New Solutions

Halloween Shocker

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0000

A recent survey of Fortune 500 and Global 500 businesses revealed that 66 percent of senior executives believe Innovation is a top-three strategic priority.That means a scary 34% of senior executives just don’t get it. They are frightened off by the thought that “innovation” is people working together to develop and implement new, irresistible ideas that create value. They are terrified of their own people expressing their maximum creative potential.

That’s a real horror!

Why disrupt?

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:34:00 +0000

By definition it's almost impossible for a team to keep generating fresh new perspectives to existing innovation challenges and opportunities. Over time, the team starts to think alike and embed certain ‘sacred cows’ or assumptions in everything they do. Every innovation team at some stage needs to break out again to avoid bashing into the greatest barrier to innovation – too much existing knowledge.

The next billion customers

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:55:00 +0000

If there is one company that leads the way in Open Innovation and co-creation it is P&G. It’s former CEO calls himself the Chief Innovation Officer, inspires its employees, sits in innovation reviews and even wrote a book about it. P&G tells people that many products have been ‘proudly developed elsewhere’ and sets its target to 50% for innovations coming from outside the P&G business units. Connect & Develop is their program and it has been running since 2002.

In future, as P&G creates products and services for the next one billion consumers, the targets get tougher to achieve and processes that have worked up until now will have to be reviewed afresh.

The 'BOGOF' of Strategic Innovation

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:31:00 +0000

Doing great Strategic Innovation work in businesses can give significant organisational benefits too

Everyone loves a Buy One Get One Free. And with too little budget chasing too many worthy initiatives, this may be worth checking out.

Having invoked the language of sales promotion, forgive us if this now sounds like one of those spiels from an extended advertorial typical of the TV channels at the more distant end of the media galaxy, but here goes…
Would you like to achieve all these things and gain the admiration of your organisation?* Embed a visceral consumer understanding into the organisation that brings clarity and insight to every consumer-related issue people consider?* Excite more people in the organisation about delighting their ultimate ‘boss’, the consumer?* Engage more people in identifying the consumer-based opportunities for innovation and growth?* …and still achieve your project-specific innovation, concept development, or consumer insight objectives?Well, please read on...

