Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite holidays. It conjures up many memories and traditions. From family gatherings, to cooking in the kitchen for many hours, to the smells that fill the house, to the anticipation of the big feast – these are the associations I have with Thanksgiving.
But the world is changing. As such, even my traditional associations with Thanksgiving seem quite in contrast to consumer trends in the food industry. Today it is all about convenience. Meals are rarely cooked from scratch anymore – they are fast and on the go.
Today brands promote terms such as ready-made, self-heating, single-serve, in the car, 90-second, etc. All of this caters to the needs of consumers for fast and convenient meals. Who has time to cook from scratch? Today we are becoming a society of on the go chefs where a microwave or a self-heating can is our best friend.
So how does the traditional home cooked Thanksgiving meal fit into this new world of super fast convenient meals? More importantly, as consumers move further away from cooking from scratch, can the slow-cooked Thanksgiving meal survive or will it go the way of the floppy disk? Will the Thanksgiving dinner evolve into some on the go version that is whipped up in less than 15 minutes without ever turning on the oven?
Maybe.
So for this new legion of on the go chefs I have created a recipe for a full traditional Turkey feast: turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie – in the fastest cooking time and with minimal use of kitchen appliances or tools.
It all starts with the turkey. But who needs to prepare that big bird when you can pick up Butterball Oven Roasted Turkey Strips which are sure to taste fresh since they are delivered in a resealable freshness container (perfect for all those leftovers) which is also dishwasher safe.
Cooking time - 0 minutes.
Next come the sweet potatoes. A can of private label sweet potatoes will do just fine. Just dump them in a bowl and put in the microwave for 2 minutes. Unfortunately you will need a can opener, as this pack does not have a pull lid. Oh well.
Cooking time - 2 minutes.
Next comes the stuffing courtesy of Kraft and Stove Top stuffing. It always tastes great, but will take 5 minutes to cook. Can’t they make this cook faster?! And you will have to turn on the stove (it’s that big thing below the microwave) and boil water in a saucepan. I know, this is getting complicated! Okay stay calm…it is Thanksgiving.
Cooking time - 5 minutes.
Corn and gravy are next. These should be easy, thankfully, and will permit some time to recover from all the work spent on the stuffing. For corn, I’ve chosen Green Giant Just for One. It comes in microwavable trays and cooks in 2 minutes. No can opener needed – perfect! For gravy it’s a can of Heinz Turkey Gravy that comes with a pull open lid. Just dump into a bowl. Next put both the corn and the gravy in a microwave and cook at the same time. Talk about multi-tasking!
Cooking time - 2 minutes.
Cranberry sauce is one of my favorites. In the old days I either made it from scratch or bought the jelly in a can. But it was so difficult to get the contents to slide out of the can in one piece. Instead I recommend Ocean Spray Squeezable Cranberry Sauce. Just put it on the table and you are set.
Cooking time - 0 minutes.
Finally it’s down to dessert. Baking requires too much time so instead my recipe calls for a ready made pumpkin pie from you local market. Just put it on the table and cut. I’m hopeful that by next year they will sell it pre-sliced so you have one less thing to deal with.
Cooking time - 0 minutes.
So there you have it. An on the go full Thanksgiving feast cooked in less than 10 minutes. Who needs to spend all that time in the kitchen? Due to new technology and innovation in the food industry, it doesn’t have to be you. Now that is something to be thankful for!
And for those who want it fast and convenient, this one is not Brand NonSense…it actually makes a lot of Sense!
But for those traditionalists, it’s really…Brand NonSense.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
The Innovation Journey
With the holiday season right around the corner, I’m sure many of you are planning trips, maybe even driving trips. As with any journey it is always a good plan to get directions and know where you are going before you start. This ensures you of knowing the fastest route and revealing where the roadblocks may be.
The innovation journey, much like a holiday excursion, also requires an understanding of where you want to go, the roadblocks you may hit and how long it could take. So before you get in the car and start your engine, here are some things to consider on the Innovation journey.
