TRANSFORMING EXPERIENCE SPRING 2016
A LETTER FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
W
e live in a world of infinite choices and infinite ways to connect. Consumer expectations continue to break new boundaries, astounding CMOs and their marketing organizations. No longer can marketers focus on studying the ‘step-by-step’ consumer journey, in attempts to manage prescribed messaging and media buying. Instead, there is a clear need to strategically guide how brands contribute to and create personalized experiences that consumers can choose to engage with— when and how they want it. Businesses that can transform experiences for consumers have the most potential to win. Transformation is not easy. Organizations need to have absolute clarity regarding how consumers think, feel & act when they need to solve a particular tension or challenge.
THINK—rational & conscious FEEL—emotional, sensorial & subconscious ACT—behavioral & unconscious This understanding serves as the guidance for experiences that create value for consumers—meeting and/or beating expectations. That’s why I’m proud to present four articles to help your organization more effectively create strategies that transform consumer experiences. These articles offer fresh perspectives, techniques, and case studies that we believe can be applied to small and large marketing challenges. We hope you find these insights useful. If you’d like to continue the conversation in person, please let us know.
Best,
Michael Weber Managing Director, Clear North America
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CONTENTS 04
MODERNIZING MARKETING STRATEGY
22
HOW SENSORY EXPERIENCES SET BRANDS APART
14 30
WORKSHOPS OUR LUNCH & LEARN PROGRAM CONTACT INFO
RETAIL RESET5 RULES FOR BRANDS TODAY DELIVERING BRAVE IDEAS WITH CONVICTION
MODERNIZING MARKETING STRATEGY
MODERNIZING MARKETING | 5
MIKE WEBER Managing Director
In today’s consumer landscape, the biggest constant is change. Can marketing strategy really help you stay ahead?
What do Airbnb, ZocDoc, and Spotify have in common? They’re all examples of how much consumer behaviors and preferences have changed in recent years. Today’s consumers would rather share than own; expect seamless, yet personalized buying experiences; and see value as being about more than just price.
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THE CONSUMER MINDSET HAS CHANGED The value propositions of companies that have emerged in recent years are evidence of this: Airbnb allows travelers to rent rooms in homes around the world, offering a unique alternative to a generic hotel. Venmo enables users to send instant payments to friends via mobile app, meaning no more stress when splitting a bill.
ZocDoc takes the headache out of finding a doctor to visit, displaying open appointment times and verified reviews of healthcare providers everywhere. Spotify provides unlimited music streaming and tailored recommendations, changing what it means to purchase and discover music.
Stitch Fix offers a new relationship model, using algorithms to mimic a “personal� stylist to assist busy female shoppers.
left: Spotify, 2016, http://spotify.com; bottom right: Airbnb, 2016, http://airbnb.com; top right: Zocdoc, 2016, http://zocdoc.com
We surveyed 150 marketing decision makers across North America to learn their readiness to take on these new competitors. We found that they are anything but confident about being properly equipped to manage, and capitalize on, what the future holds.
66%
EXPECT MORE CHANGE AHEAD
44%
ARE NOT CONFIDENT ABOUT THEIR DEPARTMENTS’ PREPAREDNESS FOR CHANGE
87%
ARE LESS THAN “EXTREMELY SATISFIED” WITH THEIR ABILITY TO HANDLE CHANGE
75%
BELIEVE THAT MARKETING DOES NOT PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN REALIZING THE VALUE OF BUSINESS STRATEGY
We believe that to win, marketing strategy must be at the intersection of business needs and changing consumer desires. In fact, marketing strategy is the biggest competitive advantage you can have as a business because it puts you closer to the consumer than anything else.
ADAPTING MARKETING STRATEGIES TO AN EVER-CHANGING WORLD Navigating this new world and reaching consumers in a real, relevant way is more challenging than ever. So, how should organizations adapt marketing strategy in order to maintain a competitive advantage?
We talked to 50 CMOs from a variety of mid-tier and top brands. We asked them questions like:
WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT? WHAT HAS ENABLED YOU TO STAY AHEAD? WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS THE ROLE OF MARKETING STRATEGY? HOW DO YOU MAKE MARKETING STRATEGY MATTER IN YOUR ORGANIZATION? WHAT’S WORKING WELL AND WHY?
We distilled these conversations into 4 critical levers that all businesses can pull to ensure their marketing strategy is truly on the pulse of changing consumer desires and needs. Brands can use these levers to shape distinctive experiences across the entire value chain.
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1. CLARITY FROM PROFIT TO PURPOSE Companies used to invest in brands to raise awareness and influence the “upper funnel” in the belief that a bigger funnel of aware consumers would lead to profitable growth. With the deluge of messaging across all channels, consumers must now be able to connect with a purpose that is relevant, meaningful and demonstrates obvious value. This means making absolutely sure that your brand plays a real purpose in consumer’s lives, connecting with their lifestyle, beliefs and self-image. As many know now, LEGO was nearly bankrupt in 2004. In 2003 sales were down 35% in the U.S. and 29% worldwide, and with escalating debt and costs the business was at the brink of disaster.
The brand was overstretched, being used beyond the brick toys—theme parks, apparel, and even video games. CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp famously quoted, “What we realized is that the more we’re true to ourselves, the better we are. We needed a permanent change in our lifestyle.” LEGO defined a clear brand mission to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow, with an aspiration to globalize and innovate the LEGO system-in-play. This purpose became the driving guidelines for how LEGO focuses their business and brand. For instance, no new product lines can be developed that do not innovate on the brick system in play—this means that the set must encourage creative play, inspire building and provide a sense of challenge.
“
LEGO defined a clear brand mission to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. —Lego
bottom: Legoland, 2014, http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2014/feb/20/269329/
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2. EMPATHY FROM ENGAGEMENT TO EMPATHY Creating a thriving brand requires delivering purpose from the inside out. Companies are beginning to understand that they must empower employees to see themselves as valued contributors to constantly evolving the organization. Marketing strategy should include a clear relationship between the brand purpose and the role employees play to make this purpose real in the world. This encourages employees to perform their best—and in turn, affects how they relate to customers.
The Cleveland Clinic truly believes in applying empathy to their strategy. The organization hosts a boot camp for empathy, engagement and service behaviors. This 4-day inter-professional conference (now running 6 years)is devoted to exploring patient experience as a key differentiator essential to the future of healthcare delivery. It brings together patient experience leaders, healthcare executives, nursing leaders, policy makers and major stakeholders for presentations, debate and candid discussion of key issues that drive patient experience.
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Your marketing strategy has to be from the inside out…. We now have 50,000 people working for us that believe in this idea of making America 20% healthier by 2020. Everyone in the company is rallied behind doing this. —Pam Orlando Executive Creator Director, Humana
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MODERNIZING MARKETING | 11
“
ADOBE’s Kickbox is designed to increase innovator effectiveness, accelerate innovation velocity, and measurably improve innovation outcomes. —Adobe
”
3. BRAVERY BIG IDEAS TO BRAVE CONVICTION Being brave means looking beyond short-term gains toward long-term transformation… embracing disruption rather than rejecting it. But being brave in marketing starts with a brave innovation brief, which challenges the organization to ask difficult questions: “What is the obvious value of the idea?” “What is the unfair advantage we have to win?” “What is the tension and pain we will be solving for our consumer?” Creating a brief through these lenses encourages ideas that are brave and fuels the courage for the team to follow through, even if the business case is not cut and dry.
