16th Jul 2008 - 00:00
Abstract
New Product Development (NPD) activity has not been shaken by talk of a credit crunch after a survey found that 58% of brand managers are planning on launching the same number of products as in 2007.
In a bid to keep consumers spend up, 85% of participants in the survey said they felt a constant pressure to introduce new products and keep them innovative. Sun Brand Technologies found that a products 'shelf-life' has been significantly reduced with 42% of those questioned believing products have just a few months to succeed and prove themselves. Regardless of this, more than half of respondents believed that the high level of NPD was justified. And, if past trends are anything to go by, this pressure is only likely to increase over the next five years. 80% of respondents believe that cost will be the most important issue affecting NPD over the next five years. Consumer demand was rated highly, with over two thirds of brand managers considering the public a force to be reckoned with in the future of NPD. The speed of getting a product to market and environmental issues were also predicted to be critical factors for successful launches in the future, by 60% and 52% of respondents respectively. Martin Hawkins, Executive Director of Sun Brand Technologies, explained the findings further: "If we were in any doubt as to the value of NPD, the survey results really put this into perspective. When you consider the fact that we are in the midst of a national credit crunch, it really is enlightening to see that NPD is still thriving and brand managers are actually looking to accelerate their development plans this year. "However, if brand managers think the pressure is on now, I can only imagine it will get worse in the coming years. Companies really need to think about how they can strategically address issues such as cost, the environment, speed-to-market and consumer demand if they are to stay ahead of the competition and ultimately, in business."