First, innovation must be fully aligned with your marketing strategies and objectives. Sounds obvious, right? But many marketers today undertake product innovation simply because they think change will provide an added benefit. This is not always a good thing, nor is it always greeted at the shelf with applause. Marketers oftentimes fail to properly align innovation with actual consumer needs, and this forces their strategy right off the road and into a ditch.
Innovation in product development and packaging design must be fully integrated; not separate. If not, your innovation strategy, like your brand planning, will never get out of the “garage.” More than anything, if you focus on being connected with the emerging needs and desires of consumers, your marketing strategy will unlock the clues on how innovation will lead to your product standing out on the shelf.
Another important element is understanding how consumers shop your category. How many of you have ever watched or observed consumers at point of purchase? (And no, reading research on how consumers shop doesn’t count). You have to see how they move and interact at the point of purchase. You have to know the environment your products occupy and realize what other forces are around it. Is it cluttered, poorly lit, noisy, cramped, or crowded? You must use these insights to challenge the norms to achieve distinction.
That’s real innovation.
Anything else is just some low-fat or reduced carb version of innovation. So understanding what I call “The Moment of Intimacy”, that brief two-second moment where consumers choose between brands and make a purchase decision at the shelf, is not only critical, it is key to staying competitively alive.
Innovation must keep the consumer’s needs in mind. And innovation must benefit your consumer by making a direct impact on their purchasing behavior. So remember, when planning any innovation “trip”, have a roadmap before you start, and carefully consider how it makes sense to your consumers. Otherwise you will never get out of your driveway.
And that makes no Brand Sense; it’s really…Brand NonSense.
The innovation journey, much like a holiday excursion, also requires an understanding of where you want to go, the roadblocks you may hit and how long it could take. So before you get in the car and start your engine, here are some things to consider on the Innovation journey.
First, innovation must be fully aligned with your marketing strategies and objectives. Sounds obvious, right? But many marketers today undertake product innovation simply because they think change will provide an added benefit. This is not always a good thing, nor is it always greeted at the shelf with applause. Marketers oftentimes fail to properly align innovation with actual consumer needs, and this forces their strategy right off the road and into a ditch.
Innovation in product development and packaging design must be fully integrated; not separate. If not, your innovation strategy, like your brand planning, will never get out of the “garage.” More than anything, if you focus on being connected with the emerging needs and desires of consumers, your marketing strategy will unlock the clues on how innovation will lead to your product standing out on the shelf.
Another important element is understanding how consumers shop your category. How many of you have ever watched or observed consumers at point of purchase? (And no, reading research on how consumers shop doesn’t count). You have to see how they move and interact at the point of purchase. You have to know the environment your products occupy and realize what other forces are around it. Is it cluttered, poorly lit, noisy, cramped, or crowded? You must use these insights to challenge the norms to achieve distinction.
That’s real innovation.
Anything else is just some low-fat or reduced carb version of innovation. So understanding what I call “The Moment of Intimacy”, that brief two-second moment where consumers choose between brands and make a purchase decision at the shelf, is not only critical, it is key to staying competitively alive.
Innovation must keep the consumer’s needs in mind. And innovation must benefit your consumer by making a direct impact on their purchasing behavior. So remember, when planning any innovation “trip”, have a roadmap before you start, and carefully consider how it makes sense to your consumers. Otherwise you will never get out of your driveway.
And that makes no Brand Sense; it’s really…Brand NonSense.
Monday, November 12, 2007
9 Out of 10
In his book “Why Companies Do Dumb Things,” Calvin Hodock the former Chairman of the Board of the American Marketing Association, states that over the last 60 years 9 out of 10 new products launches have failed. In the food category alone, he estimates the cost of these failures to be nearly $30 billion. Oh and by the way, who do you think has paid for these failures – the consumer.
Why, you may ask, are these failure numbers so high? As someone who has led innovation initiatives for one of the world’s largest companies and who has served as a consultant to others, I have my point of view.