Adobe is practicing brave innovation inside their organization and giving its employees the permission and courage to bring ideas to life. Kickbox is a small, red cardboard box containing everything an employee needs to generate, prototype, and test a new idea. According to Adobe, the Kickbox is “designed to increase innovator effectiveness, accelerate innovation velocity, and measurably improve innovation outcomes.” Mark Randall developed Kickbox after finding out that “convincing management” was the most frequent response when Adobe employees were asked what led them to keep their ideas to themselves inside the business. Adobe believes so strongly in the program that they have open sourced the discipline online.
left: Cleveland Clinic Patient Experience Summit., 2015, http://medcitynews.com/2015/05/patient-experience-summit-compassionempathy-matter-in-nursing/; top: Adobe, 2015, http://www.solidsmack.com/resources/adobe-kickstarts-innovation-employees-using-kickbox/
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“
The most effective marketing organizations leave nothing to chance. In a world that’s increasingly unpredictable, scenario planning for multiple outcomes and situations is key. How do we respond if the regulator…? How do we respond if x enters the market…? This actually means a lot more work but will also allow marketing teams to respond fastest and set the agenda. —Jenny Ashmore Chartered Institute of Marketing
“
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4. AGILITY FROM EFFICIENCY TO REAL-TIME AGILITY The linear, once-a-year process that once fueled marketing is almost laughably out of step with the pace at which trends shift today. Now, companies must use social data and analytics to adapt and react instantaneously. In many leading organizations, marketing is proactively uniting functions such as technology, corporate planning and finance to build forward-looking scenarios and strategies for how to increase customer value. Scenario planning will involve more of the organization, serving as a continuous and less rigid process.
Netflix is a great example for a marketing organization which can rapidly adjust marketing mix, along with visual and verbal messaging to increase customer value. As a business, they use data analytics to inform what titles are licensed, how to drive conversion, what videos to recommend, all the way down to how data (titles, lead actors, UI backgrounds) is visualized.
MODERNIZING MARKETING | 13
Today’s marketers have more questions than answers. Many struggle to see the real ROI their work delivers to drive business value. It doesn’t have to be this way. By putting into action these 4 levers, marketing professionals can confidently keep pace with their consumers and clearly
demonstrate their value to their business—even in times of rapid change. Clarity, empathy, bravery and agility should be at the heart of how data is collected, how decisions are made, how visions are made real. By doing this, marketing strategy becomes the tool for ensuring readiness and competitive advantage that keeps truly great companies growing.
opposite page: Netflix, 2016, Netflix.com; http://www.wired.com/insights/2014/03/big-data-lessons-netflix; top: David Marcu, https://unsplash.com/photos/JZXAr--Qdf4
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RETAIL RESET 5 RULES FOR BRANDS TODAY
RETAIL RESET | 15
RHONDA HIATT Executive Director, Strategy
The world of retail is quickly evolving—in order to stay relevant, brands must quickly adapt to new expectations of personalization, convenience and relevance. In a relatively short time, we’ve gone from a world where grocery stores weren’t open on Sunday to a world where egg delivery by drone doesn’t seem totally unrealistic. Because of major technological, operational and economic breakthroughs, retail concepts like the traditional brickand-mortar store and notion of path to purchase are more alive and exciting than ever before. With U.S. retailers planning to open 80,000 new physical locations over the next 4 years (over 50 new stores per day), shoppers have more choices than ever before to engage with brands, products and services.
Shopper needs have evolved from a simple linear path to purchase with minimal expectations into a complex web fraught with limitless choices and many ways to get to the end result. Now, more than ever before, is the time for brands to step up, be present and create relevant experiences—both in store and out. How can brands adapt to this new environment? By understanding and acting on five major rules now.
80,000
RETAIL LOCATIONS ARE PLANNED TO OPEN OVER THE NEXT 4 YEARS IN THE U.S.
