follow the requirement

Individual Blue Ocean Report

Smartwatch device powered by Sweat

1345 Words

Table of Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Definitions and justification of elements of CSFs 3 2.1 Focus 4 2.2 Divergence 4 2.3 Tagline 4 3. 4-Action Framework Identification and justification – CSF’s 5 4. Strategy Canvas 6 5. Define and justify 3 non-consumer groups 7 6. Creative application 8 7. Conclusion 11 8. References 12

With the technological advancement, smartwatch industry has flourished in a long-way and it has forced entrepreneurs and businesses to come up with unique set of technologies and design to improve higher level of market penetration and brand recognition to enjoy competitive advantage in the intensely competitive market. In context to the scenario, the blue ocean strategy has been created aiming to develop a smartwatch that can be powered by sweat of the user using a built in technology of coating polyester cellulose clothing within a thin layer of a polymer (electrode of the capacitor) (Market Research Report, 2021). The report aims to provide a strategy canvas, followed by identification of the non-customer groups and creative application of the blue ocean strategy.

Blue ocean strategy is defined as a particular strategy or idea that aims to promote differentiation and cost-effectiveness in products so that new market opportunities can be explored by creating high demand for the products (Kim and Mauborgne, 2015). With the increasing popularity of smartwatch devices, the identified blue ocean strategy can create high demand among the young tech-savvy consumer segment as well as fitness concerned people. In the following the section, the three elements of critical success factors (CSFs) of the blue ocean strategy are described and justified.

In case of defining the critical success factors for any blue ocean strategy development, focus is the component that can support a business to reduce unproductive, underperforming, and unnecessary areas linking to the CSF aiming to managing input costs of business and sustain innovation (Kim and Mauborgne, 2017). In developing the blue ocean strategy of the smartwatch device powered by sweat of the user, the key focus will be to eliminate the traditional battery-powered Smartwatches and reliance of such device on conventional mechanism.

In a blue ocean strategy, divergence can be defined as the method of creating differentiation from the existing products based on technology or service standards aiming to generate products that can increase new demand from the wider group of target audience (Carton, 2017). It is the benefit of divergence that helps businesses to come up with new set of ideas, innovative technologies and designs so that unique value propositions can be made available to the customers creating traction in the existing market.

Tagline within a blue ocean strategy can be referred to as the component that can be significantly helpful for the marketers to enhance the brand reputation by communicating about product uniqueness and innovation with the target audience. A catchy tagline can be useful to attract the potential customers featuring the capabilities of the product (Chadarava, 2018). For this case, the suitable tagline will be ‘smartest is the fittest’ which is expected to be highly influential in marketing of the smartwatch device powered by sweat of the user (Kim and Mauborgne, 2015).

In developing the strategic canvas, 4-Action Framework model has been used to identify the actions such as eliminate, raise, reduce and create so that transformation into the blue ocean strategy from red ocean strategy can be clearly illustrated and justified (Mebert and Lowe, 2017). In leading to the development of the blue ocean strategy, the focus is to eliminate: 1) the traditional battery-powered smartwatch device, 2) non-sustainable materials from device manufacturing, and 3) battery waste and discharge issues of Smartwatch. The choices can be justified as these identified critical success factors can help the blue ocean strategy to reduce unwanted elements from the existing red ocean strategy and support high level of marketing awareness among the target audience regarding Smartwatches (Yaghoubi and Dahmardeh, 2011). Next, the blue ocean strategy is set to reduce: 1) the size of the Smartwatch battery, 2) spill over and discharge risks from battery, and 3) emission of toxic pollutants from battery waste. The critical success factors are highly significant to the blue ocean strategy as it allows the manufacturer to create differentiation and promote sustainability aspects into the business (Awolusi, Marks and Hallowell, 2018). Furthermore, the blue ocean strategy will Raise: 1) quality and Smart charging technology in Smartwatch, 2) sustain and long-battery life for smartwatch, and 3) high level of safety and user security for Smartwatch. With the actions, it can be identified that the blue ocean strategy is set to extend high level of competitive advantage promoting product differentiation. Last but not the least; the strategy is set to create: 1) Hi-tech charging mechanism from sweat, 2) super capacitor in the smallest core shape, and 3) new marketing opportunities. The chosen actions are significant and the innovation and technological advancement reflected through the device can be used in the tagline and marketing communication to gain traction.

By considering the three tiers of non-customers, the tier 1- ‘soon to be’ non-customers, tier 2- ‘refusing’ non-customers, and tier 3- ‘unexplored non-customers’, it has been identified that the three potential non-customers segments are: 1) lower-middle class income groups, 2) people living in the remote locations where hi-tech device is not available, and 3) elderly people who are not tech-savvy and do not know utility of smartwatch devices (Kim and Mauborgne, 2018). From the segmentation, it has been identified that the selected non-customers are primarily associated to tier 2 and tier 3 categories. Due to the refusing nature and unexplored section, such group of target audience shows lack of interest toward the product.

