B&O Play NÆR by Julian Brandt

A F U T U R E WO R K S H O P C O N C E P T

B & O P L AY N Ã&#x2020; R J AC Q U E L I N E T U E N G E RT H A L , J U L I A N

BRANDT

N I KO L A J

J. MADSEN

ABSTRACT In this work the attempt was made to assess the current situation of Bang & Olufsen and give prospective insides into what is possible to be realized down the line. In doing so a conflict was identified that affects the main Bang & Olufsen target group. It was found, that business travel is on the rise and that especially the well situated target group of Bang & Olufsen is affected by that. The emotional repercussions of business travel were looked at. It was found that business travel can especially have negative side effects for the family. The Bang & Olufsen brand was analyzed to estimate where the brand is going in the future and which segment would be fitting to tackle the conflict. Upon analysis it was evident, that B&O Play is the brand that fits best to an innovative

lifestyle product, which would have the capabilities of solving the found conflict. A product is proposed, which can help in solving the conflict of negative effects due to travel. The product named NĂ&#x2020;R, is further described in detail and the feasibility for B&O of creating such a product is analyzed and estimated. The conclusion is made that such a product is feasible for B&O and that it would have a positive impact on the perception of the brand as a highly innovative one. Along with the new product introduction a change of tone in the B&O Play communication is proposed, one that fits to the brand but also highlights the highly emotional topic. Ultimately the functionality of the product is described in detail.

INTRODUCTION THE CONFLICT OCCURRING FROM INCRESASING BUSINESS TRAVEL

ccording to The World Bank, 1.2 Billion airplanes arrived at their destination in 2015. That is a 4% increase compared to the year before and a 26% increase compared to 2010, (The World Bank 2017). At the same time, global business travel spending surpassed US$1.2 trillion in 2015 and is expected to reach US$1.6 trillion by 2020, (GTBA

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n.d.). The high growth in the travel industry is causing major changes to society reaching into aspects of everyday life far outside the aviation industry. In 2010 6.2 million Americans travelled for business. The average 2010 American business traveller traveled 3.8 times a year spending an average of 19 nights out of the US, (Clements, M. 2012). In line with the continued growth of the travel and particular business travel industry, the number of business trips and nights spend away from family is expected to increase proportionally. Germany with its US$65.53 billion business travel spending in 2015, is the third biggest market for business travel, behind USA, US$289.84 billion, and China, US$291.28 billion, (Statista., 2017). Industrialized societies, Germany, USA and coastal China in particular,

are especially affected by the impact of increased business travel. Corporations have for long kept strict track of the cost related to increasing business travel, but little has been paid to its effect on society, relationships and the families. Although research have still not proven business travel to be directly detrimental to family life, problems can occur when family members, spouses and children feel abandoned. Dealing with potential problems can be disruptive and lead to parents left with guilt, loneliness or resentment. But being away is only one part of the potential problems related to increasing business travel. The traveller often find themselves struggling readjusting from â&#x20AC;&#x153;on-thegoâ&#x20AC;? to the intimacy of family life. Greeting hugs from excited children can leave the traveller feeling

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exhilarating and arguments between the parents can ruin the blissful reunion. As an extreme example of the negative effect, increasing business travel can have on family life, a Financial Times article from 2014 interviews a mother of three who travels on average three weeks a month. The article quotes:

“…IN ORDER TO SURVIVE THE TIME APART FROM HER CHILDREN SHE FINDS IT EASIER NOT TO THINK ABOUT T HEM. “I MISS THEM TERRIBLY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME MY WAY OF COPING IS TO PRETEND ALMOST THAT THEY ARE NOT THERE,” SHE SAYS. “IT’S LIKE THEY ARE LIVING IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE, BUT NOT ONE THAT I’M IN AT THE MOMENT.” SHRAGAI, N. (2014)

This is the problem in which we see the need for a solution! No parent should be forced to “forget” about their children while being away from their family. At the same time, no children should feel forgotten or abandoned by their parent.

