Brand positioning

A vision is a clear picture of what you want to achieve. Philips' vision is to produce products that always put the customer first. The challenge facing Philips, therefore, is to better understand what people really need.

Philips' new brand positioning is all about promising customers a more comfortable and more straightforward relationship with technology and with Philips.

It believes that somewhere along the way the promise of the Technology Revolution to make our lives easier, simpler and better is not being delivered. In many respects the technology industry has made things more complex. Philips is, therefore, offering a solution.

Research showed that people are asking for greater simplicity in their lives and in their dealings with technology. They want technology that gets the job done without drawing attention to itself. Most users are put off by the need to read and understand a complicated manual before they can try out their new purchase.

With this in mind, Philips is continually bringing new and exciting products into its portfolio, which at the same time are simple to use.

Philips' new position 'sense and simplicity' is based on three essential pillars.

These are that:

1. 'Products are designed around you'.

2. 'Products are easy to experience'.

3. 'Products are advanced'.

All its activities must now be driven by insights into how consumers/customers seek to experience the benefits of technology. Philips is becoming more market led, driven by the needs of the customer.

Philips is undergoing a change process to make sure that products and services are convenient and easy to experience, in order to remove the hassles often associated with technology. At the same time, however, products must continue to deliver the benefits associated with innovation.

These principles can be illustrated by considering the widely used Sonicare electric toothbrush. This product is: