STICKY INNOVATION

Most businesses will likely need to invent, improve or borrow new ways of doing things, at one point or another, to avoid extinction. A few days ago I read the trend briefing “INNOVATION INSANITY" from Trend Watching. It was a timely breath of fresh air. However, as I flipped through more than 65* fascinating trends from around the globe, a familiar voice of reason entered my mind...

"What has been wildly successful for one company is likely to have a completely different result for another."

I have always been a huge advocate of new and creative ideas, proudly it's one of our core competencies, but the options can sometimes be overwhelming. To minimize the creative nausea that can occur, I softly curb creative exploration with two criteria 1) the ideas must add brand traction and 2) the ideas must be meaningful to the customer.

A business should never be in short supply of good ideas. It should never be idle or complacent for the sheer fact that consumers and competitors are rapidly offered new/alternative options daily. So how can you make the search for innovation a powerful process, and how can you brainstorm creative ideas in a way that isn't overwhelming and is highly relevant to your brand?

Here are a few suggestions:

• Begin with a clear understanding of your brand strategy
• Know what you’re looking for, specifically the problem you’re trying to solve
• Keep in mind that your approach should be just as innovative as the solution you hope to achieve
• Traditional practices are due diligence, i.e. competitive and industry research
• To surface real innovative ideas, focus on the less-obvious sources i.e. research in unrelated vertical markets, competitor customer blogs and reviews, observe consumer behaviors first-hand, monitor industry discussion groups, creativity exercises like speed-storming etc.
• Get a weekly dose of global industry trends i.e. springwise, trendwatching
• Lastly, filter your ideas based upon earlier criteria (Hint: they're not all created equal)

One final test is to ask yourself the following questions:

• Will this idea help or hurt the brand?
• Will it make your brand stronger or weaken it?
• If it will make the brand stronger, will the expected result outweigh the effort?

*If that's not enough, premium clients are privy to an additional 200 trends.

Source: www.trendwatching.com. One of the world's leading trend firms, trendwatching.com sends out its free, monthly Trend Briefings to more than 160,000 subscribers worldwide.