First, no one really teaches marketers how to develop product innovation. Sure there are some business school courses that exist, but they have the same basic flaw. The focus is always on best practices. In my view, it should be worst practices.
Why you ask?
I believe most innovation fails because marketers continue to make the same mistakes over and over. Maybe marketers would be well served to look and learn from this history of failure. After all, those who forget their history - tend to repeat it.
Failure can be a rich instructional tool. Many of the best professional (and personal) lessons I have learned are directly linked to an initial failure. But most marketers are loath to talk to their professional failures and are more inclined to adopt what I call the No-Bad News Policy.
Why you ask?
Marketing groups within large global CPG companies tend to serve as a “Marketing Kindergarten” – a training or proving ground for inexperienced marketers. Here the goal is to see how quickly you can vault to your next role versus spending the required time and rigor to develop a true case for product innovation. As such, the focus is on quickly developing innovation strategies that will be perceived as meaningful and then moving upward to the next assignment before implementation and imminent failure can set in. This becomes a true recipe for failure.
The recipe usually begins with fuzzy front end strategic development that has been formulated through an unclear discovery period. Secondly, you blend in a lack of respect / full understanding for marketing research. Next you let the calendar drive your launch date by setting a timeline that is unrealistic. Of course you must stir in a sales forecast that meets or exceeds expectations, but likely fails to understand trail versus adoption. Finally this get baked into a glitzy innovation presentation intended to sell the virtue of the initiative to senior management, but is delusional in thinking competitors will do nothing in reaction (untrue especially with testosterone brands).
What’s missing? Well intuition based on some experience for one. And also creativity. Plus getting into the minds of the consumers and really understanding how they shop the category – and what really drives preference.
Why you ask?
Let’s take a look at History 101.
In 1983, Procter & Gamble launched Citrus Hill orange juice nationally and positioned it as the sweetest and best tasting juice in the market. In test markets in Indiana and Iowa during the previous year, Citrus Hill had reportedly grabbed a respectable 14% to 17% market share. P & G supported the Citrus Hill entry into this $3 billion category with a $100 million media blitz.
P & G does everything in a big way. When they enter a category, competitors view the marketing assault as a massive invasion. Said a Tropicana spokesman at the time, “We intend to aggressively defend every area where we’re doing business.” So what happened? Citrus Hill failed and was out of the market 10 years later.
Why you ask?
P & G failed to understand the category. Orange juice was and still is a price promotion category. It’s not necessarily about taste. Consumers purchase based on buying 2 for $5.00 and generally are not willing to pay more for a brand because of taste. Besides, the perception is they all taste about the same. Citrus Hill’s mistakes included marketing misjudgments and positioning issues. Being positioned as a better tasting juice was insignificant to consumers. The product and the benefit were out of sync.
Additionally P & G underestimated the competition which fought back by sticking to traditional price promotion strategies that where more relevant to shoppers.
The failure rate for new products is staggering. Let’s face it; Corporate America does not do innovation well. They talk about it. It’s something they all want. And they think anyone can develop new products.
Cost of innovation is a barrier. Most CEOs look to generate short term results to create shareholder value. Rarely can innovation be implemented at the same cost as the status quo. My challenge in leading a corporate innovation team was justifying the cost to bring something new to market and showing how it would generate increased revenue through the sale of more units.
So how do you improve the product innovation process? I see the need for innovation advisory committees made up of internal and external constituents (including consumers) that act as consultants – making recommendations, not decisions – to steer corporate marketing teams. These committees would look at best and worst practices and provide the foresight to understand markets and consumers before moving forward. But most importantly, they would be focused on embedding the business of product innovation within an industry that has a history of failure – 9 out of 10 that is.
Innovation is too important a contributor to economic growth for us not to do well. It is the engine of business growth. The real danger is that the engine will keep stalling unless we get innovation right.
What Corporate America has done with innovation makes no Brand Sense; it's really...Brand NonSense.
Why, you may ask, are these failure numbers so high? As someone who has led innovation initiatives for one of the world’s largest companies and who has served as a consultant to others, I have my point of view.