'HR'Benefits from 'Marketing' projects
Despite the difficulties in embedding a culture of ‘consumer-centricity’, our work with a number of hard-bitten multi-nationals has shown that it is extremely achievable. This is not some new product we’ve dreamt up, but rather just recognition of the organisational benefits we’ve already witnessed as we’ve been bringing consumers closer in to some of the innovation processes we’ve been involved in.
In other words, as we’ve been focused on project deliverables, we’ve found that the way we’ve been achieving them has delivered additional, possibly even greater, benefits for the organisation itself.It’s like a Buy One, Get One Free.
Whilst many companies already talk about being ‘consumer-centric’, or words to that effect, the reality is often that, beyond the research department, that connection is very distant, or reduced to a set of statistics or bullet points.
The New Consumer Connection makes it real
To break down the barriers that often exist between a company and its potential consumer base, involves getting out and meeting some of those consumers in rich, inspiring ways that build up deep, intuitive understanding and lasting appreciation. The ulterior purpose is exploring new consumer-based opportunities for the company (e.g. new products and services), inspired by getting to know real people (‘consumers’) directly.
But one intangible ‘barrier’ that sometimes exists is an orthodoxy that consumer interactions must only happen through a market researcher. Like the priesthood in many ancient religions, it is felt that only they can speak directly to the oracle. There are very many occasions when this is absolutely correct; whether for reasons of expertise or practicality. But where this principle is applied universally, it has the unintended consequence of distancing the people inside the organisation from the people outside the organisation that they all rely on; those ‘consumers’ become atomistic statistics or data points. Instead, by seeing and feeling your ‘consumers’ as the fascinating, complex, people they really are, you unlock their potential to inspire you and your colleagues.
Making it Happen
Principle 1 – Beyond ‘marketing’There are two reasons for arguing that bringing consumers into the heart of the people in the organisation should not be limited to marketing people. Firstly, it is the common purpose of serving consumers or customers that should unite an organisation and melt away silos. The last thing that should happen for the health of an organisation is for ‘consumers’ to be the sole preserve of marketing. The second reason is that we have found that the broader perspective brought by a multi-disciplinary team is far more powerful for projects set up around an innovation objective where a keen understanding of the capabilities of the organisation helps in identifying new competitive space that works for both consumers and the company/brand.
Principle 2 – The Project is a ‘Trojan Horse’ for the HR benefits of embedding consumer-centricity in the hearts of the peopleWe’ve found that bringing people into direct contact with consumers works so much better if there is a clear business purpose to it that’s much more tangible than just ‘getting close’, ‘culture change’ etc. People may not really (deep down) buy into the notion that aren’t already ‘sufficiently’ consumer-centric, or that they are in need of ‘culture-changing’ – but they absolutely can buy in to some relevant business objective such as identifying innovation opportunities, or building a deep understanding of the target audience. The team members then approach the whole thing with more commitment and purpose and in so doing, build a strong consumer perspective.
The ‘consumer-centricity’ then becomes an outcome of the team’s involvement, rather than the overt purpose of it. And of course, you get double value: a valuable project (and we would argue in many cases, a more valuable one than if it was subcontracted out to a research company) and a hugely enhanced level of consumer empathy that lives on with each team member.
Principle 3 – Each consumer interaction is a mini ‘event’The team’s involvement with consumers should be richer and more purposeful than just going to their home for a chat. These interactions benefit hugely from detailed planning such as developing scrapbooks for consumers to fill out in advance, and creating ‘exercises’ for them to do together. This means that when they do come face to face, those interactions are really rich, insightful, inspiring….and memorable!
Principle 4 – Consumers can be alliesOnce the relationship has begun with that first meeting, there is great benefit to be gained by making more of it. For example, the team may meet up with consumers at the beginning of the project, where the focus is really on understanding the daily context, priorities etc of the consumer. Later on, once we have developed some basic ideas, we can meet up with those same consumers to share our thoughts and get valuable developmental input early on.
Shaping a programme
Whilst no two programmes are, or should be, exactly the same, this provides a basic structure:a) Create and focus the multi-disciplinary team; drawing people from across the organisation and focusing them on a ‘project objective’ such as developing new consumer-relevant products or servicesb) Consumer Immersion – getting under the real skin of the consumer; getting to know them as real people and not just in their role as ‘consumers of our products’.c) Structured group analysis workshop to crystallise insightful understanding of consumers (this should be much more than just a ‘what did we learn?’ chat)d) Opportunity hypothesis sessione) Idea/Concept development (quite simple/basic at this point)f) Sharing and building ideas with the same team of consumersg) Group conclusions and opportunity definition
Even this structure can play out in many ways. For example, the Consumer Immersions could be a standalone stage that takes place over a few days. Alternatively, at the other end of the spectrum, we have run sessions which effectively crunch together stages b – e in hours rather than weeks. Both were very successful in their own way, but the different approaches were designed in response to different objectives at the time.
Conclusion
Strategic Innovation projects represent a great opportunity to achieve far more for the organisation. They can be a ‘Trojan Horse’ to inspire, engage, and motivate people from many disciplines. The early-phase approach can embed visceral consumer understanding in the hearts and minds of a broader team, rather than just leave a shadow of it in PowerPoint documents created by external research companies.Added to this, the innovation project itself benefits from the many organisational perspectives represented, and their engagement spawns better ideas and a can-do attitude. Extracting so much value from a single project is always a good thing. In these times, it’s an option that can’t be ignored

Psst! Pop-up restaurant at New Solutions?

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:29:00 +0000

... all enquiries for New Solutions Innovation Centre to supper@newsolutions.co.uk

Now that even Jamie Oliver is doing it - it seems that the concept has no limits. It ties in with all the hot post-recession trends of value, community, self-reliance... and social networking.

