HomeEducationDoctorate (PhD & EngD)Professor in marketing reinforces design research
Jörg Henseler.

Professor in marketing reinforces design research

‘Although the marketing and design disciplines are different, they can learn a lot from one another’. This is what prof. Jörg Henseler will say at his inaugural lecture on 30 April. Henseler was appointed last year as professor in product-market relationships within the UT's design-department. Based on his scientific background in marketing, he is able to combine the two worlds. “With a successful product not only do you need a fantastic design, but you also have to understand your customers”, he claims.

Henseler speaks the language of both engineers and marketers, and focuses on the interplay between these disciplines. “Marketing must take place prior to design, and not afterwards. That is my most important guiding principle”, says Henseler. “I try to anticipate the needs of customers and then actually link these with design. This is the only way in which you can maximize your opportunities as a designer.”

Successful examples

Henseler cites large, successful companies that link marketing and design successfully and as a result achieve more success than companies that fail to do this. “Apple is a pre-eminent example. They collect incredible amounts of data, monitor social media and know exactly what product people want. Steve Jobs had the answer to the question is there room for a third device? That answer was the iPad, while the competition had already tried the same thing with the netbook. In fact it was nothing more than a cheaper, lightweight laptop, the success of which decreased rapidly. Tablets ware completely new. Heineken is another good example; this is one of the few beer manufacturers with its own design department. In this way they are positioning themselves viz-a-viz their competitors. Heineken is the design brand in beer. For instance, they have achieved international distinction regarding brand perception with their aluminium bottle and their black-light packaging.”

Predicting (design) success

Within the realms of scientific research Henseler is developing new methods for testing theories and concept-driven design research. “How do you combine ingredients in such a way that they form something new? That's what it amounts to. As a designer you want more than a mere combination of ingredients, you want a new, successful product. The empirical test I have developed is based on marketing, but it is also useful for predicting the success of design. Intuition and experience alone are not enough.”

More information

Jörg Henseler will hold his inaugural lecture on Thursday 30 April, by way of acceptance of the professorship. His research has been incorporated into the department Design, Production and Management of prof. Fred van Houten and the University of Twente's Faculty of CTW. Henseler also maintains close contact with the gamma faculty (BMS) of the UT.

A digital version of his oration booklet, entitled Is the whole more than the sum of its parts – an inquiry into the interplay of marketing and design research can be found here.

Henseler studied Business & Electrical Engineering at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern in Germany, a university that he feels strongly resembles the UT. Henseler obtained his doctoral degree in the field of marketing and spent nine years working as a university lecturer with Radboud University in Nijmegen. For him, a technical university feels ‘a bit like coming home.’