Problem Solving: WD-40 Creates a New Branded Category Solution
When WD-40 Company (www.wd40company.com) wanted to make its 60-year-old brand more relevant with a pipeline of new offerings, it partnered with Innovationedge (www.innovationedge.com) to create a new strategy to do so.
Very few brands will ever match the popularity and consumer loyalty of the WD-40 Multi Use Product, whose essence is about getting the job done right and solving problems with the 2,000-or-so uses. Silence a squeaky door hinge? Check. Clean crayon from walls? Yes. Remove scuff marks from floors?
Absolutely. Dissolve rust from metal surfaces? Unfortunately, not as much as some end users need and want.
What consumers and end users lacked was a solution to the problem of heavy rust. Most all rust solvents on the market are acid based, and require a great deal of “elbow grease” to remove the rust. Additionally, the chemical components of existing products are harmful to skin and corrosive to plastics or polymers. Finding a safe rust mitigation solution would be a great fit with the already successful user perception of the WD-40 brand.
“The strategy process balanced an evaluation of the company alongside an external assessment. We engaged consumers, customers, and partners in uncovering needs and developing solutions,” says Mike Irwin, EVP Strategic Development, WD-40 Company.
Now, the big hurdle was in finding the right partner that could offer something differentiated. The perfect partners were discovered through open innovation efforts with other like-minded companies and via an individual inventor discovered through networks at Innovationedge. These partners had not only developed an acid-free rust solvent, but one that is fast action and environmentally safe.
Working with an individual inventor posed challenges, but the partnership produced some valuable insights and eventually resulted in a brand new product line that is in the process of being launched.
“To differentiate this new product line from the core WD-40 Multi Use Product, a new package color design was created along with a descriptor — ‘Specialist’,” says Graham Milner, EVP Global Brand Development, WD-40.
These new products, which include a liquid Rust Remover Soak and Rust Inhibitor, easily deliver on the WD-40 promise of performance, and expand into opportunities to deliver category solutio
FAST FACTS
Partnering Pays Off
A partnership with Innovationedge led WD-40 Company to a new category of solutions for removing heavy rust: Rust Remover Soak and Rust Inhibitor.
A Tricky Situation
Through numerous focus groups and crowdsourcing opportunities, WD-40 found that rust was the consumer and end-users highest pain point, and that satisfactory solutions were nowhere to be found.
Words of Wisdom
“Our challenge — and opportunity — was to clearly define what we could leverage, and articulate a path forward that fit the brand and the company’s capabilities.” - Mike Irwin, EVP Strategic, Development, WD-40 Company
Very few brands will ever match the popularity and consumer loyalty of the WD-40 Multi Use Product, whose essence is about getting the job done right and solving problems with the 2,000-or-so uses. Silence a squeaky door hinge? Check. Clean crayon from walls? Yes. Remove scuff marks from floors?
Absolutely. Dissolve rust from metal surfaces? Unfortunately, not as much as some end users need and want.
What consumers and end users lacked was a solution to the problem of heavy rust. Most all rust solvents on the market are acid based, and require a great deal of “elbow grease” to remove the rust. Additionally, the chemical components of existing products are harmful to skin and corrosive to plastics or polymers. Finding a safe rust mitigation solution would be a great fit with the already successful user perception of the WD-40 brand.
“The strategy process balanced an evaluation of the company alongside an external assessment. We engaged consumers, customers, and partners in uncovering needs and developing solutions,” says Mike Irwin, EVP Strategic Development, WD-40 Company.
Now, the big hurdle was in finding the right partner that could offer something differentiated. The perfect partners were discovered through open innovation efforts with other like-minded companies and via an individual inventor discovered through networks at Innovationedge. These partners had not only developed an acid-free rust solvent, but one that is fast action and environmentally safe.
Working with an individual inventor posed challenges, but the partnership produced some valuable insights and eventually resulted in a brand new product line that is in the process of being launched.
“To differentiate this new product line from the core WD-40 Multi Use Product, a new package color design was created along with a descriptor — ‘Specialist’,” says Graham Milner, EVP Global Brand Development, WD-40.
These new products, which include a liquid Rust Remover Soak and Rust Inhibitor, easily deliver on the WD-40 promise of performance, and expand into opportunities to deliver category solutio
FAST FACTS
Partnering Pays Off
A partnership with Innovationedge led WD-40 Company to a new category of solutions for removing heavy rust: Rust Remover Soak and Rust Inhibitor.
A Tricky Situation
Through numerous focus groups and crowdsourcing opportunities, WD-40 found that rust was the consumer and end-users highest pain point, and that satisfactory solutions were nowhere to be found.
Words of Wisdom
“Our challenge — and opportunity — was to clearly define what we could leverage, and articulate a path forward that fit the brand and the company’s capabilities.” - Mike Irwin, EVP Strategic, Development, WD-40 Company