Yesterday once more

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

The past is taking over the present - and shaping our future. But allotments, corned beef and cutting back are just the tip of the iceberg, says TRENDWATCHER GRAHAM PARKER

For the past 30 years, we've been nostalgic for the future: what we will buy, where will we go, how much we will make on our property. Now such economic exhibitionism has been shown the door, and we're faced with our mayor cycling to work, Madonna wearing vintage (read: second hand) and Kate Moss taking a holiday in (gasp!) Britain. We're turning the clock back to a time when we had less: less fashion, less food, less choice... and seemingly less to worry about.

It’s not a surprise: in times of trouble, comfort is always king. War, recessions, civil uprisings, mass unemployment… catastrophes bring about feelings of helplessness, and we instinctively retreat into the cocoon of what we know. Dorothy's 'There's no place like home' bags it in one; no prizes for guessing that The Wizard of Oz was released when World War II was kicking off, and uncertainty and fear were top of the world’s shopping list.
Today, our need for the known – as opposed to status, the drug of Christmas past – is retreating to a time when life was simpler and manifesting it everywhere, from interiors and clothing to food, entertaining and holidays.

Tell me a story
Our crusade for more stuff was just one big yelp for attention. If we wear the latest designer clobber or stay at the Sandy Lane, people will notice us - and envy us to their core. Funny how eliciting a really unpleasant response from people was supposedly a good thing.
In post-crunch Britain, the emphasis has shifted from status to values, and a product or experience – and the consumer – is judged by the story it tells. “Oh this? It's just a cheap little thing that I picked up in Frinton, but the man who made it was a survivor from the Titanic. It's the only one I ever use.” You get the picture. So, what we allow into our lives becomes a mirror of our ethical stance, more valuable than its cost or label; and we will garner admiration for our beliefs rather than envy for our possessions through the stories we tell.
We will develop a desire for hand-made, one-off products and varietal foods, which convey a history or legend – and a sense of permanency. Likewise, brand-new possessions will seem blank and uninteresting; after all, a wallet straight out of the box has nothing to say. After you've used it for a while, it tells of nights at the pub, business card overload, the bullet that it took from the Mafia hitman. We will start to buy heirlooms to pass on, and not just gratify ourselves for the moment. Look out for whimsical – and very personal – collections, like Spanish dolls, old 78s, iconic 1950s pinups and snow globes as kitsch but witty additions to the home. Pre-loved (ie. second-hand) becomes interesting in clothing, furnishings and accessories, and impurities or faults become part of an item’s story. Food and wine knowledge becomes very important when it reveals its provenance: find a local winemaker or cheese producer with a wooden leg and a tenor singing voice and you're made for the next
twelve months of dinner parties.

Home sweet home
The hip restaurant and bar circuit becomes irrelevant as the pace of life slows and we start to value relationships, conversation and shared time with friends. Entertaining at home is the way forward: throwing dinner parties, games nights, drinks parties (wait for the return of the 70s cocktail bar!), DVD nights... suddenly home is not only where the heart is but where all the friends are too. We'll see more American-style 1970s bring-your-own parties, where guests each contribute a dish. And people will start to connect more through targeted activity, such as games, crafts and revamped Tupperware-style or beauty parties, where a product or skill is sold. Go back to your parents' loft and dig out childhood games for Cluedo, Buckaroo or card evenings. Play Date in the US runs monthly games nights for those who are too old for clubbing but too young to gawp at the telly; its appeal has mushroomed to 14-34 year olds, who are turning away from computer games. Small wonder that board game producer Winning Moves has re-introduced '50s favourites Parcheesi and Careers in their original packaging. Expect more reissues as board games soar in popularity along with retro 50s favourites such as bowling alleys, roller-skating rinks and drive-ins, all booming in the US. Knitting has ceased to be an old lady's sport, but will diversify into different crafts, as we rediscover old techniques and invest time in creating; embroidery, pottery, furniture reupholstery, and even making
your own jam, beer or beauty products will be ones to watch, bringing together different generations after years of age segregation to exchange knowledge and shared enthusiasm.

