i-mode emerged as a solution to a technical problem in that DoCoMo's customers were using their phones for voice calls and were clogging the limited bandwidth available. By bringing in more data calls and pushing them through the same transmission lines as voice calls, the company could keep its customers satisfied even as it offered a new service. Enoki was given a broad mandate-increase data usage-and the ability to build a team and product that would answer the mandate. Enoki approached this as a marketing problem in that he wanted users to use their phones differently; that is, to find a new use for an existing product (Partridge & Sinclair-Hunt, 2005). In addressing this issue, he developed a new need in the market-the need to access and transmit data via phones.
As used by Kawasaki, DICEE stands for deep, indulging, complete, elegant and evocative (Kawasaki, 2000). The i-mode service was deep in that it included content that covered a wide range of topics-topics that would take users some time to explore completely. It was indulging in that it was rich in its look and feel. It was complete in that it offered easy billing for subscription services. It was elegant in that it performed the way that users expected. It was evocative in the way that it changed how users interacted with their phones and with each other. The service offered content combined with custom handsets and billing services to be a total product to users.
Rationale and Risks of Key Decisions
The i-mode team targeted a new market-young consumers-rather than the traditional business user of cell phones. This opened up an entirely new market, but posed the risk of failing to capture consumers who would invest in the new service. Enoki also insisted on specific handset specifications at a low cost; this had the potential to alienate suppliers even as it would bring new consumers into the i-mode plan. Because DoCoMo insis...