John Chase at Switched does a good job in the article reviewing some innovative and well-designed technology that just didn't make it.
Beautiful Failures: Best Designed Tech That Flopped
As good as the content and examples were, what caught my eye was the short exchange between two readers in the comments column. Apparently the article hit home for the frustrated creator and founder of Breppies
Who explains that despite his/her good idea, investment in a website, marketing research, social media assets and production, never saw the return hoped for in the product
"This article hits home for me more than most people. I am an entrepreneur, the creator and founder of Breppies earbud covers. When I invented them, I thought I was going to make millions. I thought I had everything lined up. There was a huge market for them (300 million Apple earbuds with another 6-8 Million shipped monthly), they solved a problem (your earbuds won't hurt, they keep earbuds secure, they keep moisture and dirt out of your earbud), they looked cool and they were priced right. Yet, two years after doing this full time, we are almost out of business because for one reason or another they have not caught on. I would be the first to tell you that I have no idea what makes people like a product, but all the business education, experience and solid product will not always be enough."
The last sentence above is a fair statement. Sometimes even if you build a better mousetrap the mice still don't beat a path to your door - the time has to be right for your idea. But I'm not sure this was the challenge with Breppies as the next commenter succinctly points out.
"Do you really need it explained why Breppies flopped? The apple earbuds don't provide the best sound and there's loads of affordable earbuds that do. Earbud covers for lousy earbuds is akin to putting make up on a pig."
And while the above critique could simply fall under greater diligence in audience and marketing research, it's also a lesson in branding.
Namely that any strong brand must carve out a niche in the market that it can call its own. It has to stand out, and further, this differentiator must be valued by the customer.
Looking at the Breppie website, there are a lot of reasons this product makes sense. And that's just the problem, it leaves the customer with a question - what is the ONE MAIN, COOL REASON to buy this product?
Is it much cheaper than a new set of better ear buds?
Is it only for athletes who need their earbuds to stay in place and be washable?
(This is as far as I got, since I disagree that using Breppies makes you more "creative" or captures the same space as fashion accessories.)
I recall reading consumers are hit with some 6000 advertising messages a day. To punch through that clutter, your brand story has to be hand-to-forehead-smacking-good. "YES! YES I NEED THOSE!"
The Value and Athlete story for Breppies is compelling enough, and the business and outreach should be built around either of these ideas.
Breppies has the challenge of being a new idea in the market (and overcoming the initial reaction "What? Ear bud covers? Huh?) and competing with a zillion other earbuds - it needs to be clear about who it is and why we should care.
Jeff Caporizzo is Vice President/Creative Director at ZilYen. To find out more visit zilyen.com
Recent Comments