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UNIQLO HAS FOUND WAYS TO DELIGHT SHOPPERS WITH NEW EXPERIENCES
RULE ONE: LEAVE THE PAST IN THE PAST. This is a category rooted in the past— but the future of retail is not coming; it’s here. It’s not about waiting for that one specific, perfectly integrated technology. It’s about a total, holistic strategy. One component of that strategy happens to be technology. From interactive fitting rooms to personal subscription services, it’s about delivering engagement that maximizes an individual’s experience with a brand. It’s that surprise and delight factor, but on steroids. We are seeing more and more retail leaders running the risk of becoming extinct. Headlines like “Gap to close 175 North American stores” or “J.Crew lays off 10% of workforce after a net loss of
$657.8 million” are commonplace. While behemoths such as Macy’s and Walmart focus on how to maximize space or design new fixtures, smaller, more nimble brands are sweeping in and capturing consumers’ attention. Take Uniqlo, for example. The Japanbased company has set an ambitious annual sales goal of $44 billion by 2020. And while brick-and-mortar stores are an important part of its strategy, Uniqlo has also found ways to delight shoppers with new experiences. The company is currently working on a process by which customers can order goods in stores—then receive them within 3 hours at either their homes, places of work or even hotel rooms.
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RULE TWO: DON’T STRIVE TO BE RELEVANT. STRIVE TO STAY RELEVANT. The old rules of retail are gone. Now, relevance reigns. Success today is about recognizing a trend, anticipating a market shift, and taking action—before anyone else. Retail brands that win are responsive and agile when faced with changing market dynamics. Industry gamechangers like Uber, Netflix and Apple have caused brands to rethink their marketing strategies or face becoming the next Blockbuster, Kodak or Radioshack.
This thinking has led to some unexpected partnerships like the one between Levi Strauss & Co. and Google. Through “Project Jacquard,” the two very different companies are developing clothing with conductive fiber, enabling touch and gesture interactivity. A pair of jeans might not compete with a smart watch today, but in the very near future, it could.
Success today is about recognizing a trend, anticipating a market shift, and taking action—before anyone else.
opposite page: Uniqlo, 2014, http://www.uniqlo.com/sg/corp/pressrelease/2014/08/uniqlo_to_open_four_new_stores.html/; bottom: Android Central, 2015, http://www.androidcentral.com/googles-project-jacquard-actual-wearable-wearable
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RULE THREE: FOCUS ON EXPERIENCE. The channel no longer matters. Experience matters. Today’s shoppers can buy whatever, wherever, whenever, and however they want. To them, it’s all one experience, with satisfaction in one channel affecting expectations in all others. Shopping in a store, tweeting from the store to your 400 closest friends, reading a few reviews of the product you are thinking about buying and then ultimately purchasing it on the retail app, are all equally important pieces of the overall brand experience. The race is on to see which brands deliver experiences best.
With online sales growing, we are seeing brands double down on their physical retail strategies. Birchbox, the web company known for its beauty sample subscription boxes, opened its first store in 2015, with plans to open more. The company also organized a cross-country road trip of pop-up shops in order to evaluate demand and sales potential in several potential cities. The lesson for brands? One channel is no longer enough. To understand and execute the experience expectations of your consumer base, an anywhereand-everywhere experience should be the goal.
One channel is no longer enough. An anywhere-andeverywhere experience should be the goal.
BIRCHBOX ORGANIZED A CROSSCOUNTRY ROAD TRIP OF POP-UP SHOPS TO EVALUATE DEMAND IN POTENTIAL CITIES
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RULE FOUR: GET PERSONAL. Mass is out. Getting personal is in. Gone are the days of meeting growth targets by simply expanding your physical footprint in order to reach an ever-widening audience, as big-box companies have done for years. Mass is no longer a strategic advantage. Barriers to entry are getting lower and price is no longer a top consideration in many categories. Thanks to the ability to quickly compare across multiple retailers, consumers typically trust they are getting a good price. The new competitive advantage is about maximizing experience by providing a personal touch, either with the product or the experience it enables. Brands can stand out by offering products that appear not made for the
masses, but rather hand-picked for individuals. Companies like Etsy, the online marketplace where independent artisans can sell their wares, have had a large hand in putting small suppliers on a big stage. They have increased demand for handcrafted products—so much so that they are challenging the word’s very definition. Etsy recently began connecting sellers with approved factories to help manufacture their goods in larger runs. We are seeing an overwhelming emergence of retailers like these, such as Blue Apron, Marley Spoon, Dollar Shave Club, Stitch Fix and Lola. These tailor-made subscription services are singlehandedly redefining mass and expectation of the experience.
