Archive for the 'Dynamics of Innovation' Category

Retail Reinvention: The Magic of Babies

Published on 05.14.2012 in Dynamics of Innovation, End-User Experience and Multi-Sensory. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Manufacturers and retailers alike face stiff competition amidst a relatively flat market for baby products.  Just under 4 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2011, flat vs. 10 years ago, and the average woman has 2 children, a figure which has also remained flat.  So where’s the magic?  First, it’s a big market: an estimated $36.3 billion is spent annually by North Americans on baby products (including everything from food and diapers to clothes and furniture).   Second, the birth of a baby is a major life event that prompts a lot of spending in a very short time frame.  Third – and this the most important point for marketers — brand choices made at this teachable moment can impact brand choices for years to come, for the child as well as the parents.  In fact, research has shown that scent and sound preferences start forming in the womb!

When it comes to shopping for baby products, moms have great online and offline choices.  This article will focus on the leading specialty retailers — Babies”R”Us and Buy Buy Baby — but we can’t forget that they face off against mass merchandisers like Wal-Mart and Target as well as online-only retailers like Amazon.  And no discussion about kids’ products in America could be complete without mentioning Disney.  So … how are the baby experts reinventing the baby products shopping experience?

Babies”R”Us:  The Mainstream Mega-Store

Stores. Babies”R”Us is the nation’s leading retailer specializing in baby products, with their first store opened in 1996 and their website launched in June, 2000.  They aim to provide a unique value to shoppers by carrying a variety of popular name brands from Evenflo to Peg-Perego, plus store-brand, value-priced necessities like food and diapers and chain-exclusive offerings such as the new Truly Scrumptious by Heidi Klum line of “affordable luxuries for little ones”, including apparel and room decor.

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3 Strategic Questions Every Brand Manager Needs to Answer Before Beginning to Innovate

Published on 05.14.2012 in Dynamics of Innovation, The Power of Collaboration and The Tenets of Innovation. 0 Comments Tags: .

As a Brand manager, your traditional job has been preserving the equity of your brand and keeping your consumers happy. As companies look for new ways to grow their business and put more pressure on their Brand managers to innovate, you have to stretch, and sometimes redefine, your brands to contribute more to the company’s bottom line. Can innovation help you do that? Yes, it can. But, as with all tools, innovation will serve you best if you know what you are trying to achieve. That’s why, before you spend too much time and effort on innovation, make sure you know the answers to these three strategic questions:

1. How much innovation can you handle? Prior to diving into an innovation project, it’s important to clarify to your team, and to yourself, if you are looking for incremental or disruptive innovation solutions. If you are in the chocolate business, for example, an incremental innovation would be a new flavor (a chocolate bar filled with strawberry cream) or a new product form (chocolate sticks instead of chocolate bars). A disruptive innovation, on the other hand, would be a much more radical departure from your current product offering. In our chocolate business example, an actual disruptive innovation, which launched a few years ago, is Le Whif Chocolate – a breathable chocolate product that is meant to be inhaled, not eaten. Knowing how far along the innovation continuum you’re willing to take your brand will help you and your team focus better and produce more actionable ideas.

2. Are you going after a new or an established consumer? Before you begin brainstorming or any other innovation work, make sure you know whom the new product is meant for. Targeting your traditional consumer would be the default. Sometimes, however, you may decide it’s time to stretch your brand and go after a new consumer segment. One such example is Dove skin care, a brand known for celebrating women’s natural beauty, and which launched a skin care line for men in 2010. Don’t wait to see where the innovation project will take you – instead, let your choice of consumer segment determine the direction.

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Innovation for the Ages: The New Longevity Economy

Published on 05.14.2012 in Dynamics of Innovation, End-User Experience, Multi-Sensory and The Tenets of Innovation. 0 Comments Tags: , .

The Institute for the Ages was recently created to help market researchers and product developers seize the opportunities presented by an aging population.  It’s located in Sarasota County, Florida, where 32% of today’s residents are over age 65 — a level the rest of the developed world won’t reach until 2050.  These ahead-of-the-curve demographics coupled with a high level of community engagement make the county a natural testing ground for new products and services for the aging.  The Institute poses a provocative question:  Sarasota County and Institute for the Ages are 40 years ahead of the most important demographic trend of our time – how far ahead are you?

Before we look 40 years into the future, let’s look back 40 years to see what’s changed about the face of aging, to get some ideas for what new issues we might face 40 years from now.