Close comfort
Local is the buzzword of the moment, as we try to shrink the world and reconnect with the immediate vicinity, much as people did until the 1980s made global desirable.
While fat-cat Tesco steals market share with profits of £3 billion, we'll rediscover nearby shops and use them more often (in some cases, daily), enjoying interaction with shopkeepers, who will respond with old-fashioned, one-to-one personal service that supermarkets can’t compete with – and become mini social hubs. It's a good time for butchers, fishmongers and greengrocers to open with fresh, locally sourced produce and tips on how to cook it.
We'll get to know the local library, cancel expensive gym membership and jog close to home or take a local keep-fit class. Charity shops will become second homes as their changing collections become fascinating treasure troves. Neighbourhood car and babysitting pools will become common as people reconnect on a micro level. Markets will start springing up on high streets, forcing supermarkets to become more competitive by introducing services such as free delivery and bag packers at the checkout. Gas stations too will wise up too, and reintroduce attendants to clean your windscreen and check your oil.

Home for the holidays
It's boom time for discovering Britain as pennypinch-itis makes the sunny Seychelles and St Lucia out of bounds, and we rediscover what's in our own backyard. No airports, customs, inoculations or struggling with a foreign lingo. Pork scratchings, anyone?
Inbound suddenly becomes interesting, as we learn to appreciate our own history. With more stately homes, castles and historical villages than you can shake a stick of rock at, we begin to explore the subtle regional variations in architecture, accents, crafts, traditions, cuisine and landscapes. Forty- and fifty-somethings are already rekindling their childhood, as half of British parents are allegedly planning to take their nippers on a British seaside holiday to re-live their childhood holiday memories. But the younger generation is also discovering upscale caravans and camping (so-called 'glamavanning' sets to be huge), ideal low-carbon ways of getting closer to nature with just enough luxury to avoid the nasties. Likewise, rambling and country cottage breaks are on the rise, and the great British B&B is having a makeover, as more boutique establishments spring up, along with fine dining experiences that present their region’s specialities. With this return to Britain’s past, the National Trust, English Heritage and the Landmark Trust should be poised for big wins, along with Butlin's and Pontin's, Brighton and Blackpool, National Rail and VisitBritain.

Feeding time
Nostalgia through taste is one of the great movements at the moment, as we discover that British food is not all bad – and emotional eating during the dark times is positively blissful!
Snack food of yesteryear is creeping onto the market, with Cadbury’s relaunched Wispa, Kraft
rebrewing Maxwell House instant coffee, and Nestlé bringing back Drifter, Opal Fruits and the Texan Bar; they’re allegedly considering switching Snickers back to Marathon too. Even M&S has introduced sandwiches with old-fashioned fillings (jam, ham and corned beef) for those who can't make their own, Lord love you. Birds Eye have brought the much-missed Arctic Roll, and Walkers are giving Monster Munch a 1970s makeover – in packaging and flavours, rehiring the stars of old TV advertisements to lend authenticity.
On the fresh side, look out for reintroduced varieties of apples, potatoes and tomatoes – and positively revel in lengthy conversations about the difference. Seasonal fruit and vegetables become desirable to mark the seasons, and home-made soups, big roasts and meaty casseroles will be back, just like Mama used to make. Look out for anything home-made: misshapen cookies, fresh preserves, sloe gin and grandma's salad dressing as we revisit the old pantry. There will be more British food restaurants and micro-breweries springing up. Even Fortnum and Mason have installed four beehives on their London roof for the ultimate in high-end, West End, local honey. Cup cakes, up until recently the last word in cool, will take a nose-dive as they are deemed too prissy: step up to the plate traditional British puddings such as trifle and spotted dick, as well as Victoria sponges and Battenburg cakes, and watch out for celeb chefs tampering with old favourites and bringing something new to the table. Ring your mother now and excavate her old recipe books, as our need for traditional comfort food during the recession builds. Also, how we serve it will become more traditional. John Lewis‘s Vintage Wedding List service specializes in one-off, hand-selected pieces paired with hand-written messages on luggage labels. Sunday lunches on china make a welcome return (as well as the rediscovery of table manners), and fun, kitschy 60s and 70s accessories will filter back in, such as salt and pepper shakers in the shape of Rubik's cubes. At drinks parties, you should only be seen sipping liquor out of dainty bone china cups and saucers a la Prohibition. Really.