opposite page: Birchbox, 2015, http://techcrunch.com/2015/07/13/beauty-product-subscription-service-birchbox-is-opening-morebrick-and-mortar-retail-stores/; top left: O’Brien, 2015, http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/11/smallbusiness/etsy-b-corporation-ipo/; top right: Sanders, 2016, http://blog.allmyfaves.com/weekly-faves/marley-spoon-weeknight-cooking-simplified/
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STARBUCKS PROCESSED 6 MILLON MOBILE TRANSACTIONS PER MONTH BY THE END OF 2015
RULE FIVE: RESPECT THE WEB. There is no longer a linear path to purchase—it’s an ever-evolving web. Today, shoppers have immediate access to limitless product information, reviews and offers. They can compare prices, look for the best deal, and read what other people have to say. The noise is louder, and the decisions are harder. The journey is no longer: Need coffee. See coffee. Buy coffee. Repeat. The journey today is: See coffee. Google nonGMO vs. organic vs. sustainable farming. Read reviews. Text a friend for an opinion. Buy coffee. Repeat (possibly with a different brand or at a different retailer). It’s exhausting.
To even get into consumers’ consideration web, brands must first demonstrate relevance. Once they do that, they need experience to match. Over the years, Starbucks has discovered ingenious ways to make itself the simple brand of choice for consumers. It recently rolled out a service by which customers can order and pay for food and beverages from their mobile devices before they ever enter a store. This means lower wait times for busy consumers, and more drinks served for Starbucks—a winwin. With this new transaction method, Starbucks was processing 6 million mobile transactions per month by the end of 2015.
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These rules are hardly the last when it comes to the ever-changing reality of retail. Brands that want to succeed today must understand that retail is no longer a onesided conversation. Consumers want experiences along with their products and services.
They are demanding experiences that are convenient, customized, and relevant in their lives. It’s up to you to determine what that means for your brand—and then deliver.
opposite page: Eater, 2015, http://www.eater.com/2015/6/16/8790095/starbucks-mobile-order-and-pay-app/; top: Camper, 2015, http://www.frameweb.com/news/diebedo-francis-kere-inserts-vitra--camper-pop-up-shop-into-existing-dome; cover page: Zalando, 2015, http://www.businessoffashion.com/community/companies/zalando/portfolio/album/68697
MMM, DELICIOUS! HOW SENSORY EXPERIENCES SET BRANDS APART
SENSORY STRATEGY | 23
STEPHANIE HEROLD Director – Practice Head of Culture
Winning brands connect consumers with all their senses. Clear’s sensory experience toolkit breaks down what makes a great brand experience and can help you dig deeper. Part of what makes coffee shops so irresistible is that they feed all of our senses. Think of the hiss of an espresso machine or the buttery taste of a chocolate croissant. These sensations make us feel like participants in a shared experience, rather than passive consumers.
Harvard Business Review reported in 2015 that we may be entering an era in which more and more consumer products companies use “sense-based marketing” to create memorable, enjoyable moments for consumers. But what makes up a moment? And what creates a special experience?
Brands across categories can apply sensory marketing in the same way. Adding more dimension to an experience —be it a smell, a visual or tactile element, or a more complex flavor— can change the way people respond.
Experiences can be difficult to understand and define. Clear has developed a simple yet powerful approach to break down experiences into their components.
WHAT MAKES UP A MOMENT? WHAT CREATES A SPECIAL EXPERIENCE?