Past. In the 1970s, Americans over age 65 enjoyed more financial security than ever before, thanks in large measure to the benefits of Social Security income and Medicare health insurance — often supplemented by employer-provided pension plans and health insurance — along with other support programs stemming from the 1965 Older Americans Act.  But physical disability was on the rise among older people, as there were few good treatment options for many of their serious medical issues.

Present. Thanks to improved pharmaceuticals, better diet and exercise practices, and other medical interventions, the rate of physical and mental disability among the elderly has generally been reduced — though the larger population of adults over 65 (due to increased longevity) means the absolute number of disabled individuals is still rising.  However, there is concern that rising obesity levels may create a new threat, as obesity increases the risk of disability from diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, and some forms of cancer.

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Beyond Physical: 7 Unique Expressions of Wellness Can Drive Innovation

Published on 05.14.2012 in Dynamics of Innovation, End-User Experience, Multi-Sensory and What's New. 0 Comments Tags: , .

How do you respond when asked, “Are you doing well?” Do you focus immediately on your physical health and say something like, “Oh, my blood pressure’s a little high, but otherwise the doc says I’m in good shape.”  Physical health is certainly a primary aspect of wellness, but the concept of wellness is increasingly understood to now include seven aspects:  physical, intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social, financial/occupational, and environmental.  As consumers come to understand this broader definition, new opportunities emerge for brands to incorporate additional aspects of wellness into their value proposition.

Whether you need to enhance the value proposition of an existing product or market a brand new one, try exploring the range of wellness expressions for new ideas.  Consider these examples of brands that have successfully and profitably made a connection with a particular aspect of wellness, either as the core brand promise or as a secondary mission.

Physical wellness is more than the absence of disease or disability; it encompasses personal responsibility for all choices that affect your bodily health, from wearing a seatbelt in cars to exercising and eating a healthy diet to appropriate use of the health care system.  Many food brands include physical wellness as part of their value proposition by promising to help us maintain the health of our heart, digestive system, weight, and so on.  In a more unusual example, Goodnighties sleepwear is made from fabric treated with negatively charged ions and promises to neutralize body stress and promote better sleep.

Intellectual wellness requires lifelong learning, creativity, and problem solving. As our population ages, finding ways to maintain our mental acuity is a growing concern.  Activities from video games to weight training are being touted as beneficial for intellectual wellness. Dietary supplements like Focus Factor and Procera AVH have successfully tapped into our desire for intellectual wellness by promising to help you concentrate longer and focus better.

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How Brandwashed Are You?

Published on 04.15.2012 in Dynamics of Innovation, End-User Experience, Multi-Sensory and What's New. 1 Comment Tags: , .

Actionable marketing tips from neuromarketing expert Martin Lindstrom’s new book, Brandwashed.

Brandwashed purports to reveal the ways in which marketers manipulate consumers into buying more.  But it also gives us several good ideas for upping the effectiveness of our own marketing communications.  Based on Lindstrom’s extensive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and observational research on how our brains respond to various images and messages, this book recommends several powerful ways to tap consumer demand, including appeals to fear, love, nostalgia, and peer approval.

How does it work?  When these emotions are triggered, our brains release “feel good” chemicals.  When we encounter these emotional triggers in combination with a branded product, our brains form a positive association:  get brand, get good feeling.  We want more of that good feeling, so we desire more of that brand.  And since the human brain is the result of millions of years of evolution, it reacts pretty consistently to these triggers, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or other individual characteristics – so a great campaign idea can be effectively extended to multiple target audiences.

Fear. Whether it’s fear of death, disease, poverty, or social isolation, fear is a powerful motivator.  Further, by uniting us against a common enemy, fear brings us together.  We actually enjoy spreading news about possible dangers.  Just think about how often we talk about infectious diseases and germophobia.  Examples of brands that have effectively connected to the fear trigger to drive sales:  Allstate’s Mayhem campaign and Lysol disinfectant’s campaign against the flu virus.   Is there some deep-seated fear that your brand can assuage?

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How to Get The Most Out of Your Innovation Consultants

Published on 04.15.2012 in Dynamics of Innovation, The Power of Collaboration and The Tenets of Innovation. 1 Comment Tags: .