So what’s the story?
In the space of just one year we’ve managed to completely realign our values. Goodbye flash cash, stash and trash, and welcome an era of valuing our friends, possessions and experiences – and considering the consequences of how we live.
And while the upper classes have treasure frayed carpets and furniture with bits hanging off – the cigarette burns from Nanny stubbing out on the Georgian night table, the dent in the wine cooler when Winston Churchill had one too many – the Wallpaper-reading brigade are cottoning on. But retailers are finding it difficult to adjust to the polarity of shopping: customers either haunting Poundland for superbargains or forking out on a single item that will last, and not end up as trashcan fodder next year.
And today as the ‘must-have’ handbag is dead meat, it’s clear that pure aspiration no longer drives sales. Instead, we will choose to identify with a brand's unique stance or background that compels us to welcome it into our life – and make its story our story.

Graham Parker
Freelance writer + trendwatcher + retail specialist

If it works, why change?

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:26:00 +0000

Suddenly everyone is saying that the innovation processes of old have to change and adapt to the New Economy. Does that make rational sense or is it just a sales gimmick?

Faster, more agile - quicker to fruition.... are these empty promises or are there really new ways of working holistically with clients? We think so - but then we've been doing Skinny Innovation for quite a long time at New Solutions! Welcome to the party.

Has anything really changed?

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 10:16:00 +0000

What are customers thinking about their banks?

Customers (and employees) have faced up to the sharpest deterioration in the economy and, perhaps optimistically, believe the worst is behind them.

But will they ever really trust big business (and banks especially) in future. Does your bank still have an automatic right to be respected?

Eureka Moments

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:49:00 +0000

In mathematics, chaos theory describes the apparent behaviour of natural systems in which occurrences appear to be almost random. But of course, in a chaotic system, none of the results are actually random, they are completely determined by the rules of the system. The wide range of possible outcomes is determined by just small differences in the initial conditions.

Now the nature of front end innovation is also often described as chaotic – but it is chaotic and not random. Although the nature of front end work is often experimental, the outcomes flow predictably from the initial states.

So the message might be – don’t leave it to chance. The outcomes are anything but entirely random – they are wholly dependent on the environmental and individual circumstances of those employed in the process.

“Star Trek” Boldly Going After Younger Audience

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Wed, 06 May 2009 13:15:00 +0000

Seeking younger customers goes far beyond the obvious fashion brands.
Businesses from financial services to media, from retail & leisure to luxury often re-invent themselves to seek younger customers.
The rationale for seeking younger, sometimes much younger customers, is often said to be about generating revenue from life-long customers. In reality, it is also about these businesses and franchises losing traction as existing customers turn to faster, fresher competitors.
It's not simply demographics. In Europe, for example, populations are aging rapidly, but few businesses are cashing in on the age dividend. Star Trek has arguably already lost ground with it's core followers. If it is to re-invent itself for a younger audience, it will need to be relevant not just available.
“Awareness won’t be a solution by itself – Star Trek needs to find its place in the lives of young people – or it will die”

Small steps with not much budget...

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 09:22:00 +0000

...the temptation is just to sit back and do nothing when times are bad. But research shows that businesses with the very best internal processes are able to reduce budget spend and maintain momentum through lean times by re-addressing problems, re-framing and nibbling away at the edges.

See bitesize techniques at www.newsolutions.co.uk

Not Just being there!

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 12:32:00 +0000

With congested ‘western’ markets offering fewer and fewer opportunities for growth, multi-national brands have long been looking towards ‘developing markets’ to achieve their global business plans.

When it comes to working in developing markets, there is no need to compromise

As these markets are explored, and brands positioned and extended, there is a growing need for more engagement with consumers during this developmental work. However, the shame is that during this engagement, there seems to be hesitancy in doing it in the way we all know it should be done. There are too many compromises.

Techniques, teamwork and ultimately consumer interactions are all potentially compromised when it comes to having work done in developing markets. Whilst ‘over here’ there’s ever greater confidence in using a variety of powerful and bespoke consumer-driven approaches, there seems to be a doubt as to how these will work ‘over there’. Many resort to ‘probably best to just leave it to the locals, those with the regional expertise’. However, ideally we should be collaborating with the ‘locals’ and getting to know their consumer as we already know ’ours’.

