Target: New Merchandising Innovation
How to add value in a commodity category? That’s a challenge that we were presented by Target and one of their key suppliers…to help consumers trade up to higher priced and margin products. Working in the papergoods category—napkins, towels, tissues—Cloverleaf’s team of designers, marketers and retail experts created alternative ways to re-merchandise the “Value Valley” of paper goods. Using in-store ethnography while benchmarking other fringe categories, we garnered un-met consumer needs and opportunities. Our team presented evolutionary to revolutionary approaches to drive sales in a flat growth category. Let us share how Tasrget wiped up the competition.
Implementation
While successful innovation necessarily must begin with exciting and new thinking, the greater challenge is often moving those ideas into the marketplace. Cloverleaf is dedicated to delivering actionable solutions, not merely a thick deck of theoretical ideas. Through various implementation services, our team can successfully bring strategies to successful commericalization.
- Naming more
Naming is a critical component of new brand/product/service innovation and very much part of the Cloverleaf vernacular. Our team of namers, linguists and copywriters work collaboratively throughout the innovation process to develop unique and ownable names that fit up to program objectives, ultimately providing a broad strategic range of viable and relevant nomenclature candidates. Each naming candidate is presented with a complete rationale and detailed documentation against each candidate to assure that the recommended names are free of negative associations and have passed a preliminary trademark search. Our unique Name Optimization Laboratory combines deep qualitative feedback from highly creative consumers with iterative naming development and refinements from our team. This is a solid way to gauge consumers’ initial impressions of the names before rolling out as part of the launch program. Have you considered branding your new idea to add dimension and excitement? Are you interested in a highly strategic and creative approach to naming your products? Are you concerned about how your new product name will fit within your existing portfolio of products?
- Product Design more
Translating trends and unmet consumer needs into innovative and successful products is at the core of the Cloverleaf innovation process. Our collaborative process brings together our researchers, trend experts, product designers, industrial designers and mechanical engineers who work with you and your team to ideate, sketch, and re-imagine forms, functions and human factors for innovative product opportunities. From sketches and materials specifications to CAD and product prototyping, our team integrates with your team and production process to assure seamless transitions. Our designers are working next to your designers. Engineers are speaking to engineers. Connections are made throughout the supply chain and challenges are addressed upfront ensuring effective commercialization from insight to delivery. Are you looking for breakthrough products that won’t break the bank? Interested in seeing how a collaborative approach to product development will enhance your chance for success? Want to save time from product concept to commercialization?
- Packaging Design/Prototyping/Sourcing more
Many of our clients want us to carry through the concepts, ideas and strategies that are developed in the innovation process into actionable deliverables. In many cases, these deliverables are in the form of packaging – whether primary or secondary, graphic or structural, we can deliver a packaging program from innovation through to commercialization. We have a rich history in packaging and can work collaboratively with your design team, an outside packaging firm or help manage the entire packaging program on a turnkey basis. Our packaging designers work to translate ideas into solutions that work effectively at the point-of-sale. Our global network of suppliers can source or help you produce highly specialized packaging considerations regardless of your needs.
- Merchandising more
Not only do we concept breakthrough temporary, semi-permanent or permanent displays and retail environments to help our clients become more innovative, we have the ability to design these retail components with great precision. Retail experts, industrial designers and graphic designers team up to identify structures, materials and hardware that work effectively – and cost effectively – in the challenging retail climate. We also have a global network of suppliers that can help you produce one, one hundred or thousands of the units depending on your needs or the needs of the retailer, dealer or showroom.
- Launch Strategies more
Developing brand and product launch strategies is part of the Cloverleaf deliverable. Our team not only develops the actionable ideas and approaches but also refines the solutions and integrates them into a unified launch plan. Clearly articulated strategies with well-defined tactics are detailed as part of our deliverables. Research data, insights are included as well as providing business justification. The launch strategies are translated to effectively communicate throughout the entire supply chain. How you speak to the C-suite is different than you talk to retailers, distributors, specialty dealers…or your sales team or operations. Each of these audiences is critical to the success of your new innovation. Each needs to embrace the idea and understand so having a launch strategy that resonates with them is key. Our team is present and engaged to co-present with you to ensure the strategies are embraced.