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Business Week writer Reena Jana published a great article recently. “The Innovation Backlash” is a must-read for business executives and marketers everywhere.
In her article, Ms. Jana cites a rising number of influential business thinkers’ books, articles, surveys and podcasts on the subject of innovation, or rather -- the abuse and overuse of the word innovation -- and how this is causing a real backlash. She also cites other must-read articles and books for our benefit.
Ms. Jana’s points of contention: incremental product improvements are being heralded by companies as proof of their commitment to innovation. By marketing their brands as innovative long enough and loudly enough, the public will “see their brand as inventive and forward-thinking.”
The problem is that so many companies are hyping the “innovation factor” (vis-à-vis their products and services) that it’s become banal. While many companies do, in fact, have innovation-based cultures, many others are overstating this to an increasingly skeptical, jaded consumer.
Similarly, in an article titled: “Beware the Backlash: A rising tide of disaffection towards design”, on the Core 77 web site, also cited by Ms. Jana, author Kevin McCullagh observes the same thing. “The term (innovation) has been over-used and abused of much of its meaning, with every lame brand-tweak and extension being hailed as an 'innovation.'” He contends that this “approach” is only serving to weaken the potentially meaningful impact of true innovation and design, as well.
The other problem seems to center on the cost vs. reward ratio for companies that truly innovate. Translation: some companies are spending far more on R&D in an effort to innovate than is justified by their return on investment.
Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation, a book written by Boston Consulting Group’s James Andrew and Harold Sirkin (Harvard Business School Press, January 2007) discusses this crucial issue for business. To quote Ms. Jana: “The authors emphasize what should be, but isn’t, obvious: that the ‘only worthwhile innovation is profitable innovation.’”
It seems to me that lots of solid, straight-forward ideas might be gleaned from these sources, for businesses large and small. For example, Payback advises businesses to let go of certain innovative ideas if they are too costly, making them unprofitable to companies, even if they are ‘brilliant and revolutionary.’ Sound reasoning since companies are in business to make a profit, after all.
There is plenty of room for true innovation. Consumers want and expect it and companies that provide real, innovative solutions will continue to reap the benefits, provided they measure their investments vs their returns.
Ask yourself these questions:
• How many real innovations can you recall in recent memory?
• How many “innovations” have you seen advertised and marketed that didn’t live up to that billing?
• How did you feel when you purchased products or services that were touted as innovative, only to be disappointed afterward?
• What was the last product or service you bought that you considered truly innovative?
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Comments
Hi Ted, I would imagine it all depends on how one defines innovation.
Is it incremental improvement (which is probably the most common way it's used today by those touting it), or is it truly break through new products/services ala electricity, combustion engine etc. Is it evolutionary, or revolutionary? If innovation can be defined as improvement then perhaps we need a new word for break-through innovation...
Whatever the answer, I do agree it's an overused phrase.
Posted by: Paul Barsch | 03.02.07
Ted: sounds like "innovation" is the new "extreme". Or, "X-Treme", depending on your network and demo/psychographic.
Buzzwords are there to be over-used. And consumers are smart. They know what innovation looks and smells like.
Posted by: Stephen Denny | 03.02.07
I think many would agree with us. It is dangerous to overuse the word "innovation". While I agree with you, Paul, that incremental improvements should continue to be made to products, they should not be touted as major innovations, when they are not. That is my point.
And you're right, Stephen, consumers can smell a rat from a distance when it comes to this. Unfortunately, companies who indulge in this tactic will only turn consumers off and lose them. We all know what happened when the boy cried "wolf" once too often. . .nobody came.
Posted by: Ted Mininni | 03.02.07
What's innovative marketing?
Just for fun...
Posted by: Tammy Strnatka | 03.02.07
"Innovative". "People (or Human)". "Quality". "Leading-edge". I can go on, but I'd rather we officially retire them from "marketing materials".
Posted by: Mark Goren | 03.02.07
Agree with "some companies are spending far more on R&D in an effort to innovate than is justified by their return on investment."
Posted by: APan | 03.03.07
Mark,
You've made a good point. Overusing certain phrases or using them repeatedly out of context makes them meaningless.
APan,
This was a provocative point raised in Ms. Jana's article. Perhaps companies ought to review their R&D spends vs their returns on those investments more closely?
Thanks for weighing in all.
Posted by: Ted Mininni | 03.05.07
I would think finding an innovative way to not use the word innovation would be innovative. Or at least that has been my experience.
Posted by: Scot Duke | 03.05.07
Scot,
I like your tongue in cheek observation. The only problem is "ground breaking", "new and reformulated", "newly designed" and "totally redesigned" have also been used to death. Any other ideas?
Posted by: Ted Mininni | 03.06.07
The last truly innovative product I bought?
The Bose Personal Amplification System. http://www.bose.com/controller?event=VIEW_PRODUCT_PAGE_EVENT&product=l1_basic_live_music
It changed the way I do live sound as a musician. It's pricey, now, but I believe in time it will achieve more widespread usage and you'll see them (and hear them) in small clubs all over.
To me, an innovative product is something that the average Joe would never have thought of, but is delighted to use. One of the downsides of using customer research and feedback to develop products is that it will rarely result in a truly interesting (aka innovative) product, because we as consumers are, on the whole, mostly unimaginative, and the best we can do is want something faster, cheaper, sooner, and shinier.
True innovation is, in my mind, by *definition* much rarer than a buzzword would merit, because it is a unique and unusual idea.
Posted by: Clark Woolstenhulme | 03.08.07
Similiar topic came up on LinkedIn's Q&A. area under "Crowdsourcing". I made the point that society is too "improvement-minded", and can't truly conceive of an innovation.
I also cited Prof. Rosabeth Moss's Kanter (Harvard Business School) provocative Nov. 2006 HBR essay "Innovation: The Classic Traps" mentioned in the BW article.
Basically every few years, someone stumbles upon the very concept of "innovation" as a goal to be pursued, and makes some weird empty pronouncement about it. Then industry erupts to suck the life out of it what little value was inherent.
What gets lost is that most of the "innovative" act is the act of change or introduction itself, and not creating processes that foster "more" innovations but that *better support* the innovations and innovators at present to thrive and flourish yield better ROI. Goose that laid the golden egg *sigh*...
The investment and execution must be sound so the return is greatest, whatever fad structure is in place. It doesn't matter how great the process that "created" it. Once expressed, the "new idea" could fail because no one adopts it, it doesn't spread or does so in a limited fashion, it might only be an improvement or an enhancement at best.
This is where, I think, the tension between production and marketing makes itself felt, in the absence of really good investments in R&D: what do you call what results from any "good" or "great" idea? No wonder the patent & trademark offices worldwide are kept busy.
Short burst of underscored irony: MPDailyFix today also links to items on how "innovation" in ads won't come from consumers but niche agencies (though it's to early to tell and its based on industry response to consumer innovation); and the WMA ISAR report that praises the airline but chastises the financial sector in terms of "innovation" relative to customer Web experience (both sectors were among the earliest web adopters). Who knows what it means...
Posted by: Ryan Turner | 03.09.07
Clark and Ryan,
Thank you for some very insightful thoughts and for sharing your comments with us.
Clark: thank you for sharing a product that has been innovative for you in your life as a musician.
Ryan: I think you've hit on something important when you cite the "tension between production and marketing". Again: ROI does increasingly count, doesn't it?
To both of you: I agree that over-use of the word "innovative" makes it now seem banal in most cases. And that's too bad because when a true innovation comes along, it is coming before an increasingly skeptical public.
Posted by: Ted Mininni | 03.09.07