The Dutch firm TomTom was founded in 1991 as a small software development company in the B2B market. At the turn of the century, TomTom started to focus on digital mapping and GPS navigation, which resulted in the world’s first Portable Navigation Device (PND) for the mass market. In just three years, TomTom grew to become a billion euro a year company. The introduction of the iPhone and of Google’s free mapping and navigation services in the 2000s, however, disrupted the market. TomTom had to diversify into telematics and ‘location technology’, where it sold and licensed its software to the automotive industry and to tech companies. In the second half of 2018, TomTom was in the process of winding down its PND business. After nearly 30 years of evolution, TomTom had returned to its roots and was seeing itself once again as a B2B company. Thanks to the success of the PND, TomTom had created a strong consumer brand that was still imprinted in people’s mind as being about fun and ease of use. But now TomTom had to find new ways to communicate with its business customers and showcase its advanced technologies. How could TomTom best do that?
The Dutch firm TomTom is well-known for its iconic portable navigation devices but now needs to re-establish itself as a navigation software provider to the automotive industry. How can TomTom compete with tech giants like Google in this fast-changing B2B market?
This teaching case was developed by Professor Steven Sweldens and Professor Stefano Puntoni in collaboration with TomTom and the RSM Case Development Center. The case provides unique materials for discussing a number of important topics, such as B2B branding, managing brands over time, Big Bang disruption, and autonomous driving.