Innovation is easy isn’t it? It’s just coming up with ideas for new products…
But hang-on, if it’s so easy, why is there such a gap between the amount of product launches and those that are really successful?
Of course there are many reasons why your shiny new launch may not succeed… wrong time or place, not supported enough on launch, or just not that great an idea! However in my experience there are two elements that are a must for any innovation to stand a fighting chance to get to the launch stage.
- Deep Consumer Understanding
- Stakeholder Buy-In
So what’s this got to do with brand storytelling? Well, take a seat and let me begin.
Coming up with new ideas using a blank sheet of paper rarely works. In fact most people, confronted with a blank sheet, F R E E Z E.
However, using a framework to guide you will give you a far stronger approach and where better to start than with the consumer?
You see, while we’re all different, we also have pretty consistent needs that the brands in our life can meet. Think about a parent cooking an evening meal. Functionally, they’re providing fuel for their family, but emotionally are they seeking pleasure, bonding or contentment? Or maybe they’re seeking to demonstrate competence, their identity or even stature when cooking for family and guests?
Having a deep understanding of your consumers’ needs and particularly the need that your brand can best meet is a critical start point when developing innovation platforms and concepts.
Whilst working with Haines McGregor at Westmill Foods, we identified that the Rajah spice brand could be best positioned to meet consumers’ need for Identity. We carefully crafted this brand position using just the right words and pictures, visualising that Rajah delivers ‘A Taste of Home’.
Having defined the brand position, we could then begin to identify and visualise new products. That each product concept needed to deliver authentic tastes was mandatory. But, guided by our Taste of Home positioning, we were able to explore more deeply how the brand could bridge the gap between our consumers’ South Asian roots and their busy lives in the UK.
An engaging process for the brand team so far. But where the visualisation of our consumers, new product concepts and having a rich brand story to tell really came into its own was when we came to share our plans internally and then externally with our sales and distribution partners.
Haines McGregor’s ability to craft and visualise stories made it much easier to gain traction and excite both internal and external audiences around what the brand should stand for. It’s just far simpler for the board, internal project team and your customers to understand what you’re trying to launch and why…this breeds alignment and buy-in. Both of which are critical if your fledgling new idea is to ever see the light of day.
The old saying is true. A picture really does tell a thousand words.
Why don’t you employ a little visual brand storytelling in your innovation process and let your brand, business, customers and consumers reap the benefits?