Product champions have a vision for a product, and drive them to market, often working with others to do so. This vision is often bold, and may force companies to move in a new direction. A great...

Product champions have a vision for a product, and drive them to market, often working with others to do so. This vision is often bold, and may force companies to move in a new direction. A great example of this was seen at Apple, a computer company that moved into the personal entertainment industry with the Apple iPod. In a world where MP3 players had existed for a number of years, it appeared that there was little room for any significant new entrants to the market. However, the designers of the iPod combined improvements in a number of key industries to make the iPod a massive success. Firstly, Apple improved the state of their basic product by designing the click wheel interface, which was a significant improvement over the traditional interfaces. By bundling the product with iTunes, a software product that leveraged Apple’s strong computer-based competencies, expectations were changed around how easy it was to purchase and download music to the player. They also changed the industry in the way that they allowed firmware updates to be easily performed on the player. The iPod was not a new-to-the-world product, but iTunes was. During this time, the manufacturers of MP3 players were spending their time concentrating on their players, and the software to drive them. The product champions at Apple were integrating advancements in electronics, audio compression, internet technology, service and software. They saw the opportunity to cross-pollinate between different industries to create a market-dominating product, but also one where switching costs are prohibitive, further protecting their leading position in the market.