Beyond simply delegating too much, we have also noticed a potentially dangerous shortcut being made when doing work in developing markets. Many projects are scoped across several countries in the ‘developing’ region. From a client perspective it is important to research all these countries as they are each considered key markets. That is clear. What is not clear however is that very often in designing methodologies, interacting with consumers and most critically building the conclusions, all of these key markets are treated as one as if no cultural differences matter. In our experience, it is actually remarkable to see the differences between a businessman from Seoul and Beijing or even within one country – the differences across different ‘mother’ types.

Better approaches avoid the above pitfalls and go on to integrate the consumer work with real-time team analysis and development – much as we would do back in Europe and the US.

Our own New Solutions work has recently involved collaboration across regions and global teams to make the learning more actionable for all involved. Of course, it takes experience of these markets to make these adaptations work, but with the stakes so high as global brands fight for advantage in these key growth areas, it’s experience that pays off strongly.

Strategic innovation and positioning in all markets and especially in developing markets tends to deal with more open and complex opportunities. These are typically best tackled through iterative approaches that efficiently recycle learnings and save on whole new project phases.

By contrast, the compromise approach of just developing some concepts ‘over here’ and then farming them out for a few Focus Groups ‘over there’ tends to be sterile. We believe it is critical to the eventual success of the project to get inspiration to generate real, consumer-driven ideas despite the language and cultural barriers that sometimes restrict individual interactions. Nonetheless, harnessing creativity is too important to be compromised and with experience, barriers can be overcome.

In unfamiliar territory, it is even more important to engage closely with consumers. An example of it working…

In a recent project in China and the Philippines, we were working with the client team on uncovering the new positioning opportunities that could be developed based on new technology within an existing consumer market. Using our experience of these markets to ensure we were sensitive to local attitudes and capabilities we were able to develop a programme that was every bit as effective as ‘over here’. The key elements were as follows:
· The active involvement of the client’s global brand team ensured that the growing understanding of the ‘local’ consumers was retained in their hearts and minds, in ways that reading a research report can never replicate.
· Before the research, the consumers were tasked to prepare their own creative ‘scrapbooks’, which we had designed to explore the areas of their lives and needs that we were most interested in
· Everyone in the project team went and met consumers in their homes and, with some linguistic assistance, were able to talk to them about the context of their lives and how the category we were interested in played a role for them and their families
· We ran groups where consumers explored a wide range of different ‘concept components’ and helped guide us towards the best benefit areas. This was in contrast to the more simplistic approach of asking them just to evaluate a small set of fully fledged ‘concepts’, with the inevitable risk that the best ideas had already been weeded out, or were not represented. In this instance, this more open approach proved vital as the key opportunity emerged from this more open discussion.
· Together with the client team, we shaped and evolved the elements of the concepts as we learned more from group to group. This allowed us to include and play with new ideas and hypotheses as we progressed.

The outcome was clear definition of a unique opportunity in these new markets that not only created clear competitive advantage for our client’s brand but also gave the basis for successful entry into a new set of markets in other developing regions.

Conclusion
Developing Markets probably represent your global brand’s greatest opportunity for growth. In these instances, it is more important than ever that their ‘unfamiliarity’ doesn’t lead to using simplistic and less effective consumer approaches. New Solutions has the experience to help bring project teams close to the real lives and priorities of ‘local’ consumers and develop unique and powerful growth opportunities on the back of that understanding.

"Summit" groups

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:14:00 +0000

A perennial challenge facing researchers is how to develop a group dynamic that is conducive to getting to the real essence of the issue, in depth and not superficially. A "summit" is anything but a conventional group discussion because so much of the real work is done up front - individually, bilaterally and over time. What a great template for group discussions generally!

Success breeds failure

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:05:00 +0000

Traditional techniques responsible for increasingly incremental innovation?

“If you want to see the green shoots of recovery, start planting the seeds”

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:25:00 +0000

Spring 2009 ... Business minister Baroness Vadera denies she is out of touch after claiming she could see "a few green shoots" of recovery.

