• Of course, some products fail to take off sufficiently and/or go into decline. The 'Tough Beard' shaver has not warranted further development and BIC has taken it out of production.
Page 3: Developing the product range
The Cristal range of pens demonstrate how to inject new life into a product range:
• BIC's Cristal Ball pen was launched in 1951. It has over 30% market share and is the UK's best-selling ball pen.
• In 1964 BIC launched BIC Orange. This is a fine-point version of the Cristal pen, easily recognised by its orange barrel.
• In the 1990s, as the Cristal and Orange Ball pens became more mature and encountered fierce competition from lower priced brands, BIC invested in developing the Cristal range to attract new users and to differentiate itself from the competition.
This led to the launch of a range of new products:
• Cristal Grip, for more comfort
• Cristal Colours, for fashionable colours
• Cristal Pocket, for a more convenient size
• Cristal Pockets Scents, for fun and fruity inks
• Cristal Gel, for smoother writing.
By continually adding to the range, BIC manages to inject new life into the product life cycle of the overall range.
BIC now offers a full range of Cristal pens using both ball point and gel ink technology. The range's development has also helped to support the enhancements of the core brand, and each year sales of Cristal pens increase.
Page 4: The product life cycle and promotional activity
BIC analyses its products, and promotes and supports these in line with their stage in the product life cycle. For example, BIC Cristal and the Classic shaver have a long life cycle and although they have had technological improvements over the years and are produced using more advanced manufacturing techniques, the style and design of these products have not changed. They are still recognisable worldwide.
Initially, when these products were launched, promotional activity would have focused on generating awareness and encouraging consumers to trial the products. Now that these products have become well established icons, the promotional emphasis is on rewarding loyal customers who continue to buy these products.
The illustration shows the way in which promotional activity is tailored to stages in the product life cycle.
When BIC launched the Comfort 3 razor, it chose Martin Johnson to represent the brand. BIC invested heavily in outdoor media such as billboards and conducted national press advertising to raise awareness.