C O N F L I C T R E L E VA N C E F O R B & O P L AY

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The “business travel” conflict is of importance to B&O Play from two perspectives. One, B&O Play’s target group (in Germany) is found in the “Modernes Arbeitnehmermilieu” (11,5% of the german population = 8,08 Mio.) and the “Postmodernes Milieu” (8,7% of the german population = 6,10 Mio.) of the SIGMA Milieus model.1 The “Modernes Arbeitnehmermilieu” express themselves as: young, flexible and ambitious with a high willingness for trying new things. The “Postmodernes Milieu” represents the young, well educated urban citizens living in the metropolitan areas. They seek to be the engineers of their own “universe” and often use brands and products to support their “self-made” identity. As ambitious people, both group’s individuals put great value into their work. Mainly working in the “new” industries (modern services), their work is a lifestyle where strict lines of “being at work” or “not being at work” no longer exists. With the increase in overall business travel these segments are, and further will be, increasingly effected by more travels related to their work. Secondly, competition in the home audio industry is extremely tough and a lot of big international players are fighting for market shares, up to a point where just making high-end speakers is just not enough anymore. Many companies try adding value

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by combining their services with cloud capability and network connections. Innovation in audio technology is no longer the only determining factor for consumers to choose one product over another. Ever since its founding B&O Play has been known for their unique design and high sound quality. In a new global competitive landscape rethinking sound is particularly attractive for a well renowned brand as B&O Play to state its position as an innovative and relevant brand, using their technology to solve conflicts which not normally have anything to do with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;traditionalâ&#x20AC;? audio industry. Bottom line: customers of B&O Play are individuals which often travels for business. Their conflict can be used as an opportunity for B&O Play to establish a deeper relationship with its consumers. B&O Play is being pushed by competitors from all areas imaginable within their industry and must be creative in order to stand out.

B&O AS HERO HOW THE B&O BRAND IS FITTING TO TAKE ON THE ‘BUSINESS TRAVEL’ CONFLICT

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AT THE END OF 2016 B ANG & OLUFSEN EMPLOYED 1,734 PEOPLE AND THE COMPANY’S PRODUCTS ARE CURRENTLY SOLD IN MORE THAN 70 COUNTRIES ACROSS THE WORLD. WITH AN ANNUAL REVENUE (2016) OF OVER 353 MILLION EURO THE COMPANY C AN DEFINITELY BE RECOGNIZED AS A GLOB AL ENTITY, (B&O 2016). AS A MORE AFFORDABLE BRAND WITH A FOCUS ON LIFESTYLE, FASHION AND YOUNGER TARGET GROUPS, B&O PLAY IS PART OF THE B ANG & OLUFSEN GROUP. WITH A VASTLY GROWING SHARE OF 37% THE B&O PLAY BRAND IS THE MAIN SOURCE FOR GROWTH AND INCOME IN THE FUTURE.

In their annual report B&O state that perspectively B&O Play will be the main growth driver for the brand, which goes hand in hand with an innovation driven product strategy. With Nær we can build upon that positioning as an innovative brand by expanding into the segment of lifestyle home products. The very innovative positioning will help B&O to strengthen its position in the market. Thanks to technological advancements B&O made in 2016 in the areas of acoustics and network connected products, B&O does not only have the positioning

as an innovative brand but also the capabilities to realize a project like Nær. Especially the Ultrahaptic technology will be an industry first, establishing B&O as a driver for innovation. A technology like the Ultrahaptic feedback is something that was never seen before on a consumer device, which will lead to vast amounts of attention by prospective customers and the press. The Bang & Olufsen group will be able to utilize this awareness to promote other products within their portfolio as well and use the image transfer as a driver for innovation.