First, no one really teaches marketers how to develop product innovation. Sure there are some business school courses that exist, but they have the same basic flaw. The focus is always on best practices. In my view, it should be worst practices.
Why you ask?
I believe most innovation fails because marketers continue to make the same mistakes over and over. Maybe marketers would be well served to look and learn from this history of failure. After all, those who forget their history - tend to repeat it.
Failure can be a rich instructional tool. Many of the best professional (and personal) lessons I have learned are directly linked to an initial failure. But most marketers are loath to talk to their professional failures and are more inclined to adopt what I call the No-Bad News Policy.
Why you ask?
Marketing groups within large global CPG companies tend to serve as a “Marketing Kindergarten” – a training or proving ground for inexperienced marketers. Here the goal is to see how quickly you can vault to your next role versus spending the required time and rigor to develop a true case for product innovation. As such, the focus is on quickly developing innovation strategies that will be perceived as meaningful and then moving upward to the next assignment before implementation and imminent failure can set in. This becomes a true recipe for failure.
The recipe usually begins with fuzzy front end strategic development that has been formulated through an unclear discovery period. Secondly, you blend in a lack of respect / full understanding for marketing research. Next you let the calendar drive your launch date by setting a timeline that is unrealistic. Of course you must stir in a sales forecast that meets or exceeds expectations, but likely fails to understand trail versus adoption. Finally this get baked into a glitzy innovation presentation intended to sell the virtue of the initiative to senior management, but is delusional in thinking competitors will do nothing in reaction (untrue especially with testosterone brands).
What’s missing? Well intuition based on some experience for one. And also creativity. Plus getting into the minds of the consumers and really understanding how they shop the category – and what really drives preference.
Why you ask?
Let’s take a look at History 101.
In 1983, Procter & Gamble launched Citrus Hill orange juice nationally and positioned it as the sweetest and best tasting juice in the market. In test markets in Indiana and Iowa during the previous year, Citrus Hill had reportedly grabbed a respectable 14% to 17% market share. P & G supported the Citrus Hill entry into this $3 billion category with a $100 million media blitz.
P & G does everything in a big way. When they enter a category, competitors view the marketing assault as a massive invasion. Said a Tropicana spokesman at the time, “We intend to aggressively defend every area where we’re doing business.” So what happened? Citrus Hill failed and was out of the market 10 years later.
Why you ask?
P & G failed to understand the category. Orange juice was and still is a price promotion category. It’s not necessarily about taste. Consumers purchase based on buying 2 for $5.00 and generally are not willing to pay more for a brand because of taste. Besides, the perception is they all taste about the same. Citrus Hill’s mistakes included marketing misjudgments and positioning issues. Being positioned as a better tasting juice was insignificant to consumers. The product and the benefit were out of sync.
Additionally P & G underestimated the competition which fought back by sticking to traditional price promotion strategies that where more relevant to shoppers.
The failure rate for new products is staggering. Let’s face it; Corporate America does not do innovation well. They talk about it. It’s something they all want. And they think anyone can develop new products.
Cost of innovation is a barrier. Most CEOs look to generate short term results to create shareholder value. Rarely can innovation be implemented at the same cost as the status quo. My challenge in leading a corporate innovation team was justifying the cost to bring something new to market and showing how it would generate increased revenue through the sale of more units.
So how do you improve the product innovation process? I see the need for innovation advisory committees made up of internal and external constituents (including consumers) that act as consultants – making recommendations, not decisions – to steer corporate marketing teams. These committees would look at best and worst practices and provide the foresight to understand markets and consumers before moving forward. But most importantly, they would be focused on embedding the business of product innovation within an industry that has a history of failure – 9 out of 10 that is.
Innovation is too important a contributor to economic growth for us not to do well. It is the engine of business growth. The real danger is that the engine will keep stalling unless we get innovation right.
What Corporate America has done with innovation makes no Brand Sense; it's really...Brand NonSense.
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