Marketing Innovation: New Products and Consumer Co-Creation
This paper examines marketing innovation through two lenses: new product launches and consumer involvement in product development. Using the iPhone 6S and Samsung Gear VR as contemporary case studies, the paper analyzes how companies differentiate product line extensions and navigate emerging markets. The second half surveys academic literature on consumer co-creation, arguing that while broad consumer input introduces noise, targeted engagement with lead and emergent users — particularly through online communities — can lower transaction costs and yield actionable insights. The paper concludes that digital platforms are making consumer involvement in new product development increasingly practical and effective.
- Introduction to Market Innovation: Defines new products and product line extensions
- iPhone 6S: Product Line Extension: iPhone 6S as incremental product extension strategy
- Samsung Gear VR: Emerging Innovation: Gear VR as bold innovation in virtual reality
- Consumer Involvement in New Product Development: Risks and limits of broad consumer input
- Co-Creation, Virtual Communities, and Lead Users: Online communities as cost-effective co-creation channels
- Conclusion: Digital tools make consumer involvement more practical
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds abstract marketing concepts in concrete, recognizable product examples (iPhone 6S, Samsung Gear VR), making theoretical points immediately accessible.
- Balances practitioner-oriented product analysis with academic literature review, demonstrating both applied and scholarly competence.
- Clearly distinguishes between product line extensions and genuine innovations, showing nuanced understanding of new product typologies.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper integrates multiple peer-reviewed sources (Hoyer et al., Sethi et al., Fuller, Nambisan) to build a coherent argument about consumer co-creation, rather than citing each source in isolation. Each citation advances the argument one step further — from the problem of noise, to identifying lead users, to online communities as a cost-effective solution — demonstrating synthetic, cumulative use of literature.
Structure breakdown
The paper is organized into two distinct parts: Part 1 analyzes two recent product launches as examples of market innovation, while Part 2 pivots to a literature-based discussion of consumer research and co-creation in new product development. Each part is self-contained but thematically linked by the overarching subject of marketing innovation. A brief conclusion synthesizes the second part's findings.
Introduction to Market Innovation
New products can either be entirely new to the marketplace or, more commonly, an extension of a product line or an iteration of a pre-existing product. New product development takes many forms, ranging from modest incremental updates to genuinely disruptive innovations. The nature of a product launch — and the marketing challenges it presents — depends heavily on which of these categories it falls into. The two products examined below, the Apple iPhone 6S and the Samsung Gear VR, illustrate both ends of that spectrum and highlight the distinct challenges each type of release poses for marketers.
iPhone 6S: Product Line Extension
One new product released in the past year was the iPhone 6S. This is an extension of the iPhone line in general, and more specifically of the iPhone 6 line originally launched in 2014. The 6S represents some refinements to the older product, but nothing so dramatic that an entirely new product name was warranted. As such, this product is an extension of the older line, intended to replace earlier iPhone models, as everything prior to the 6 series has since been discontinued.
The biggest challenge that Apple faced with this product was differentiating it sufficiently from its other offerings. The existing iPhone 6 had proven popular, and the marketplace received the 6S favorably as an extension. While the 6S effectively replaced prior iterations, it arrived relatively soon after the 6 and would therefore not have enticed many buyers who had already upgraded. Rather, the likely target consisted of iPhone 4 and 5 owners who felt it was time to upgrade and made that move.
Samsung Gear VR: Emerging Innovation
Another new product released in the past twelve months was the Samsung Gear VR. It is a brand extension of the Samsung Gear line of personal electronic accessories, but it is also an entirely new product innovation. The Gear VR is a headset device for virtual reality immersion, primarily used for gaming and simulations. The headset was developed in conjunction with Oculus, a company that has specialized in virtual reality for several years.
The device is equipped with a variety of features and adds a new dimension to Samsung's personal computing offerings — one that represents a leap into an area where it will not directly compete with Apple or many other manufacturers, though Google has been expected to enter this market. At this stage, the Gear VR represents a fairly significant innovation.
The biggest marketing challenge Samsung faces with this product is building out the applications ecosystem for it. The headset is a novel experience that will appeal to early adopters, but the casual user is where the real commercial opportunity lies, and the only segment through which Samsung can realistically recoup its development costs. The company must therefore provide enough games and simulations alongside the device to entice casual buyers. This will require not only software investment but also an informational campaign to ensure that consumers understand what the product is and what it can do. Many potential buyers are not yet aware of the Gear VR, or think of it as a niche product — perceptions Samsung will need to actively overcome.
Conclusion
The involvement of consumers in new product development can be a challenge, but recent research has helped clarify what the key issues are. Companies are taking steps to overcome those hurdles, and this has enabled them to involve consumers more frequently and more productively. Online applications in particular can give companies access to a wide variety of consumer feedback data, filter it to surface lead users, and allow that information to be utilized — lowering the transaction cost of acquiring valuable consumer insight.
References
Fuller, J., Bartl, M., Ernst, H., & Muhlbacher, H. (2004). Community-based innovation. Proceedings of the 37th Hawaii International Conference on System Science.
George, A. (2016). The 6 most important technologies of summer 2016. Popular Mechanics.
Hoyer, W., Chandy, R., Dorotic, M., Krafft, M., & Singh, S. (2010). Consumer co-creation in new product development. Journal of Service Research, 13(3), 283–296.
Nambisan, S. (2002). Designing virtual customer environments for new product development: Toward a theory. Academy of Management Review, 27(3), 392–413.
Sethi, R., Smith, D., & Park, C. (2001). Cross-functional product development teams, creativity, and the innovativeness of new consumer products. Journal of Marketing Research, 38, 73–85.
Stein, S. (2015). Apple iPhone 6S review: A touch of the future. CNet.
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