Is innovation a luxury during the recession?

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 21:32:00 +0000

When markets aren't growing like they once did, business growth can't come from just maintaining share. Unless you have a "magic wand", the chances are that to break the cycle of tracking the market down, innovation is really a necessity.

FEI - All about Winning

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:12:00 +0000

The article describes what's special about Front End Innovation - the additional complexity and uncertainties that need to be overcome for successful outcomes.
The practical suggestions are based on New Solutions experience in real projects and are condensed into 6 principles to be applied - 3 "people" principles and 4 "process" principles

http://www.newsolutions.co.uk/

Slow-fix Creativity

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:57:00 +0000

The quick-fix answer is often to rely on a team based approach - a workshop. Not a bad solution to harness knowledge and expertise - but expecting to create ground-breaking ideas is unrealistic. Some people are just better at being creative - that means using trained experts over a slightly longer period to create really excellent creative stimulus. The creative team at New Solutions and all the experts who have been drafted in over the years know just how important it is to work from a specific brief to create provocative, exciting stimulus, not just descriptive stimulus!

The Challenge of Actionability

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:49:00 +0000

Innovation or Strategic Brand work is, by its nature, more open, intangible, and ‘multi-variable’ than other ‘downstream’ work where a given idea is just being fine-tuned or evaluated. The challenge for these projects is then to still deliver precision of opportunity definition without absorbing excessive resources of budget or time. In other words, the outcomes need to be actionable, not just interesting. This is not a new story. But with a genuine change in the economic climate impacting on all areas of business (except lawyers of course), it is important to re-examine how this more ‘upstream’ work is sometimes carried out to see if we can deliver more value within more limited budgets and time. We think the answer is ‘yes’.

For the full article - please contact media@newsolutions.co.uk

The Trouble with Trends

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:05:00 +0000

They are liable to be misleading. As Russell said "The man who has fed a chicken everyday throughout its life at last wrings its neck instead" - the opportunity for trends specialists is not just to spot the uniformity or pattern, but also the potential for disruption.

Consumer-Centric, not Consumer-Led

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 15:38:00 +0000

More than a semantic difference for most front end innovation. The term ‘Consumer-Led’ implies that the consumers will tell us the answer and our task is to deliver. With front end innovation, the likely scope of possible answers is too broad, and most won’t yet have been thought of. So, more than ever, we need to understand the realities of our consumers lives; their goals, priorities, feelings, and needs to give us (the team) the abilities to use our creativity and business knowledge to design new possibilities for them; possibilities that they might not have even conceived of. Please don’t hand the ‘consumer’ part out to a 3rd party intermediary (ie a research agency) because this is where the project team will learn most by being deeply involved in ‘research’ themselves. You can delegate to researchers once you have some concepts to test…but that’s later down the line.

Is innovation suffering from too much research intermediation?

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 16:21:00 +0000

.....so consider whether there are times when you should really cast out the ‘priesthood’ of market researchers, and inspire innovation by speaking to your ‘Gods’ personally. After all, they’re only human. And you’ll find yourself getting a whole lot more out of it and doing a whole lot more with it.

Full Article:
http://www.newsolutions.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2&Itemid=2&limit=1&limitstart=1

Is objectivity the point?

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:49:00 +0000

Who could possibly argue against continually striving for the highest standards of objectivity when researching innovation concepts?
We can – but only because we always believe that when something is seen as a ‘universal’ truth, there will always be specific circumstances when a different perspective yields greater value. Imagine this situation: a company has developed some early stage innovation concepts and now is the first opportunity to gain real consumer input. Accepted wisdom may say that now is the time to bring in an independent opinion – someone who has not been influenced through involvement in all the thinking and ideas that have lead to this point. But let’s consider for a moment what is really meant by ‘objective’ research and, more importantly, what might be being lost in the pursuit of an unnecessary goal. Is there a danger that a subtle but dangerous switch has been made into ‘researching the stimulus’ rather than ‘researching the opportunity’?