As the need for breakthrough thinking becomes increasingly critical within organizations, more management teams are turning to consultants for help and guidance in their innovation efforts. Merely hiring consultants, however, is not enough to yield high-potential innovation ideas. Successfully managing the relationship between your internal team and your consultants will ensure that you take full advantage of your consultants’ expertise and arrive at the right innovation solution for your organization. In this post, we discuss four essential steps to getting the most out of your innovation consultants.

  1. Define the Parameters. Are you looking for an incremental or a disruptive solution? Where are you aiming to take your brand? The clearer you are about what you want to get out of the partnership with your consultants, the better chance you have to receive it. It’s not a good idea to expect your consultants to outline your priorities for you. Regardless of how many parties you involve in the innovation process, you remain in charge of the project, and need to set the direction. With this big responsibility also comes ultimate veto power – if at any point of the project you feel that you and your consultants are not absolutely aligned, it’s essential to voice your concerns, and to work together to regain the necessary equilibrium.
  2. Don’t Hold Back. Some managers, when working with innovation consultants, feel that they should hold back their own ideas so that they don’t overly influence the consultants. But to withhold existing ideas is to refuse to give the consulting team a fast start. Because you live and breathe your business, the chances are that your ideas include the seeds of the winning solution. That’s why the consultants’ ideas will be much stronger if they are built upon the ideas your team already has.  Sharing your ideas is also helpful when your team has already started working in a certain direction but needs a little help from the outside to take the project the whole way. While more ideas are always better for the innovation, it’s also critical to recognize that ultimately getting to intriguing ideas is often the easiest part of the process. Moving ideas into successful optimization and commercialization is the true challenge. Continue reading ‘How to Get The Most Out of Your Innovation Consultants’

4 Myths About Innovation

Published on 04.15.2012 in Dynamics of Innovation, The Power of Collaboration and The Tenets of Innovation. 0 Comments Tags: .

As innovation has evolved in recent years  from a “nice to have” – that a few elite organizations such as Apple and Google have truly championed – to an essential organizational imperative for all companies, certain misconceptions about the discipline have emerged. As with any myth, the misconceptions associated with innovation are often based on fear, confusion and, in many cases, some kernel of truth. Let’s have a quick look at some the common fallacies that we’ve encountered of late.

Myth: Innovation is purely spontaneous, unpredictable and difficult to manage.

Fact: Some people tend to think of innovation as a bunch of ideas that occurred to a few creative individuals when inspiration hit. In its essence, this image is not too far from the truth. Except that, in the world of business, an organization can prescribe what problem the ideas should address, which individuals are on the innovation team and by what date inspiration should have hit. In business, companies can, and should, put a framework around innovation in order to get things done. Adding structure to the otherwise abstract art of innovation is what helps ideas materialize. Company managers should realize that and stop thinking of innovation as an elusive and mysterious process which is outside of their control.

Myth: Innovation is important only for long-term projects.

Fact: Yes, innovation can involve new technologies and groundbreaking products that require time. But innovation can also be as casual as thinking about a problem in a different way or finding a practical solution to an everyday challenge. A quick way to infuse innovation into an organization is to encourage employees to think critically about the job they do every day and to look for easy, practical ways to shave off time and money from current processes. Innovation, done this way, can impact not only an organization’s future but the way business is done today.

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5 Massive Barriers to Innovation

Published on 02.22.2012 in Dynamics of Innovation, The Power of Collaboration and The Tenets of Innovation. 0 Comments

If you are an Innovation manager, you will testify that, contrary to popular belief, you don’t spend most of your day brainstorming, doodling and browsing websites in search of inspiration. Instead, you are advocating new ideas to your skeptical managers, you are recruiting your elusive colleagues for in-house brainstorming sessions and you are fighting for more resources. Why is it that, despite the fact that everyone admits the importance of Innovation, your job still feels like an uphill battle? Below, we have listed five of the main barriers to Innovation in most companies. See if you recognize any of them.

