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.