• Building Multi-Brand Innovation Value: Thermaltake

Abstract

This paper describes how the president and chief executive officer of Thermaltake Technology, Kenny Lin, responded to rapid changes in the information and communications technology industry and built a series of new brands to keep pace with the latest trends in the digital and mobile industry.

Based on the success of new product development (NPD), President Lin established a brand, Thermaltake, to sell products. In 2007, affected by the mobile communications industry, Thermaltake experienced a rapid decline in revenue. Therefore, President Lin attempted to enter a new market by adopting used core capability cooling technology. The mobile coolerdid not succeed in the market because it did not meet the demand of a new generation of customers. Kenny Lin learned from this failure, and decided to learn brand knowledge, rebuild the brand foundation, and lead Thermaltake into a new multi-brand era, and then successfully list on OTC.

This study focused on innovation value and Thermaltake’s change from a product-oriented model to an innovative brand-oriented model. Brand construction, brand positioning, and segmentation are discussed based on research on Thermaltake’s case of innovation. Moreover, Thermaltake’s multi-brand business model provides an excellent background that enables students to understand the actions of a manager in digital times and how to create a new competitive innovation value by making several influential decisions regarding NPD, brand positioning, strategy, and marketing. These topics are interesting and worthwhile for students to explore.

Keywords: new product development (NPD), brand positioning, brand strategy, brand marketing, innovation value