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ULTRAHAPTIC

The ultrahaptic technology is a way of using ultra-high sound waves in order to simulate a haptic feedback. This way a product can give actual responses similar to physical buttons that can be sensed and interacted with by the user. With the implementation of network access it is possible to send haptic interactions from one end to another without being in close proximity, simply by using an internet connection. As a specialist in the development and production of very high fidelity audio devices, B&O is able to apply that expertise in the process of developing and utilizing the ultrahaptic technology. In addition to the experience B&O has in the area of sound application and speaker development, in

recent years B&O was able to make great advancements in the area of network connected products. These advancements make it possible to use the ultrahaptic technology, and enable an interaction between two devices. This combination is necessary for the development, that goes into the realization of B&O Play Nær, Ultrahaptics to convey the physical feeling of touch and network services, to seamlessly send the virtual interaction from one device to another. Since Bang & Olufsen is very experienced in both fields, Audio technology and network connected products, advancements in the use of ultrahaptic technologies are possible making a product like Nær feasible for the company. The conceptual

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EMOTIONAL ASPECTS

product design of B&O Play Nær was carefully chosen to be as close to the current lineup of products as possible to suit the current positioning, therefore the design of the pillow is strongly inspired by the Beoplay A6. Current B&O Play products, along with their communication, are focused on fashion, design and sound. Especially current communication is very focused on the design aspects of the products as well as fashionable video shots showing the products and materials during production or in use. Additionally B&O play uses some experimental and artistic productions on their YouTube channel. This can sometimes lead to conveying a distanced, almost sterile feeling with

little amounts of emotional content. However, in very recent publications (May 2017) there has been a slightly different tone of communication, with more content of people telling stories about their listening preferences and experiences. These very recent publications break with the former tonality of B&O Play, as in being less focused on fashion. The videos are made to look like they could have been recorded in the 1990s, using a documentary style, instead of being high-end state of the art, modern video productions. This style is used in line with a cooperation featuring the radio station NTS, (B&O Play 2017) B&O Play Nær being a very design-focused lifestyle product fits in well with

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Bang & Olufsen’s current lineup of very design focused premium products. It especially goes hand in hand with the objectives B&O describe in their 2016 annual report. B&O are planning on further growing the B&O Play brand and extending it from a pure audio-product into the direction of a lifestyle, fashion and innovation oriented brand. B&O Play Nær aims to further extend the B&O Play brand away from focusing solely on design and AV technology into being a lifestyle brand with a greater humanistic and warmer identity. The B&O Play Nær communication takes this new warmer and humanistic direction even further, by combining the high production value of former publications with a very emotional storytelling. This is done with the fact in mind

that communication used to be less personal and more sterile and fashion-focused. With this product and communication strategy, we aim to guide B&O Play in a direction where despite of being very design-focused an emotional connection is encouraged. This is done to establish a more emotional connection between the consumer and the brand leading to lifelong brand trust and preference.

THE B&O PLAY NÃ&#x2020;R SYSTEM

B&O PLAY NÆR THE FIRST SPEAKER YOU’RE NOT MEANT TO HEAR, BUT FEEL.

B&O Play NÆR is a two part system consisting of a cushion for children and a wristband for parents to stay connected while being physically separated. For example due to business travel, leisure activities or other reasons that don't allow the parent to be physically present when the kid goes to sleep. The NÆR cushion can be used by children to cuddle during the day, or when going to sleep, whenever they feel like they want to be closer to their parent. The band is designed to be worn by either parent, it is stylish and simple with similarity to

a fitness tracker. This way it can be worn in business scenarios as well as in a leisure context, without being distracting or inconvenient. This unique combination makes it possible to send gestures between one and another while at the same time being able to receive immediate feedback from the other part. This works from anywhere on the planet, as long as you have an internet connection. With the use of the latest technologies B&O Play NÆR brings people together in a way that sound never did before.

Ultrahaptic presentation video

ULTRAHAPTIC SILENT. RESPONSIVE. MAGIC

Ultrasounds are tunes without the spectrum humans are able to hear and just as base tunes, your body can sense very high tunes as well. This way very high tune sound are able to convey the feeling of touch. Placing your hand inside the Ultrahaptic feel and the sensor tracks your every hand gesture which can be transmitted in real time between the cushion and the BAND. But not only that, the ultrahaptic technology can simultaneously project very precise ultrasound-waves directly into your palm conveying the feeling of actually touching something, a truly responsive experience of not only transmitting your hand gestures to others, but at the same time feeling the immediate response of the receivers reaction to your hand gestures right inside your palm. Truly yltrahaptic responsive and magic.

