Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

272 BRAND RELEVANCE
his help in bringing the product to fruition. The result was the
1992 version of the Disklavier, the Mark II.
Lewis, who championed and managed the Disklavier for
over two decades, had a lot going for him as he made the commitment
decision, mobilized support from the fi rm, and led the
product through the early years. First, Yamaha had the capability
needed to create a product and support a business. It had a top
name in piano quality, a strong U.S. dealership distribution, and
an in - house R & D presence in consumer electronics. Second,
the piano operations of Yamaha, like the whole piano industry,
had been in the doldrums, had little energy, and was fi nancially
disappointing. Piano lessons for kids had too much competition.
Home entertainment had moved on. The Disklavier with all
its applications had the potential to revitalize Yamaha as well
as the whole piano industry. Third, even though the conditions
were very different, the player piano ’ s legacy provided a success
proof point that made projections believable.
There was another important consideration. The Disklavier
would not cannibalize the sales of Yamaha conventional acoustic
pianos but, rather, would create incremental business. That fact
was crucial in overcoming internal resistance to the initiative.
The Disklavier has without question expanded the market. Over
half of its home buyers do not play the piano, suggesting that the
player piano ’ s legacy is an important driver of purchase decisions.
Nearly two - thirds of the buyers already had a piano. The target
market —upscale, older nonmusicians —is very different from
that of the acoustic piano, which is geared to young families.
Yamaha has continuously improved the product over the
years, and as a result has been the dominant leader. The fi rm
was awarded the Musical Merchandise Review “ Dealer ’ s Choice ”
product of the year by a trade group every year from 2000 to
2007. In 2000 the Disklavier did over $ 100 million, which represented
15 percent of the total piano industry volume that year.
By some accounts its share of the acoustic piano market continued
throughout the next decade to be around 50 percent, with