Product Innovation Strategy

During my year-long internship, I worked across three audio categories: headphones, earphones and portable speakers. My work spanned competitive analysis, research, product ideation and portfolio discussions with cross-functional teams.

This project focused on the portable speaker category, specifically informing the strategic direction for the next product cycle around the Beosound A5.

The core question guiding the research was:

Rather than starting from product features, the goal was to understand how different user segments relate to the category and where Bang & Olufsen could differentiate meaningfully.

The programme began with a structured secondary research phase to map the landscape before collecting new data.

Secondary research scope

This phase helped identify key hypotheses and knowledge gaps that would guide the primary research.

The primary research phase combined product analysis and expert insights.

First, I conducted hands-on testing of competitor products, analysing how leading devices performed in real-world usage and where Bang & Olufsen's experience diverged from the competition.

Second, I conducted interviews with more than 10 retail and category experts across key markets. These conversations provided insight into purchasing behaviour and real-world sales dynamics.

Together, these inputs helped refine the research questions for the large-scale user study.

The next phase focused on understanding customer attitudes and usage patterns at scale.

The research was structured in two stages. First, an exploratory pilot survey tested the assumptions and refined the research design. Second, a large-scale survey with 400 customers across six countries captured data on:

— usage contexts
— product values
— purchase drivers
— brand perception

This phase provided the quantitative foundation for identifying meaningful user segments within the category.

Qualitative insights from expert interviews and product testing were synthesised into key themes about category dynamics and experiential gaps.

The survey dataset was analysed in R Studio, using statistical techniques including random forest decision trees and ANOVAs to identify patterns across customer behaviour and preferences.

This analysis helped reveal distinct customer segments and the factors influencing their relationship with portable speakers and the Bang & Olufsen brand.

The analysis connected user segments to product implications, helping define:

— which experiences the product should prioritise
— how the portfolio could differentiate in a crowded category
— which technological directions aligned with target users

This step translated research insights into actionable product strategy.

Due to NDA restrictions, the specific findings cannot be disclosed.

However, the research produced several key strategic outputs that informed internal discussions across product, design and R&D.

Deliverables

The project helped provide a clearer evidence base for future decisions in the portable speaker category.

It also demonstrated the value of combining market understanding, user research and statistical analysis when defining product strategy.

The work was awarded 9.7/10 by the Polytechnic University of Madrid and contributed to ongoing discussions about the future direction of Bang & Olufsen's audio portfolio.