Innovation is essential to drive a sustained level of growth. For all brands, big or small, success depends on finding new ways to interact with people. Discover what lessons we can learn from some of the world’s most innovative brands.
What is your favorite innovation of recent years?
A revolutionary product? A game-changing app? A revolutionary technology? Discovering your favorite brand in a new and unexpected space? Or a brand that brings the consumption experience to the city, to consumers’ homes?
When we talk about innovation, we are not only talking about introducing completely new products to the market, but also about innovations in the area of experiences. Any type of innovation can contribute to brand growth. Whether it’s a big or small brand, its success depends on the ability to interact with people in new and relevant ways. Additionally, brands that expand into new spaces are twice as likely to grow as those that don’t.
It’s easy to talk about innovation, but putting it into practice is quite another. New ideas come with inherent risks. Innovation that does not align with consumer needs or preferences may fail in the marketplace. New products can interfere with a brand’s existing sales or blur its identity.
The reality shows that the survival rates of new products are not very high – one in three new products has already disappeared from the market or is about to do so within the first two years of launch. In addition, the research and development process is not an expensive one.
However, when brands succeed, their success shows that the effort is well worth it. While the idea obviously matters, strategic planning and execution are even more important.
Kantar analyzed hundreds of brands to identify the common factors of those who excel through innovation and to determine the winners of the Outstanding Innovation Awards (Outstanding Innovation Awards) from 2024. Each of these brands has made significant efforts to differentiate themselves relevantly from a consumer perspective and has demonstrated a clear link between successful innovation and improved financial performance.
So what can we learn from brands with remarkable innovations?
Here are five lessons for brands looking to follow their success:
First lesson: keep your curiosity
Marketers cannot stay connected to continuous market changes and emerging consumer needs without a deep curiosity about the world around them. But curiosity can do more than generate new ideas—it helps us understand trends and behaviors. This is essential for long-term innovation, which goes beyond simply reacting to trends, but rather is oriented towards determining them.
Take the example of Baileys, the iconic liquor brand. After decades of success, it faced a decline in popularity. As a result, the brand team took time to reflect and looked for inspiration in various areas, such as the world of coffee and cakes. Throughout this endeavor, curiosity was considered by the team as a catalyst that made new ideas bring recovery. By maintaining curiosity, Baileys was able to adapt and innovate, laying the foundation for success.
Lesson number two: question the category you think you’re in
The most innovative brands are often the ones bold enough to re-examine their brand essence and re-evaluate the value they offer. When brands rethink what makes them relevant and different, they often discover opportunities they didn’t initially identify.
“One of the growth accelerators, which any brand can activate, is finding a new space in the market, whether we’re talking about incremental spaces – motivations and new consumption opportunities – or accessing related categories and services. The increase in the number of occasions of consumption or use by 10% determines an increase in revenues by 17%, our data from BrandZ shows us », declares Anca VladInnovation Lead within Kantar Romania.
An example is the Fini sweets brand. The Fini team realized that its appeal went far beyond the boundaries of the candies and jellies category it was in – they had the potential to bring their vibrant colors, textures and flavors into entirely new categories. This idea led to inventive collaborations, resulting in products such as lip balms and colorful footwear. Unexpected? Arguably, but these initiatives were based on a deep understanding of the strengths of the Fini brand, allowing it to expand its influence in new and exciting directions.
To achieve such results, brands must take both an inside-out approach and an outside-in approach. The first involves a careful examination of the current market landscape – understanding the challenges, consumer needs and how they are being addressed. The second requires a broader perspective on the macro forces and cultural trends shaping the future. The most effective strategies emerge when insights from both directions are combined, revealing where the real opportunities lie.
Lesson number three: Be bold
Successful innovation requires brands to analyze carefully developing new ideas, then being bold enough to implement them. Samsung’s strength when it comes to foldable phones, for example, is based both on their groundbreaking research and the confidence they’ve shown in making such a maverick concept accessible to consumers. In a similar manner, the huge strides that Indian telecom operator Jio has made in providing internet in India have been based on both technological advances and extremely affordable prices responding to an unmet demand.
However, boldness does not mean recklessness. Solid research and strategic thinking are needed to propel new ideas. But even when the path to new territories is well-planned, brands must find the courage to take the first step. Here, organizational culture plays a crucial role: Marketers who want to drive change must bring their colleagues and stakeholders on this journey, ensuring that the whole team is ready to support the bold moves ahead.
Lesson number four: keep your brand authentic
Successful innovation respects and enhances a brand without compromising it – no matter how bold. That’s why authenticity makes the difference between innovations that succeed and those that fail.
When the Covid-19 pandemic brought major challenges to the aviation industry in 2020, Virgin Australia was driven to reconfigure its offering. The brand focused on one central objective: offering domestic and short-haul international flights at excellent value for money. By building a coherent portfolio around this goal, the company not only returned to profitability, but also improved consumer perception. The results were felt beyond Australia’s borders as this clarity and authenticity allowed the brand to create marketing campaigns that resonated with people around the world.
Lesson Five: Don’t Give Up; study, test and learn
Innovation rarely follows a straight path, so persistence and flexibility are essential to success. By choosing which ideas to develop further based on data-backed insights, brands can build the confidence to explore new approaches. When things don’t go according to plan, the ability to learn and iterate becomes crucial.
For example, when developing Nitrosurge, the Guinness team saw a clear opportunity to get from bars and pubs into people’s homes. Although they were aware of the history of less successful projects in this area, this did not stop them from trying. The team focused on refining the product and gaining a deep understanding of the practicalities involved in selling technology equipment – a completely different field than they were used to. This persistence paid off, turning a challenging opportunity into a successful innovation.
Innovation is the lifeblood that fuels the sustainable growth of brands, and it requires a balance between curiosity, courage and a clear connection to the essence of the brand. By questioning assumptions, being bold yet analytical, and continuing to learn from each attempt, brands can master the complexities inherent in the innovation process and become stronger.
This month, we’re celebrating brands that have excelled in these areas. Here are the winners of the 2024 Outstanding Innovation Awards:
Laureate Outstanding Innovation Awards,
Brands that are constantly innovating:
Winners have shown innovative activity over a longer period of time, successfully forging their way into new territories (based on Kantar BrandZ data from the last five years).
– Nutella
– Jio
– Samsung
Innovative Growth Brands:
Winners in this category have demonstrated the ability to evolve in line with rapidly changing trends or generate trends themselves over the past two years.
– Chase Payment Solutions
– Virgin Australia
– Beck’s
Pioneer Brands:
We recognize brands that break new ground in their fields, coming up with unique approaches to breaking into new territories.
– Ends
Brand Blueprint Award for Innovation
These awards were presented at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June 2024. They are aimed at brands that have consistently demonstrated innovative behavior while breaking into new areas
– Baileys
– Guinness
Anca Vlad concludes: “The recipe for Innovation is complex, dynamic and unique for each individual brand. Curiosity and courage are two of the basic ingredients, creativity and perseverance are also essential for success. However, what most successful brands have in common is openness to Trial and Error, or, as lesson 5 would say: Don’t give up! Learn, test and learn! .
Adaptation after an article written by Dr Nicki Morley, Director of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Innovation Expertise, Kantar Insights, UK
Source: www.iqads.ro