  1. Fear. It’s human nature to fear what we do not understand. Although many managers proclaim that Innovation is vital to their company’s success, when the time comes to truly embrace Innovation, these same managers hold back. There are many Innovation-related questions they can’t seem to answer. What exactly is defined as Innovation? Who do you hire to “do” your Innovation? How do you evaluate the employees working on Innovation? How do you measure success? Indeed, Innovation is not as straightforward as the core business and its impact can’t always be measured in hard numbers. Still, there are management methods to ensure that Innovation serves the practical needs of the business, while preserving its creative and spontaneous nature.
  2. Short-term focus. Most businesses are in a constant race against time. There is so much to do that is due tomorrow that dedicating time to Innovation, which will “pay off” in a year or two years, seems like a luxury. Yes, your Innovation efforts can be dedicated to a big, far-away-in-the-future product launch but Innovation can also serve your immediate business needs. It’s totally up to you. Innovation is not just a process, it is a way of thinking and can be infused into everything – that’s the beauty of it.
  3. The intimidating “creativity factor”. Although they won’t admit it, many people, including your managers and your colleagues, believe that they are not very creative. This is why, every time your managers encounter a creative challenge, they outsource is to their agency partners. This is also why, when you ask a peer to attend an ideation session, they try to squirm out of it. However, whether they realize it or not, and regardless of function or tenure, all employees have a lot to contribute to their company’s Innovation efforts. Continue reading ’5 Massive Barriers to Innovation’

Speed Up the Purchase Decision Process with QR (Quick Response) Codes and Microsoft Tags

Published on 02.22.2012 in Dynamics of Innovation, End-User Experience and Multi-Sensory. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

According to a study by Forrester Research, 5% of U.S. adults scanned a bar code with their smartphone in 2011, up from 1% in 2010.  In other words, QR codes are on track to reach a critical mass of usage over the next year, making them a truly viable marketing medium.

The advantage of these scannable codes is speed:  instead of reading and typing in a long web address, you just open the code-reader app on your smartphone, hold your phone over the code as if taking a picture.  The app reads the code (which is just a link to a specific web page) and instantly displays that web page on your screen.   Now that we understand how the technology works, let’s take a look at some of ways you can employ QR codes to move consumers through the purchase decision process.

Assist consumers with information gathering, to move them more quickly from awareness to interest – A magazine ad or point-of-purchase sign can generate awareness of the new product, while a QR code can then link an interested consumer to a video that provides more information – for example, a demo on how to use the product, a scientific expert’s view of the product, or user testimonials.  This is an efficient way to educate consumers about highly innovative or technical products.  Here are three great examples that are likely to speed up the buyer decision process significantly.

EXAMPLE 1:  A print ad for Columbia’s new Omni-Heat Electric jackets shows us a fashionable jacket being worn by a skier, which linked to a video showing how you operate the jacket’s heating system.

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4 Innovation Lessons We Can Learn From Entrepreneurs

Published on 02.22.2012 in Dynamics of Innovation, The Power of Collaboration and The Tenets of Innovation. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

It is safe to say that the business community has a soft spot for entrepreneurship. Large companies declare that they strive to be entrepreneurial. Startups vow not to lose their entrepreneurial spirit no matter how much they grow. Recruiters court candidates with an entrepreneurial mindset. What makes entrepreneurship so special? Quite a few things, actually.

Every successful new venture is a triumph of an idea or a series of ideas. It is a celebration of the desire to make life better, easier or more interesting. It is made of fresh perspectives, clever solutions, drive and determination. Entrepreneurs are the ultimate innovators. They play with ideas, create value and drive the business forward. Let’s take a closer look at what entrepreneurs do differently and how it can be applied to the world of corporate innovation:

1. Entrepreneurs see clues everywhere. Entrepreneurs look at reality differently. Hungry for fresh ideas, they see opportunities even in the most mundane daily activities. A city dweller’s occasional need for a car led to the car-sharing concept of Zipcar, and the hassle of lugging groceries after a busy day inspired Peapod. An innovator’s mind functions in much the same way. Often, the most ordinary things can spark an idea. If you and your company are on the hunt for a big idea, perhaps you don’t have to look too far. Instead, look at things from a new, fresh perspective. Ask questions more often. Observe closely. Can a shopping cart better accommodate a baby car seat? Is there a way to instantly track your lost luggage? (Or whatever question applies to your industry.) Once you find your idea, run with it.

2. Entrepreneurs don’t fall in love with an idea too soon. Few ideas remain unchanged in the development process. Usually, as product prototypes are created and the first consumers share their reactions, the original idea goes through many iterations. Entrepreneurs know this process all too intimately. In his book, “The Lean Startup,” the Silicon Valley entrepreneur Eric Ries talks about the process of modifying an idea through many course corrections, or “pivots,” to end up with a final successful offering. Innovators, especially those operating in a large organization, should take notice. Having room to pivot is crucial to the success of an idea, so it’s important not to get hung up on the idea’s original version but to allow it to evolve naturally.

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