Innovation Applied

Kashi on a mission

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:53:00 +0000

Kashi backs up it's brand story with actions. Although it's a small company, their sustainability efforts go beyond marketing hype.

Hackbarth Partners with Innovation Applied

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:26:00 +0000

Innovation Applied is pleased to announce that Scott Hackbarth is a new network partner. Hackbarth has over 30 years experience in the consumer products industry with vast experience in sales management, new business development, and design of business and customer specific strategies. He was the Group Vice President of Sales and Vice President of Special Markets at Sargento Foods Inc. Hackbarth was also Past President of both the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association (IDDBA) and the Milwaukee Chapter of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMR).

From Super Bowl To Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:23:00 +0000

Is this a sign that mass media is gone? A major brand and advertiser is skipping the Super Bowl this year in favor of increased efforts on Facebook and social media. How are you going to continue to talk to your audiences in the new media environment?

10 Signs of Failure

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:21:00 +0000

10 Signs That Innovation Will Fail

What are the signs that innovation in a company is set up to fail? It would be great to have a check-list on this, but according to Stefan Lindegaard, innovation is too complicated and company-specific to just apply a standard one for this. Stefan lists some red flags to look for when evaluating innovation. Do you have others from your experience?

Read more at 10 Signs That Innovation Will Fail | Stefan Lindegaard: Leadership+Innovation.

Predicting the Next Innovation

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:40:00 +0000

Are you using innovation to predict what your competitors or the marketplace will do next?

Read more at Blogging Innovation: Predicting the Next Innovation - Innovation blog articles, videos, and insights.

Allocate Time

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:57:00 +0000

One of the commonest barriers to innovation is lack of time.

Read how employees at Google take one day a week to focus on innovation in
Allocate Time for Innovation « BQF Innovation.

Outside resources like Innovation Applied can help with the time crunch.

Great Value Terra

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:13:00 +0000

Walmart Premiers the New Private Brand -- Great Value Terra.

According to the MY private brand blog, Walmart Mexico presented a subrand of Great Value: Great Value Terra as part of the international exhibits in the Idea Supermarket. We wonder if this is a sign of things to come in the U.S. Keep an eye out for earth-friendly private branding.

See photos at Walmart Premiers the New Private Brand – Great Value Terra. :: MY private brand.

Innovation Stories

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:26:00 +0000

Does your Innovation have a story?

Stories are a great way to impart knowledge and build a brand. Too often, we try to communicate facts, features and benefits. Great leaders know that storytelling teaches and persuades. A new book by Michael Margolis, "Believe Me," identifies 15 storytelling axioms and notes that storytelling is especially important to innovators.

Read a summary at Blogging Innovation.

IdeaAid

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:30:00 +0000

Starting on Saturday, IdeaAid starts the world's first brainstorming benefit. Instead of sending your money, send your ideas to help solve the world's toughest problems. On Saturday, the first challenge is to find novel, easy ways of raising $1 billion annually to help eradicate global poverty.

IdeaAid is attempting to use the same social networking phenomenon that spreads the news of celebrity breakups to solve real social problems. If you've been wondering what all this linking, friending and tweeting is really good for, this is your chance to find out.

Find out how you can participate on the IdeaAid.com website.

Sustainable Language

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:05:00 +0000

Every so often the vocabulary of business adopts new words that filter into the mainstream business psyche. For example, the language of brands and branding is now commonly used and understood across a range of sectors- from universities to social enterprises to small businesses. Over the past year or two, the new vocabulary has brought in "sustainability," whether it is to talk about the environment or general business operations, about communities or the future. Google the term and you'll see that "sustainability" has 28 million definitions-only a few million short of the 34 million entries for "branding."

Read the entire article at brandchannel.com.

Sinnovation

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:00:00 +0000

The seven deadly sins of the innovator-and how you can stop yourself from committing them. Just for fun, let's take a look at seven of the most common and deadly sins of the innovator. We've seen all of these cause failures of Biblical proportions.

Read them at BusinessWeek.com.

New Brand Taglines

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:39:00 +0000

Do you think you can name some of the top ten words used in brand taglines? Tagline Guru, an agency dedicated to taglines and slogans, has released its analysis of more than 150 corporate taglines debuting in 2009.

Check your guesses against the top ten at Brandchannel.com.

More than Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:16:00 +0000

Nothing against ideas. They are very important, but it takes more than ideas to create real change.