From the evidence of the research studies, it has been identified that smartwatch industry has largely grown over the years as tech-savvy young consumers and people concerned about health and fitness activities are shifting toward Smartwatches from conventional watches. According to the reports, the global smartwatch industry is worth US$30,434.1 million in 2021 and it is anticipated to grow at a rate of 8.2 percent CAGR (Grand View Research, 2021). In such a scenario, the creative applications of the blue ocean strategy are significant as analysed below:

With the red ocean strategy, the existing Smartwatches are conventionally powered having certain limitations for the users. However, with the introduction of sweat-powered charging technology, users do not have to concern about the charging the device. During the health and fitness training or regular activities, the sweat discharged from the user will automatically charge the device making the product highly innovative and widely acceptable (P S Market Research, 2021). It will have a broader impact on the sales of the Smartwatches in future making the device highly unique.

Secondly, it has been seen that in the conventional Smartwatches, the life span of the smartwatch battery is low to medium as users have to charge it consistently to make it active. With the new set of technology of sweat charging and powered electrode used in the device, the blue ocean strategy is set to increase the life span of the battery of Smartwatches enhancing the longevity and utility of the Smartwatches (Mordor intelligence, 2019).

Finally, it has been identified that the existing Smartwatches are seemed to provide less safety and security to the user and the associated data making it vulnerable. With the blue ocean strategy, it can be identified that new safety and secured technology and mechanisms will be utilised in device offering high level of security and safety to the users (Market Research Report, 2021). In this way, the device will be popular among tech-savvy people.

From the analysis of the identified blue ocean strategy, it can be evaluated that smartwatch device powered by sweat of the user can become a widely popular gadget for tech-savvy young generation people. Looking at the critical success factors and strategic canvas, it is expected that blue ocean strategy is set to replace the existing red ocean strategy i.e. conventional battery powered Smartwatches. The viability and innovation technology utilised in the device will certainly enhance its creative application as mentioned. Moreover, the identification of the non-consumer groups is significant to strategise specific activities to make the product popular in the market.

Awolusi, I., Marks, E. and Hallowell, M. (2018). Wearable technology for personalized construction safety monitoring and trending: Review of applicable devices. Automation in Construction, [online] 85(1), pp.96–106. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2017.10.010.

Carton, G. (2017). A Blue Ocean Strategy for “Blue Ocean Strategy”: on Performativity of Strategic Management. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2017(1), p.17635.

Chadarava, P.D. (2018). Blue Ocean Strategy: A Review of Literature. FOCUS: Journal of International Business, 5(01).

Grand View Research (2021). Smartwatches Market Size Research, Share | Industry Growth Report, 2020. [online] www.grandviewresearch.com. Available at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/smartwatches-market [Accessed 2023].

Kim, W.C. and Mauborgne, R. (2015). Blue ocean strategy : how to create uncontested market space and make the competition irrelevant. 5th ed. Boston, Massachuetts: Harvard Bus Review Press.

Kim, W.C. and Mauborgne, R. (2017). The Blue Ocean Strategy reader. Boston, Massachusetts Harvard Business Review Press.

Kim, W.C. and Mauborgne, R. (2018). Blue ocean shift : beyond competing : proven steps to inspire confidence and seize new growth. New York: Hachette Books.

Market Research Report (2021). Wearable Technology Market by Product, Application | COVID-19 Impact Analysis | MarketsandMarketsTM. [online] www.marketsandmarkets.com. Available at: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/wearable-electronics-market-983.html [Accessed 2023].

Mebert, A. and Lowe, S. (2017). Blue Ocean Strategy. London: Taylor And Francis.

Mordor intelligence (2019). Smartwatch Market | 2020-2027 | Industry Report . [online] www.mordorintelligence.com. Available at: https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/smartwatch-market.

P S Market Research (2021). Smartwatch Market Size, Share, Growth, Industry Report, 2023. [online] Psmarketresearch.com. Available at: https://www.psmarketresearch.com/market-analysis/smartwatch-market [Accessed 2023].

Suriya, Dr.T.S.Udhaya. (2019). Wearable Smart Watch Using IoT (Internet of Things). International Journal of Research in Advent Technology, 7(3), pp.1617–1619. doi:10.32622/ijrat.732019146.

Yaghoubi, N.-M. and Dahmardeh, M. (2011). Knowledge management; critical success factor in organizational agility. American Journal of Social and Management Sciences, 2(3), pp.272–277.