From sketching ideas during a workshop to writing on food containers, a lot of us use Sharpies, the pen-style permanent marker that writes on plastic, glass, wood, stone and paper. Created in 1964 by the American company Sanford Manufacturing, theSharpiehas not only endured but become the darling of design and creative professionals, autograph seekers and astronauts.
However, Sharpie’s dominance as the ‘go to’ permanent marker is showing some signs of fading, as a new product fromBicis making inroads. The Bic Marking pen addresses one of the biggest problems with the Sharpies, namely that they tend to dry out very quickly when uncapped, and Bic markers are also less expensive than Sharpies.
Despite lasting longer and being cheaper, as the new challenger, Bic faces a number of uphill battles. Firstly, it’s very hard to find the markers in stationary stores in London – we’ve tried (as of Feb 2017). While Sharpie is easy to find in many stores (Sainsbury, Wilko, WHSmith and Ryman), only Ryman carried the Bic Marking pens, and only in a pack of 36 colour markers. Another challenge is brand recognition - not only has Sharpie been around longer, it has several high profile endorsements which raised awareness of the brand astronomically (the markers work in zero-gravity, making them the writing tool of choice among astronauts on the International Space Station).
It will likely take more than a cheaper price and longer lasting ink for Bic to become the market leader. Sharpie has managed to create emotional connections with its customers, which is truly impressive for such a utilitarian product. One way Bic could engage people’s emotional response is to leverage more multi-sensory design - particularly targeting the sense of smell. Markers can be 'smelly', but why not nice smelling? Bic could have markers that bring back happy nostalgic memories (the smell of burning leaves in Autumn) or help create new happy associations with its products for a new generation of children (bubble gum, roasted marshmallows, candy floss). It would certainly bring a benefit beyond the purely functional to encourage more people to switch from using Sharpie. Don’t hesitate to get in touch Bic if you want help developing some of these kernels into new product innovations!