‘Objectivity’ becomes a legitimate objective when there is a danger of bias in the assessment of a new concept or initiative (whether innovation or marketing). OK, so no interpretive process (such as qualitative research) can ever be truly free of subjectivity, but our argument is not about the degree to which we can achieve 100% objectivity; our disagreement is more fundamental - we think that there are occasions when the focus on ‘objectivity’ impedes the ability a research phase to make the most progress towards powerful concepts.

The argument hinges around the need for ‘assessment’. Objectivity is needed, so the usual reasoning goes, because we need to find out which concepts are most successful. But what are these ‘concepts’; are they the final cut, expressed in all their final glory and detail; is the consumer being given an ‘objective’ choice in the sense that the concept is already a given and that it is no longer open to reinterpretation? The answer to this is likely to be ‘yes’ only in the very final stages of the developmental process.

Instead, the real situation is more often this: there are a range of early stage concepts; they are really just ‘place-holders’; representatives of a broader potential set of ideas that has been crystallised down to a particular concept. They will still need to evolve; they still need many ‘gaps’ filling in, they will require further detail. This is really the opportunity to make the best better; not simply to make some yes/no judgments.

So if we accept that this phase of research is really more developmental than evaluative, there are implications for who is best placed to do it. A research moderator who has been deeply involved in the whole process can bring so much more to this process; they understand not just what the concepts ‘are’, but also appreciate all the nuances of what they could be. Having been part of the creative process, they can open up new possibilities to consumers whenever respondents hit a barrier. Where there are weaknesses, they can adapt to build strengths. They can pursue opportunities that arise in the Groups, because they can instantly draw on their project experience to see potential solutions. In practice, no briefing or discussion guide could ever incorporate all these possibilities and alternatives.

The difference compared to a researcher who has not been involved in the developmental process can be seen as the difference between ‘researching the stimulus’ and ‘researching the opportunity’. A researcher from outside, will dutifully explore the stimulus and report back on consumers’ responses to that stimulus (usually with a couple of pages of recommendation at the end, developed without having been party to all the thinking around what would work for the brands, operations etc). A researcher who has been at the heart of the developmental process can see the stimulus for what it really is; only stimulus. These early stage concepts, despite all the effort that will have gone into getting them right, are still just ‘placeholders’ for opportunities that are as yet un-perfected; they are not take it or leave it options. They are open to variation and optimisation as part of the creative process. If we insist on an ‘objective’ researcher, we are insisting on someone who, despite their personal skills and strengths, is simply poorly equipped to explore this space with consumers; all they know is the stimulus itself; the true potential of the underlying opportunities is unknown to them. This restricts their ability to develop and explore ideas with consumers, and it restricts their ability to shape opportunities during the analysis phase. The outcome is fewer and weaker concepts.

Of course, there will come a time in the process where the balance needs to shift further from development/optimisation to assessment/evaluation of almost final options. Now is the time to bring in the outside ‘objective’ perspective. But if this is the first or so round of research, that time is yet to come.

At New Solutions, our innovation teams always include people with brilliant qualitative research backgrounds. They combine this expertise with the broader skills of driving innovation projects. They remain professionally objective but when sharing early concepts with consumers, their minds are alive with the possibilities and options beyond the stimulus, which enables them to achieve so much more out of developmental research.

‘Concepts’ don’t make it to the market. They are stimulus to help define and guide the opportunity. So don’t just think about how to ‘objectively’ research the stimulus; think how can we use the stimulus to optimise the opportunity?

Co-creation/Open innovation?

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:56:00 +0000

Interesting article about co-creation - draws on some rather tech-inspired case studies but nonetheless touches on some really interesting issues for those businesses that are beginning to let go and work with consumers outside the boundaries marked out by traditional market research. Key take-outs from experience in this area

40% of would be co creators will refuse to co-create with companies they don't like or trust
Participants had various non-financial motives (such as fame, fun and altruism) for volunteering to help

http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/newsletters/2008_07.htm

Well-known Consumer Demographic

noreply@blogger.com (New Solutions) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:15:00 +0000

The phrase The Long Tail (as a proper noun with capitalized letters) was first coined by Chris Anderson in an October 2004 Wired magazine article - and then it became a book and a blog!

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail_pr.html