientalsbecauseofitsingredientofChineseherbalmedicine.Attractively,abeautifulorientalgirlwithlongblackhairappearedinthecreativeadvertisementwhichwasdesignedtopresentblackorientalhair.ItfullyrevealedthenaturalbeautifulconceptoftheOrientals.AscendwasfirstlysaleinHangzhouprovinceonSeptember10,2001.ThefirstlytargetmarketwaschosenasHangzhouprovinceforitspotentialbusinessopportunitiesandmodernfeeling.Moreover,asaninternationaltouristcity,Hangzhoupossessedprofoundtraditionalculture.Sowomenlivinginthecitywereinevitablyownedmodernandtraditionalfeelingstogether,whichwerecoincidedwithAscend’stheme.Theproductwascompletelydifferentfromtwo-in-oneshampooatthattime;instead,itemphasizedseparatelyusageofshampooandhairprotectorwhenwashinghair.Actually,suchathemewastoemphasizethatthefirststepofpossessingbeautifullyhealthyhairwastouseAscendshampoobecausethere’safaithofthoroughlywashingeverypieceofhair,andthentheusageofAscendhairprotectorwouldmoistenthehairandmadeitraven.Aftercomingtothemarketfortwoyears,Ascendstillhadn’ttakenupthemarketing.Instead,HazelineshampoowhichcametothemarketatthesametimehadsuccessfullyfilledthegapleftbyOlivePolygonumshampoo.However,thesaleofAscendwasdisappointing,becauseitsrankofpopularitywasnotamongthoseofthesuccessfulonthepublishedlist.In2005,P&GboughtClairolwhichmarkedthefailureofP&G’sfirstlocalbrand,Ascend.ThewebsitesofAscend’sonlinevideoads:/programs/view/mUL2LSrupjE//programs/view/tF_kr8fdxT4/案例討論(CaseAnalysis)Itisknownthattherearealotoffactorscontainedindevelopingproductsforforeignmarket.Ingeneral,developingproductsforforeignmarketshouldbemadeattherighttimeintherightplaceandbytherightchannel.However,accordingtotheintroductionofthebackgroundknowledge,itisobviousthattherearesomemistakesattributedtothefailureofAscend.PrimarytargetmarketsettingWiththedecliningofChongqingOlive,Ascendshouldhavepromisingbusinessopportunity.However,P&GsetAscend’stargetconsumersasmodernhigheducatedcitywomenagingfrom18to35,andpositiontheshampooaimingtomakehairraven.Inreality,suchaconsumergroupisusuallythemostfashionableone.Thoughblackhairwaswelcomedfrom1994to2000,oncethefashionconceptaltered,theseconsumerswouldabandonravenhair.Inaword,theconsumermarketwasnotstable,whichledtotheinsufficienttargetmarketcapacity.2.ProductFrom1994to2000,Chinesedomesticfashiontrendwashealthyravenhair.Atthattimethetraditionaltwo-in-oneshampoowasstillverypopular.However,P&Gspentthreeyeartodevelopnewproductsofshampooandhairprotector,andclaimedthatthebestwayofkeepravenhairwastowashhairwithshampoofirstlyandthenhairprotector.Theconsumers’habitandknowledgeofshampooweregreatlychallenged.AlthoughAscendconceptwasinnovativeatthattime,itadvancedconsumers’hairwashinghabitatthattime.Formarketeer,ifyouwantthenewconceptofyourproductcanbeacceptedbytheconsumers,youshouldmakesureconsumers’feedbackinadvance;otherwise,itwillgoagainstthefollowingpromotion.Influencedbythetwo-in-oneconceptatthattime,Ascendlostmanyadditionalinterestscomparedwithothercongenericproduct.Asaresult,consumers’purchasingenthusiasmwasreduced.PromotionAlthoughP&Gendeavoredalotinproductpromotion,especiallytheperfectinnovativevideoads,distinctivepublicactivities,considerateonlinepromotion,andattractivesale,italsohadsomedeficienciesleadingtothechokepointinmarketing.AdvertisingdeviationAscendadvertisinghighlighteditsfeatureofbringravenhair,butignoredakeypoint,containingofmoistenherbessencewhichwouldmakeagreatfortune.Thenconsumerscouldn’tclearlydistinguishfeaturesofAscendandothershampooproduct.Asaresult,thoughAscenddrawnalotofattention,itcouldn’tarouseconsumers’purchasingdesire.Whatisworse,consumers’impressionofP&G’schemicalconstitutionwasremovedbythebeautifulravenhairinadvertising.BlindonlinepromotionAlthoughP&G’sonlineproductpromotionwasinnovativeatthattime,andisstillofreferencevalue,weshouldnoticethatsomeonlinepromotionwasmadeinonlinegame.Thetargetwomenconsumersagingfrom18to35didnotspendmuchtimeinplayingonlinegame,resultingthefalsebelievethatthehighclickratewasmadebytargetconsumers.Atlast,thehighinvestingcostdidn’tgetexpectedpayback.QuestionsforgroupdiscussionWhatinspirationscanyougetfromthefailureofP&G’snewproductdevelopinginChina?Accordingtoyourunderstandingofdevelopingproducts,whenistherighttimeforproductpromotion?Doyouknowasuccessfulproductdevelopingforforeignmarket?Pleasetrytoanalyzeitssuccessfulexperience.案例總結(CaseSummary)海外新產品研發是每一個成功的企業的必經之路，它不僅可以沖出已經趨于飽和的國內市場，而且也為提高企業知名度做出巨大貢獻，最終給企業帶來巨額收益。然而，如果沒有把握新產品研發和推廣時機，抑或目標市場判斷錯誤，這無疑是精力、財力、人力的巨大損失。通過以上對寶潔公司潤妍案例的分析，不難得出以下結論：1、目標人群有誤，失去需求基礎潤妍從孕育開始，就應該是一個別人市場制造之后的延續產品，因為這一部分人群已經具有對黑頭發的認知和使用習慣，也是品牌切入最為經濟的辦法。然而寶潔居然舍棄了已經存在的市場而獨辟蹊徑，將目標人群定位為18-35歲的城市高知女性，于是我們可以看到潤妍具有唯美的廣告形象和唯美的視覺沖擊，其包裝也是素雅和高貴的。但問題在于這部分人群是否是真正的購買者？事實上，這類消費群體往往趨向追逐潮流。雖然1994-2