I saw a press release the other day about a new invention from Sharpie, the Newell Rubbermaid brand of markers. They announced the imminent arrival of a “Liquid Pencil” -- a writing instrument that uses a capsule of liquid graphite to provide the feel of a gel pen with the erasability of a pencil. I described it to my 19-year old daughter, and she said, “Cool! A pen for people who make mistakes!”
As an innovator and student of innovation, I am constantly amazed at what people come up with. I’ve worked with a wide range of innovative products and services in my career, and some of the most intriguing are those in mature industries (trailer hitches, for instance). The Liquid Pencil seems to be another.
I would have loved to be around when the inventor said, “Y’know, I think we need a better pencil. One that writes like a gel pen but can still be erased.” What sort of reaction did he or she get? Especially from management?
Even better, once the idea gained traction, it would have been great to be part of the team coming up with the marketing -- the value proposition. Here’s a quote from Sally Grimes, VP of Marketing for the Markers, Highlighters, Art and Organization global business unit (there’s a mouthful!) in the press release: “It solves the No. 1 consumer dissatisfaction with mechanical pencils -- breaking leads -- while also giving users the added confidence of stronger, darker lines that stand the test of time, plus the ability to erase and edit as they go.” A pen for people who make mistakes, indeed!
An interesting aspect to this product (from a marketing perspective) is the break with what has long been one of Sharpie’s key product attributes: permanence. The press release notes this: “The Sharpie Liquid Pencil joins the Sharpie Pen as the brand further expands from permanent markers into near-neighbor categories.”
I think that this is smart. Growth in the marker category itself has already shown Sharpie to be an innovator. They’ve got a huge color palette, retractable markers, a wide range of tip sizes, mini-Sharpies, industrial products, highlighters, and recently, pens. (Really, they are just really, really fine point Sharpies, but you can use them as a pen for writing notes, etc., and put them in your pocket -- neither of which you would really do with a regular Sharpie.)
This move into an adjacent, “near-neighbor” category is a great way to grow. You build off of established relevance and credibility, and add new function to existing customers while attracting all-new customers. In an earlier post, I talk about a way to innovate by “questioning your constraints, but knowing your boundaries”. In this case, the team at Sharpie questioned the constraint of “permanent pens”, but knew that (at this point in time), they are in the writing instrument business (their boundary).
I’m a bit of a nut about writing instruments -- I’ve got lots of pens, pencils, and fountain pens -- and can’t wait to try out this Sharpie Liquid Pencil. It’ll be available in September, 2010 and will carry a price tag of $1.99. Let me what you think when you get your hands on one.
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