History Shows Long Life as the Number One Attribute for Lightbulbs


History Shows Long Life as the Number One Attribute for Lightbulbs

Over the past thirty years , long life has come up several times as the number one attribute that consumers look for when buying a lightbulb. In 1983, Philips substantially expanded its lightbulb business in the United States by purchasing all of the lamp divisions of the Westinghouse Electric Corporation. One of the things that came along with that acquisition was a product line that had a longer-life strategy. Prior to that, Westinghouse had had several successes with long-life lightbulbs.

In 1977, Westinghouse had launched a major venture selling long-life lightbulbs through grocery stores. The venture was called Turtle-Lite. Turtle-Lite was based on a wealth of consumer market research obtained from 1972 to 1977 that indicated that consumers wanted lightbulbs that lasted longer than current offerings. Turtle-Lite was a long-life lightbulb that was unconditionally guaranteed to provide the consumer with two years of service. Turtle-Lite lightbulbs were sold off of a unique freestanding in-store merchandiser and were supported with heavy consumer advertising and promotion.

Turtle-Lite successfully achieved distribution in most of the grocery stores in the western United States. The program was successful in generating substantial consumer sales in each of the stores in which it operated. This proved that consumers were interested in purchasing long-life lightbulbs. The program was eventually discontinued as a result of competitive pressure. Strong competitive couponing brought the price of standard incandescent lightbulbs down so low that Turtle-Lite became uncompetitive. This was coupled with the movement of the grocery trade away from freestanding displays.

When Westinghouse was acquired by Philips, its lightbulb product line included a uniquely shaped long-life lightbulb called T-Bulb. This lightbulb enabled consumers to get about a third longer life than the standard incandescent lightbulb without a significant reduction in lumen (light) output. That was the premier product when Philips acquired theWestinghouse lightbulb division. Philips kept this product in its line for several years. From 1992 to 1996, however, Philips concentrated mainly on the industrial and commercial side of the market. As a result, the long-life product kind of faded away. Even the unique shape of the T-Bulb was discontinued because of its cost.

In reviewing the past history of lightbulbs, Philips identified a number of products providing different consumer benefits. Some focused on the quality of the light given off, some focused on energy usage, and some focused on environmental issues. Long life surfaced as the most consistently well received consumer benefit. Energy was very popular at times, such as in California when energy was scarce . Nothing, however, ever moved long life away from the top spot.




Powerhouse Marketing Plans(c) 14 Outstanding Real-Life Plans and What You Can Learn from Them to Supercharge [... ]aigns
Powerhouse Marketing Plans(c) 14 Outstanding Real-Life Plans and What You Can Learn from Them to Supercharge [... ]aigns
ISBN: 735621675
EAN: N/A
Year: 2006
Pages: 172

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