Brands that aren’t constantly creating new products to satisfy the ever-fickle consumer are few and far between. “Innovate” is on many a Brand Director’s To Do list. Yes, market research says things sell better with a ‘New’ flash on the package, but the result, too often, is a product that isn’t really all that new – only slightly different-looking and mostly just cheaper to manufacture. It’s this manufacturer-centric approach that leads to the mediocre, uninspired products.
The missed opportunity is a quest for products and services based on ingenuity, beauty and functionality – for which there is a market far greater than there has ever been. To quote Steve Jobs, “If you keep your eye on the profit, you’re going to skimp on the product. But if you focus on making really great products, then the profits will follow.”
A common fault many organizations are culpable of is clinging to their products’ past successes. Of course there’s wisdom in retaining equity, but too small a step in today’s marketplace can be akin to none at all. A modest ‘evolution’ is generally not what creates the buzz we crave for our brands.
Let’s face it, the world doesn’t need any more ‘manufacturer-centric’ products. What it needs is more ‘humanity-centric’ products, and plenty of them. Ask yourself what people wish for but can’t have. What would inspire them? What would amaze them? Then ask if your brand or product could be the answer once reinvented. Not just a slight restyling – but a re-imagining of what’s possible.
In today’s saturated market, asking these questions of your brand is no longer brave, but a matter of survival. Brands that have used art fusion collaborations as a testing ground for reinvention have enjoyed much success in past years. Many brands have effectively used art fusion as a low-risk way of reinventing a product as a limited-edition release.
Smart, we say.
A way to be daring without betting the farm. A way to see how the market reacts. To see if it creates buzz. See if it takes off. If it’s a runaway success, all your questions will be answered.
In our next post, we put the spotlight on a brand that has reinvented itself continually to stay a runaway success for over a century. Stay tuned.