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WE HAVE CONDUCTED MORE THAN 100 SESSIONS IN 8 COUNTRIES AROUND THE GLOBE
SENSORY EXPERIENCE LABS Sensory Experience Labs are consumer sessions designed to explore the sensorial product attributes necessary to deliver a winning product experience. A toolkit with more than a dozen proven exercises drives the sessions.
We have conducted more than 100 sessions in 8 countries across the globe, tailoring content for relevance to local markets. Over time we have developed a structured approach, which falls into three phases.
SENSORY STRATEGY | 25
PHASE 1: SETTING CONTEXT Experiences are largely about context. We create context for these sessions with a series of warm-up exercises to get participants thinking about the experience, taking all their senses into consideration. For example, for a snacking manufacturer, we dig deep on:
WHAT they snack on (products
We conduct a series of time-tested exercises to help participants express their thoughts in creative ways. An attribute wheel gets consumers thinking about product attributes beyond flavor. Concept boards or moodboards can help consumers understand the “big idea� of a product without using words.
and brands)
WHEN AND WHERE they snack (occasions) WHY they snack (functional, emotional, and sensorial needs)
pic of someone eating indulging
We create context with a series of warm-up exercises to get participants thinking about the experience in multiple ways.
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PHASE 2: SAMPLING PRODUCTS Once the context is set, tasting exercises are introduced. We prompt tasters to think deeply about what they experience as they sample and compare. For example, we use sensory scales to evaluate products across sensorial spectrums.
They’re different from traditional scales in that they are consumer-led. Instead of giving consumers pre-defined criteria, we let them create the scales themselves. We also use contextual mapping and aided descriptions to probe to deeper emotional benefits of a sensorial experience.
Exposing consumers to multiple stimuli is key to stretch their thinking and level of articulation around sensorial experiences.
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PACKAGING ‘WRAPS UP’ THE ENTIRE SENSORIAL EXPERIENCE
PHASE 3: LOOKING AT THE WHOLE PACKAGE Finally, we turn our attention to packaging. Packaging affects a consumer’s experience with a product. That’s why packaging must fit the concept and the concept occasion a brand is trying to achieve.
We may present a traffic light exercise through which consumers evaluate packaging concepts against key criteria. This creates a clear picture of winning and losing concepts according to what matters to consumers.
We show consumers best-in-class packaging examples as inspiration, encouraging them to think beyond the status quo.
top: Whole Foods, 2010, http://apronthriftgirl.typepad.com/flavorstitch/natural-foods/
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WHERE DO YOU GO FROM THERE? Following the session, we prepare a bespoke deliverable depending on what you need: high-level direction or granularity.
If you need big-picture insights, you get: • A clear understanding of how the concept translates into product expectations across key product attributes (surface, size, shape, texture, flavor) • An identification of the key occasions and needs driving consumption of each prototype • An overall prototype performance review across key product attributes—what works and opportunities for improvement • Clear direction on winning prototypes, taking into consideration appeal and fit with the concept, with feedback for further optimization
If you need granular product depth, we provide: • A breakdown of consumer needs across key product attributes and corresponding sub-attributes, with nuances by market • An overarching value diagram with product building blocks across attributes • Detailed value diagrams for each concept/occasion that include: • Functional/emotional needs underpinning the moment • Concept articulation • Prototype opportunities • Must-Haves, Optimizers, and Delighters across key attributes
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CREATE AN EXPERIENCE. A product is no longer just a product. It is part of a complex, multi-sensory experience, influenced by the sensations and memories it triggers, the context in which it appears, and even the time of day a consumer gets a craving. It’s up to brands to unlock the relationships between these factors.
Once they do, they can begin creating experiences that consumers desire. How will Sensory Strategy impact your business? Are you equipped with the insight you need to maximize this new opportunity?
