3M Greptile Grip Golf Glove
3M Corporation is a highly diversified
multi-million dollar company
known for technology and innovation,
but not necessarily as a strong
"brand" in the sports industry. Its
entrance into the sports industry represents
an interesting process in product
development and successful marketing.
The new product development process at 3M
occurs in stages beginning with strategic product
development, the successful cycle concludes with the
commercialization of the product. 3M used this
approach in the successful introduction of the Greptile
Grip Golf Glove.
Critical points in the development cycle include
market segmentation where specific target markets
are identified and research conducted. Questions are
raised such as "what can we do to prolong an individual's
relationship with the sport?" Or "How can
we introduce individuals to the sport?" In this case,
the sport is golf. After targeting their market segments,
3M looks to screen the product for effectiveness.
For example, they found that the Greptile glove
had 610% more grip than traditional golf gloves and
340% more than special grip gloves currently on the
market.
The business analysis stage follows where the
problem of overcoming the perception that 3M is
not a sports brand is addressed. In 3M's case, innovation
and technology are clearly related to the
sports industry and they use the power of the innovation
brand to overcome obstacles to entry.
Development and test marketing of the glove are
the next steps in the process. Development is concerned
with how to make a stylistic, functional and
affordable product; test marketing is concerned with
how the consumer and retailer respond. During this
phase is where packaging of the product became an
apparent issue, not the product itself.
The final process is commercialization of the
product where the benefits of the ownership and
superiority of performance are communicated to the
consumers.
Discussion Questions
How does 3M differentiate its sports brand from
its other product lines?
What is the "marketing message" of 3M?
Would you consider Greptile Grip Golf Glove to
be a product "brand"?
