Fresh Ideas, Fresher Scents: The Future of Procter & Gamble

"There's a way to do it better. Find it.
-Thomas Edison

“The robotic arm will be the sole topic of this investigation...”
-M.E. Moran, Journal of Robotic Surgery, 2007

Why P&G?

When I considered the companies for this project, Procter & Gamble (P&G) stood out to me for several reasons. P&G is one of the world’s largest and most successful consumer goods companies, with a portfolio that spans everything from household cleaning products to personal care items. I believe that this diversity in product lines shows P&G’s deep understanding of consumer needs and its ability to consistently innovate.

One reason P&G caught my eye is their commitment to innovation, particularly in the area of smart technology. As consumers increasingly prioritize convenience and efficiency, P&G’s ability to stay ahead of trends makes them the perfect company to explore my new product ideas. Their history of strong branding and market leadership also makes it an exciting platform to visualize what’s next. And what is that exciting new product on the horizon I hear you ask? Let me introduce you to...

Introducing: The Smart Air Freshener

For my product idea, I propose that Procter & Gamble could launch a smart air freshener. But this isn’t just any air freshener as it would be a Wi-Fi-enabled device that connects to an app, allowing users to personalize the scent experience based on their mood, time of day, or even their health data. Picture waking up to an energizing citrus scent or winding down with calming lavender in the evening... all controlled from the palm of your hand. It will also certainly have robot arms.

This product fits with P&G’s mission of enhancing everyday life, while tapping into the growing smart home market. It’s fun, fresh, has robotic arms, and merges the worlds of personal well-being and cool technology.

Research Objectives

The key to a successful product launch is understanding my audience and ensuring there’s demand for this incredible innovation. A major point of interest in my products connectivity and integration aspects would be the ability to monetize it via a subscription service. We would need to extensively look into consumers willingness to pay a monthly subscription cost for this premium air care service. Here’s how I would approach market research for the smart air freshener:

• Understanding Consumer Needs: We need to identify what features the consumers value the most in home air care, like smart home integration and customization.
• Market Demand: We would need to assess the current market demand for such a product as a smart home air freshener with robot arms.
• Potential Barriers: Challenges such as pricing problems or consumers hesitance to robot-armed air care may arise.

Research Design

My research design will include a combination of primary and secondary research methods in order to form the most well-rounded strategy for the product release.

• Primary Research: This research will involve surveys and focus groups with our targeted consumers, mainly homeowners who already use smart home devices and value freshly-scented homes. The surveys would cover consumer preferences for scent customization, app connectivity, and robotic arm features. The focus groups would give a deeper look into how users currently interact with their current home fragrance products and what they expect from a fancy robot-armed version. Interviewing early adopters would also provide valuable feedback on potential product improvements.
• Secondary Research: In addition to the primary research, we could review secondary data from industry reports, market analysis, and smart home technology trends. Sources like Smart Home Market Reports and consumer goods research from Nielson and Euromonitor would also provide some insights into the current market landscape. We would also have data from P&G's existing air care products like Febreze to pull from and build a solid foundation of consumer behavior.

In Conclusion

With Procter & Gamble's strong history of innovation and staying relevant in consumers’ lives and my expertise in robot-arm-scent-release-systems P&G can strengthen its presence in the smart home market. Market research would play a major role in shaping the product to make sure it meets the needs of today’s tech-savvy, wellness-conscious consumers.