Blizzard Saved ATM

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:00:00 +0000

Creating convenience is not a good enough reason for consumers to embrace change. It often takes 'pain.' Banks weren't open during a blizzard in 1978. Previously unpopular ATMs made it possible to get cash. Does your latest innovation solve a 'pain?'

Optimizing Innovation

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:10:00 +0000

Optimizing Innovation - Dr. Stephen K. Goers of Kraft Foods

According to Dr. Steven K. Goers, VP, Open Innovation and Investment Strategy at Kraft Foods, Kraft Foods needs to innovate because they are in the fast-moving CPG industry, maintain a breadth of categories, and need to continue to maintain an edge over private label products. Goers spoke at the Optimizing Innovation Conference, which was held October 21-22, 2009 in New York City.

Read the summary of the presentation at Blogging Innovation, or read an interview with Dr. Goers at IdeaConnection.com.

Upside of Turbulence

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:25:00 +0000

How Innovation Saved Nokia

Don Sull teaches “International and Strategic Management” at the London Business School. His new book is The Upside of Turbulence: Seizing Opportunities in an Uncertain World. He discusses how Nokia and others have survived turbulent times through a willingness to reconsider even their core business.

Private Brand Makeup

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:54:00 +0000

Private Brand Gets a Makeover with Makeup from Kroger

Kroger created a new private brand makeup aimed at family-focused women seeking effortless beauty. Will women trust their faces to a grocery store? Kroger is offering a $5 promotion to encourage trial.

Innovation from Cirque

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:01:00 +0000

Visible and Invisible Innovation - Cirque Du Soleil

If you've ever seen any of the Cirque Du Soleil shows, you know that each one is full of amazing innovations, from the acts to the sets and costumes. They have a "technological watch team" who is always on the lookout for the latest materials which could be incorporated into the shows.

To see what innovation lessons you can learn from Cirque Du Soleil, read the rest of the article at Blogging Innovation.

Dealing with Nonsense

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:18:00 +0000

Mind - How Nonsense Sharpens the Intellect

While research is still ongoing, it appears that being exposed to the odd, irregular or nonsensical increases our ability to make sense, a good reason to allow a little chaos.

Read the article at NYTimes.com.

When Innovation Goes Wrong

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 14:23:00 +0000

Blogging Innovation: When Innovation Goes Wrong - Latest innovation articles, videos, and insights

Innovative mortgage products became a financial nightmare. Innovation should be about learning rather than earning.

New Junk Mail

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:02:00 +0000

UPS Tries A New "Brand Delivery"
Is it still junk mail if UPS delivers it to your door? Will consumers have a better brand experience to the marketing materials and samples?

Consumers like free stuff. The offer may get a closer look if it arrives by UPS.

Read more at Brandchannel.com.

Brands Use Emotional, Sensory Experiences

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:31:00 +0000

Emotional, Sensory Experiences Help Nike, IBM, And Other Top Brands (via brandchannel)

Brand experiences are far more effective than one-way messages. What brand experiences can you offer your customers?

CEO Sees Glut Of National Brands

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 15:32:00 +0000

Retailers are seeing opportunities for private brands where national brands are not providing value for the consumer. Safeway Inc. (SWY) Chairman and Chief Executive Steven Burd said there is a glut of name-brand products and that some will likely disappear in the wake of the recession as manufacturers cut products.
Read more at CNNMoney.

Intuit Entrepreneur Day

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 16:10:00 +0000

Intuit is actively marketing Open Innovation with individuals and firms outside the company. Although Intuit devotes internal resources to innovation, they are building value by getting new ideas from outside sources.

According to Intuit,
"Entrepreneur Day is part of Intuit’s broader initiative to drive mutual growth through Open Innovation and partnerships. A select group of entrepreneurs, startups and small but more-established companies will have the opportunity to meet and talk with a broad group of senior Intuit leaders. The potential rewards for collaboration are considerable: access to leading brands, large customer base, award winning product lines, developer ecosystem and extensive marketing and distribution channels."

Proudly Found Elsewhere

noreply@blogger.com (Kari) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 14:58:00 +0000

Making the Change to "Proudly Found Elsewhere"
Interview - Chris Thoen - P&G
Braden Kelley had the opportunity to interview Chris Thoen, Director Innovation & Knowledge Management at P&G about the challenges of shifting an organization as big as P&G from closed innovation to open innovation, and the P&G Connect + Develop program. Dr. Thoen is a twenty year P&G veteran who started his career as a research scientist in the Fabric & Home Care division and now heads up the Global Open Innovation Office, also known as Connect + Develop.
Read More at Blogging Innovation.