Systems Integration Asia – April-May 2018

That's a big change that is iniated by the

new management.

For a company that is known for its

conservave approach to business,

parcularly when it comes to markeng and

promoonal strategies, this is certainly a

remarkable deviaon. Refreshing though, it

is a sizeable surprise at least for those who

followed and known the company closely.

The Story

“It is a well-thought out corporate decision-

to speak to the market in a language that

people who use our products speak, and

want to idenfy with,” came the explanaon

from Anita. “We have long been talking

about technology and all that jargon, which

perhaps not fully taken by the users who are

not always technical. So, this is an iniave

to connect the products with the users in a

way they can idenfy themselves with, in an

emoonal binding.” That's the new

beyerdynamic approach to market.

“What we are seeing now is in part what we

spoke last me (in Orlando),” recalled

beyerdynamic's CEO Edgar van Velzen.

“It is part of our vision for expansion in the

conferencing domain, Pro Audio and

prosumer markets, as well as consumer

domain,” Edgar explained. “Like I said in our

previous discussion, the borders between

pure B2B and B2C segments are fading away

rather fast and a whole new and sizable

interesng market is growing; both sides

need to act swily now, understand what

their respecve user wants, and make

products that suit their target buyers,” he

detailed. “At the end, they all are buyers

looking for ease of use, ease of install,

appealing to their emoons and their user

experiences, and best all of this

simultaneously working. This is what we are

working on.”

One important measure towards this vision

is to bring new technologies to the market

and name the products with a specific name

that is easy for the users to connect,

remember, idenfy with, and ask for it.

That's how the FOX, PHONUM, and UNITE

have come to beckon the beyerdynamic

product lovers. All of this, without denying

the manufacturer's original DNA;

professionals in audio, for many years.

PHONUM:Meet the modern meeng

intelligence

“Take

PHONUM, as

a case in a

point here,”

says Edgar. “It

combines the

both

prosumer and

consumer. If you look at it from the

consumer side, it is a Bluetooth speaker with

great sound and a great working

microphone; if you see from professional

side, it is a conferencing system with a

fantasc system of three microphones

including 360-degree beam-forming and

beam-steering,” he explains. “The system

suits the needs of diverse fields of acvity

involving individuals and groups from both

consumer and professional segments. It is

one best answer/soluon for both the

segments.”

More, each of this new genre of products

seek to connect with the users in a nice

story-telling mode, with an emoon of its

own. If the USB-stac FOX microphone can

excite anyone with a musical mind but not

necessarily tech professional, the PHONUM

is taken to excite the conference geeks due to

its ability to break free from cable/power

connecons and more. “It can facilitate

conferencing anywhere, even from

a garden,” explains Anita detailing the rich

features of the modern day

meeng device.

The UNITE, on

the other hand,

apparently

takes the tour

guide

experience to

an altogether

new level of

sophiscaon

with

precision. According to the marcom exec, it

can be a fascinang leading light for

segments like museums, educaonal

exhibion venues or campuses etc. “It would

be hard to resist the emoonal connect with

UNITE, once the users experience the

benefits of mul-way communicaon it

brings to them.”

Says Edgar: “The Tour Guide is just the start;

this technology is the base for a lot of

addional product possibilies in the months

and years to come.”

Edgar Van Velzen: the

Iniator of Change

If there are a few business houses
that have a rich history of over 90
years with many 'firsts' in
technologies, and connued to
flourish with their innovaon on a
global scale, and yet maintained a
very tradional identy, German
audio major beyerdynamic takes a
pole posion among equals.

Founded in 1924, the Heilbronn-
based beyerdynamic made its name
on two basic tenets: sheer
engineering brilliance in product
development yet promoted by
family-driven, conservave
methodologies. While the company
grew from strength to strength in
terms of its product innovaon,
market size and geographical
spread, it's been quite conservave
in its markeng and promoonal
strategies all through its decades of
growth. Straight, so and sober
even as it grew in sophiscaon on
the global stage of compeon.

While the products and soluons
are liked, loved and owned by
millions world over, beyerdynamic
has been a quite hidden enterprise
all through, ll recently- unl the
new addional Managing Director
Edgar van Velzen took over the
company reigns in June 2017. The
new MD – charismac as the 51-
year-old Dutch entrepreneur with
large consumer electronics experse
is – who took over recently as the
full-fledged CEO, following the
rerement of the company's long
standing MD Wolfgang Luckhardt, is
now breathing new winds of change
into the company.

It's not just nomenclature and
product presentaon that are in for
change; there are more fascinang
aspects than one would imagine.
Stay tuned for the weeks and
months to come!

That's a big change.

INTERVIEW