Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The nature of True Innovation for a brand

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/taco-bell-introduces-doritos-taco-shell-article-1.1035078?localLinksEnabled=false

As Taco Bell is launching its Doritos Taco shell, I was reflecting on how the importance of true Innovation is essential to the equity & sustainability of a brand. They are a few notable dimensions to Innovation that this initiative is bringing to life:

Ø  Dimension 1: it makes perfect sense for the brands involved: it’s a perfect alliance in terms of product but also in terms of brand psyche: by touching on the Taco shell, a founding block of Mexican food, and transforming its blend, basic function into being part of the taste of a menu, it actually renews the core of the value proposition around taste & experience: it’s much more than packaging, it’s much more than Image; it puts the innovation in the heart of the Taco Bell around taste, indulgence beyond the fundamental of value for price or other commodity features that are hygiene factors  but not so differentiating ; it also brings the Doritos snack into a wider food experience, it gives it a more versatile dimension than chips with a beer.
Ø  Dimension 2: it makes perfect sense as a call to action: while it focuses on a product centered value proposition, it actually boils down to a strong “come try it” proposition and stands to generate traffic to the point of sale…and this is exactly what ANY innovation should trigger: it’s the sampling, the real life experience , as Apple so neatly did it with the “come play freely with the device” experience in the Apple store...Any Innovation that doesn’t carry that is a failure and this goes as much for consumers as for the company’s staff for it should galvanize goodwill around a new, clearly outlined & exciting narrative
Ø  Dimension 3: it makes sense from a supply chain /corporate synergy perspective: the brands who used to be both part of the same Pepsico company -before Pepsi spun Taco Bell to Yum brands- shared a natural common ground industry, marketing & product innovation culture: re-igniting this kind of mutually natural & profitable synergy is what breeds a Customer centric culture of Innovation beyond vertically integrated frameworks…

Now, from this rich example, I was reflecting on REAL Innovation: either groundbreaking product Innovation (Revolutions ?) such as the Ipad, the Google search engine or Tivo...or new marketing concepts such as Starbucks coffee, Dyson vacuum cleaners, at-home teeth whitening strips or Activia yogurts… Innovation these days has been so diluted by marketers, from the latest moisturizing lipstick or anti aging cream”Innovation” that’s been on the market for years to the “new” Tide that’s only as new as the primary color of the box.Even if it doesn’t mean that sometimes the genius of marketing Innovation can’t reside mostly in the go-to- market originality: that’s what Old Spice's “the man your man could smell like”, the  Jay-Z ‘s “Decoded” book launch or Burger King’s subservient chicken campaigns did so well…

Real Innovation  requires 3 essential ingredients :Talent , Cult (ure?)  of Innovation ,  Disruption.
First, they are the creative, idea-driven and entrepreneurial profiles that you need to have (find) to achieve true Innovation: a Johnatan Ive (Apple) , a Facebook team of students, a poised Martha Stewart, a media darling Tom Ford (Gucci) or a celebrity pet Armani , an unapologetic Jack Welsh or ubiquitous Philippe Stark....Of course, you have to recognize their next generation version in your everyday staff : there are others out there as these where when they were still undisicovered  !
Then, there’s the ecosystem that you create for these talents to be nurtured & drive the corporate (not only R&D) agenda: that’s where the genius of Steve Jobs came into play when as a CEO , he became the demanding, relentless dynamo of Innovation. This eco system doesn’t have to be confortable nor all lovey dovey, it’s not about the number of tennis courts or juice bars available on the HQ campus: it is about the focus on business value & results, customer centric attractiveness, profitability, constant self-improvement, non compromising excellence delivery in execution…
And then , there is the questioning (deconstructing ?) of the way you approach your usual business model every day: questioning the status quo from a market standpoint rather than the traditional paths in which things have been done or seen: in marketing, that chiefly means starting from a needs-based, consumer centric market research and segmentation, a wide ranging Customer Lifetime Value , cross-selling , beyond -category strategic planning..; it is unfortunate that it is also where many CEOs task their headhunter with finding the guy from competition who has marketed the same exact business model for years and is already formatted into it…a problem starting with the right culture profile of leasdership  & talent !

Lastly, Innovation is all about the magic “tour de main” or alchemy in which you prepare & combine these ingredients Keeping in mind like good chefs do, that as food is more about social & sensorial experience than just filling stomachs, Innovation is not an end in itself, it is the best way for a business to connect with its consumers , to stay RELEVANT: and relevance IS here the KEY objective for a CEO or CMO to keep top of mind throughout strategy AND project execution rather than Go-to-Market processes.
Then the good side effects of Innovation as a means is that it also naturally feeds many essential business assets such as brand brand equity, customer awareness & preference, transformational attitude and attracts the best talents in the industry…
I have learned  while working across a wide range of companies of different sizes & industries, that INNOVATION is a quality derived from a spirit, a CULTURE: setting that culture, infusing it through all employees, customer facing, sales people, I.T., design, manufacturing, control teams etc.., is what allows a company to grow innovation: that’s what Steve Jobs in his own autocratic/rough yet effective style was so good at; that’s what Jack Welch unapologetically accomplished for GE in the 90’s , Sir Branson infused so well into his ever stretching Virgin brand portfolio or what Samsung is now doing in their own Korean way. Nothing, none of the best brightest minds without that spirit, encouraged & organized INNOVATION culture can bring innovation into corporate life & success.Innovation is NOT a POPULARITY contest.

So ask yourself as a manager, employee or CEO not what you can do for Innovation not what innovation can do for you…Start contributing to nurturing , safeguarding the mind set together with the best people around the ideation of Innovation and then it’s tedious but necessary transformation process from nurturing curiosity & questioning to capturing suggestions and experimental  project or prototype task force…and don’t leave it only to R&D but have it championed by a business oriented officer who can has clout in the C-Suite…And that person should be the CMO –other name for Champion Innovation Officer J

1 comment:

  1. ...and a few months later, this Innovation is proves actually a complete COMMERCIAL hit...as foreseen: true INNOVATION pays OFF !

    http://foodservice.csnews.com/top-story-taco_bell_s_doritos_locos_tacos_breaks_sales_record-1218.html

    ReplyDelete