DELIVERING BRAVE IDEAS WITH CONVICTION
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INNOVATION LAUNCHPAD | 31
TIM SUTTON Chief Strategy Officer
You have lots of ideas. But how do you decide which ones are worth your time, energy and investment? Use a powerfully simple tool to ramp up new ideas quickly for a winning advantage. Today, winning consumers is about more than knowing the traditional customer journey. It’s about disrupting that journey with new, brave ideas and experiences that consumers will want to engage with again and again. The big problem? It’s all too easy to create a new product. This makes it critical to deliver great ideas faster than competitors. The formula to do that is relatively straightforward. Actually achieving market success, however, is anything but.
Most companies have plenty of ideas. What they lack is an effective way to filter the good ideas from the bad— then quickly evolve those ideas into marketable products. That’s why so many teams end up overestimating:
HOW DIFFERENT THEIR PRODUCT/SERVICE IS FROM COMPETITORS HOW VALUABLE THAT DIFFERENCE IS HOW EASILY CONSUMERS WILL UNDERSTAND IT When this happens, teams often fail to prioritize the right projects. And this leads to failure in the market.
IT’S ABOUT DISTRUPTING THE CONSUMER JOURNEY WITH NEW, BRAVE IDEAS & EXPERIENCES
WHAT’S THE SOLUTION? To avoid wasting time on dead-end ideas, teams need an easy way to assess an idea’s associated risks and likelihood of success.
We’ve developed a simple, powerful tool that helps teams honestly evaluate and improve their ideas by focusing on 4 critical building blocks:
1 2 3 4
SOLVING A PAIN THAT IS CONSCIOUS, UNRESOLVED AND IMPORTANT. OFFERING A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THAT OVER-DELIVERS VALUE THAT’S IMMEDIATELY OBVIOUS.
IDENTIFYING VULNERABLE SPENDING POOLS WHERE YOU CAN CAPTURE LARGE, INCREMENTAL SOURCES OF REVENUE. LEVERAGING ANY UNFAIR ADVANTAGES TO GAIN A SUSTAINABLE EDGE.
INNOVATION LAUNCHPAD | 33
WE CALL IT THE INNOVATION LAUNCHPAD By using the Launchpad, we’ve been able to help clients much more objectively gauge their chances of success, uncover powerful and often hidden ways to improve their ideas,
and capture the key risks that need to be confirmed and mitigated. This clarity drives ideas from good to great, from fit for purpose to brave.
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IN ACTION: INNOVATION LAUNCHPAD Let’s see the Innovation Launchpad in action. Imagine you’re Marriott. You’re facing competition from Airbnb, which many consumers prefer for its flexibility and choice of locations. How can you innovate to give these consumers the experience they demand? Below describes how two concepts are explored. Additional benefits are added when assessing Concept 2 (*highlighted in blue text). Concept 1: Create a program that lets individual property owners list their properties as part of Marriott’s global inventory. Concept 2: Develop a program to use certified 3rd-party owned DEDICATED properties that meet our specifications as Marriott Minis to deliver a uniform, high service alternative to Airbnb.
STUNNINGLY OBVIOUS VALUE
PERSISTENT CONSCIOUS PROBLEM
To what degree are we over-delivering obvious value that will resonate with consumers?
To what degree is the pain we’re trying to solve conscious, unresolved, and important?
Selection, Uniqueness, Price, Flexibility, Ease, Safety*
I want the room I want, where I want it, without the hassle.
WHAT HAS TO BE TRUE? Consumers will immediately see the value in having a trusted brand certify rooms. Consumers will see this proposition as the best of both worlds.
WHAT HAS TO BE TRUE? Consumers will trust us to resolve some of the “trust” issues. We can operationalize to deliver against the core consumer tensions.
VULNERABLE SPENDING POOLS
UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
Airbnb and Home Away, Marriott traditional business, competitive hotels*
Web traffic, Brand, Financing, Operating capabilites*
WHAT HAS TO BE TRUE? Consumers will come to us to search for non-traditional rooms. We can attract sufficient inventory to compete.
