“The new I600 is a true standout in our projection portfolio,” Barbara begins. “It’s our first single-chip projector to combine exceptional color fidelity, 4K resolution, and high frame rates, all packed into a compact, lightweight unit. On top of that, it’s easy to install, sustainable, comes with a wide range of lenses, and, very importantly, it ensures a low Total Cost of Ownership. This makes it easily accessible and appealing to diverse mid-market segments: themed entertainment, rental, museums, simulation, universities, corporate rooms, and more. It’s the ideal solution to turn the mid-market into Barco fans.”

Barbara acts as a bridge between in-house teams, customers, and sales. She stresses that stakeholder involvement and market feedback are key throughout the product development process too.

"Based on customer and market insights, we strive to create the best possible solutions for our customers’ challenges. Ideas are verified both internally and externally and may lead to the definition of a new product, which is then approved through a business case,” she explains. 

“Once the business case receives the green light, the initial design phase begins, resulting in the first alpha units. These units provide valuable insights, which are used to refine the design in the critical design phase, ultimately leading to the creation of a beta unit. 

For the I600, we presented the beta version at ISE, where we gathered valuable feedback from booth visitors. This input helped us fine-tune the product before the transition from R&D to mass production. So, design is an agile process, which took us about 1.5 years for the I600.” 

That timeframe is short, especially considering that the I600 was the first product manufactured in our brand-new R&D and production plant in Wuxi, China. Barbara: "This is our very first projector that was almost entirely designed and produced in China. In the midst of the process, the factory and team moved into the new factory in Wuxi. I’m genuinely impressed at how everything and everyone was up to speed in record time."

More than that, Barbara praises the collaboration, dedication and efficiency of everyone involved, around the world: “With a project manager in Kortrijk and China and sales tams on every continent, we’ve worked together to make this product launch a success.”

As the I600 targets a slightly different – mid-range – market than other Barco projectors, the team’s is now ramping up its marketing and communication efforts. With years of experience in channel marketing before joining Barco, Barbara is excited to test new go-market strategies: “The I600 delivers the renowned Barco quality and service at a low Total Cost of Ownership, which positions us in competition with other mid-range projectors. That calls for a different market approach.

Beyond convincing distributors to include the I600 in their portfolio, we want to inspire end-users so that the I600 is top of mind when they engage with a distributor. Videos, podcasts, testimonials, social media ads, and promotional bundles will help us spread the word about our new projector. I really enjoy brainstorming these ideas with our marketing and distribution team.”

On a sidenote: Barbara, who’s relatively new to Barco, wants to add that she was struck by the company’s warm atmosphere and team spirit when she came on board. Almost a year later, that first impression remains unchanged: “Everyone takes ownership while working together as a team. That’s definitely one of the keys behind our successful solution ranges.”

Read more about the Wuxi factory that Barbara refers to, in the interview with Gao Yang.