THIS IS CUSHION

Press to interact

THIS IS BAND

Press to interact

FUNCTIONS

HUG Never stay out of reac h Send a hug to your little one by grabbing the BAND. Your gesture will initiate in a five second vibration of the cushion letting you child know you are thinking about them.

FUNCTIONS

TICKLE Tapped-out fun - deep-touc hing too. Tapping the BAND sends multiple short vibrations to the cushion re-projecting the intimate idea of a loving tickle

FUNCTIONS

BE THERE In true real time .

Stroking the air above the BAND will be detected by the ultrahaptic sensor and transmitted instantly to the cushion, where the built in ultrahaptic technology reproduce your hand gestures making your child feel your every stroke almost every bit as real as if you were actually there. But ultrahaptic technology offers an even deeper level of distant interaction. The ultrahaptic technology makes it possible, not only for your child yo feel your

strokes, but for you to feel your child as well, and that even in real time. The moment sensor of the cushion detects your child’s reactions and the ultrahaptic technology in the BAND will project your child’s movements directly into your palm, making you able to feel them just as closely as they are able to feel you. As magical as this sound, this is B&O Play NÆR real time ultrahaptic technology.

FUNCTIONS

THOUGHT A touc h of emotion. Children can send their parent a thought by squeezing the cushion. The movement sensor detects the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s movements and the BAND will vibrate to let the adult know their little one is thinking about them.

FUNCTIONS

HEART Nowhere on ear th is fur ther than a hear t beat away

Holding your hand steady over the ultrahaptic field of the BAND activates the BAND’s heart rate sensor. Your heartbeat will be sent to the cushion comforting your child. In response the cushion’s microphone will

sense your child’s heart beat which you in return will be able to feel inside your hand. A touching moment of true intimacy and comfort for both you an your child.

Use and privacy notice. The signals between the cushion and the BAND are sent via a secure end-toend 256 Bit SSL encrypted connection through the B&O Play servers. The BAND requires a Bluetooth connection with either an iOS or Android smartphone with cellular or WiFi network connection in order to reach the B&O Play servers. The cushion needs to connect to a local WiFi

network in order to reach the B&O Play servers. B&O Play will not in any way store user data on their servers, or sell user data to third parties. Encryption keys are stored locally on the cushion and BAND devices meaning B&O Play will not in any way be able to decrypt data sent between the devices. Your privacy does not stay with us, but to yourself.

B & O P L AY N Ã&#x2020; R THE MOVIE

REFERENCES B&O. (2016) ANNUAL REPORT 2015/16 Available at: http://az498215.vo.msecnd.net/static/files/annual_reports/BO_AR15-16 _UK.PDF (Accessed: 05 May 2017).

B&O Play. (2017) B&O Play [YouTube Channel] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/BeoPlay (Accessed: 05 May 2017).

Clements, M. (2012) International Business Travel: Do the Costs Outweigh the Benefits? Available at: http://www.chicagonow.com/marketing-strategist/2012/03/international -business-travel- Accessed: 05 May 2017).

GTBA. (n.d.) Global Business Travel Spend Topped Record-Breaking $1.2 Trillion USD in 2015, Will Reach $1.6 Trillion by 2020Â Available at: http://www.gbta.org/foundation/pressreleases/Pages/default.aspx (Accessed: 05 May 2017).

Shragai, N. (2014) Business travel and families: the ultimate guilt trip Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/f7eea390-4d66-11e4-bf60-00144feab7de (Accessed: 05 May 2017).

Statista. (2017) Leading countries in business travel spending from 2012 to 2015 (in billion U.S. dollars) Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/225879/countries-ranked-by-total-bu siness-travel-spending/(Accessed: 05 May 2017).

The World Bank. (2017) International tourism, number of arrivals Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ST.INT.ARVL (Accessed: 05 May 2017)

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Footnotes:: (1) Please note, the SIGMA Milieus model is based on research in the German market and cannot be transferred to other markets without taking cultural differences into account. Other models may be of greater relevance regarding other markets. See for example the “Minerva model” which is more commonly used for picturing Bang & Olufsen’s home market, Denmark.