WHAT HAS TO BE TRUE? We can add and manage the inventory, transaction, and payment to our systems. We can create scalable systems to operationalize hospitality services that overcome the weakness in Airbnb’s model.*
To what degree do we have a large, incremental source of revenue that can be captured with relatively low risk to consumers?
To what degree do we have sustainable unfair advantages that will translate into a much higher likelihood for success vs. competitors?
INNOVATION LAUNCHPAD | 35
STUNNINGLY OBVIOUS VALUE To what degree are we over-delivering obvious value that will resonate with consumers?
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Concept 1 Score
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To what degree do we have a large, incremental source of revenue that can be captured with relatively low-risk to consumers?
VULNERABLE SPENDING POOLS
Concept 2 Score
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To what degree is the pain that we’re trying to solve conscious, unresolved, and important?
PERSISTENT CONSCIOUS PROBLEM
Concept 1 Score: UNCERTAIN This idea is a good starting point. But what’s immediately clear is that it may not deliver the obvious value or the unfair advantage we need.
Concept 2 Score: UNCERTAIN / BRAVE This idea is approaching “brave” territory. It scores highly on all four building blocks. This idea might be worth pursuing further.
UNFAIR ADVANTAGE
2
To what degree do we have sustainable unfair advantages that will translate into a much higher likelihood for us vs. potential competitors?
1
IT’S NOT ABOUT FINDING THE IDEA – IT’S ABOUT WORKING THE IDEA
INNOVATION LAUNCHPAD | 37
CAN YOU THINK OF IDEAS THAT SCORE EVEN HIGHER? The need to develop great ideas is pervasive. The Innovation Launchpad can help. That’s why we’ve decided to open-source it on our website—so innovators
like you can develop great ideas faster and create memorable brand experiences for consumers. Try it on your own challenge!
Innovation Launchpad V1.0 Copyright © 2016 Clear USA, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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CLEAR INVITES YOU TO
LUNCH & LEARN
We’re happy to share our thinking and experience on helping brands to unlock their potential. Reach out if you’d like to schedule a session.
MODERNIZING STRATEGY Learn four principles for how organizations are adapting strategy to maintain competitive advantage.
CATEGORY VISION Learn the principles for defining the future of a category and how you can be a strong partner to your customers as you drive category growth.
SHOPPER PSYCHOLOGY Learn the three psychology principles that demonstrate why people behave the way they do at retail through storytelling and real world examples.
INSPIRING SHOPPER EXPERIENCE We will show you how to orchestrate the complete in-store experience to attract, engage and edcuate shoppers in a way that truly connects to drive choice.
WORKSHOPS | 39
BRAVE INNOVATION Learn the principles behind ‘being brave’ and how innovation can create ideas that answer the 4 most important business questions.
INNOVATION LAUNCHPAD We developed and launched the Innovation Launchpad to help clients deliver smart ideas faster. We’ll share the tool and show that by challenging conventional thinking, innovation can move faster.
CREATIVE IMMERSION Staying closely connected to your consumer is critical if we want to develop highly relevant products for consumers. We’ll share our latest thinking on creative techniques to immerse with consumers.
GLOBAL MIGRATION AND NUTRITION With populations migrating all over the world, habitual patterns around nutrition are changing as well. We will share the changes we see and what we believe the impact for nutrition brands will be.
WE BELIEVE that complexity and change are the greatest barriers to value creation
CLEAR IS A GLOBAL MARKETING STRATEGY CONSULTANCY We provide the clarity that transforms business Clear New York Clear London
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MIKE WEBER
Managing Director MikeW@clear-ideas.com +1 212 361 0014 ext. 7006
AMY FREDRICKSON
Director, Commercial Operations AmyF@clear-ideas.com +1 212 361 0014 ext. 7004
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