Tim Andren - At the corner of Innovation and Marketing Ideas

Need inspiration? Check out lizards feet.

Here's a fun article about how scientists looked at Gecko toes!!! for inspiration to better an existing product.

"Mr. Autumn and scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, were responsible for the research that enabled Mark Cutkosky, a professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford, to develop a prototype for a tape based on gecko adhesion."

"The tape, which is reusable, was so strong, Mr. Autumn said, that when they tested it, he was able to stick his 50-pound, 8-year-old daughter to a window with it."

Product innovators often find inspiration in the most random places in the natural world. There's gotta be a cross-promotion they could do with Geico.

ARTICLE: A Sticky Little Lizard Inspires a New Adhesive Tape from the New York Times.com

"#Innovation isn't a "nice to have"...it is rapidly becoming the most important skill set your organization can acquire." –Jeffrey Phillips http://bit.ly/bDx9Vj

What iPad and tablet content will look like

What will iPad and tablet computers offer us? What will the experience be like?

With all the talk in recent months about the iPad, e-readers and tablet computing as a whole we've seen very little about the actual experience of using one.

Steve Jobs was clearly presenting the common denominators of the iPad for it's broad appeal. What was left out was the true potential of the multimedia experience of magazine/media content. What will the iPad apps be capable of with so much more screen real estate?

Gaming

While I'm not a big gamer, game development is essential to pay attention to because it often represents the cutting edge of user interface design. We're on the cusp of really developing a new physical language of interaction here. Think Nintendo Wii.

Newspapers and Magazines

On the other hand, the New York Times interface was weak. Their attempts to 'capture the essence of reading a newspaper' is archaic thinking. Forcing users to adhere to old media types of interaction on this type of device is silly. I don't want to read a newspaper, that's why I have a tablet. I want the information and articles presented to me in a slick, formatted style that is easy to use.

There are a handful of interesting videos that show the awesome possibilities that magazine publishers will have on tablets. Here is a great one.

Every magazine or newspaper has the potential to develop their own app which will include multiple levels of media content and interaction. Where things go from here will be fascinating for sure. How do you plan to use computers and tablet devices in the future?

Tim Andren is the founder of Guideas, Inc. an innovation and marketing company.

Innovation transports you from problem to solution

"We need to talk..."

Uh-oh. You know what that saying means. When business is slow and sales are down many owners and business folk begin to panic and call for meetings. These meetings are thrown together frantically to discuss what went wrong, what doesn't work and why. 

The finger pointing begins. Leaders will look from the top down at the sales, the marketing, the figures, the processes - only to discover that most of the time they'll never figure out the answer. Then the infighting begins, sales points at marketing, marketing at sales - rinse and repeat.

The battle of blame destroys careers, departments and sometimes the businesses themselves. The irony of the situation is that while running around like headless chickens, they fail to see what is right in front of them...innovation is the answer. 

When you focus on the problem, you'll never find the solution.

Where most of these meeting organizers steer wrong is that the time spent could be focused on being proactive. Times change, people change, and markets change, therefore the next step has to be about making adjustments and creating anew. While each solution is obviously unique to the company and their situation, they all come from one place - innovation.

It's amazing to me how often the process of innovation is only brought into the equation after all other efforts have been exhausted. I don't fully understand why, but I have a theory. 

If I wanted to give you an idea, chances are you wouldn't value it. Why? Because it was free first of all, but more importantly it's because you can't see it. On the contrary, if I gave you an existing business I bet you'd perk up.

Now let's pretend that the idea that I was going to give you was a for a new technology that is going to drive business in the 21st century. The thought or idea hasn't been put into motion yet, but it's worth billions of dollars. A lot of work would need to be done, investments, plans, etc., but that's a given. The difference-maker is the lightbulb in your head so just because an idea is intangible it doesn't make it substantial.

While others are focused on problems, forward-thinking companies like Google or howies focus toward ideation or innovative brand-building and continue to grow because of it. Stop the meetings. Stop the madness. Start innovating.

Tim Andren is the founder of Guideas, Inc. an innovation and marketing company.

Zara succeeds because it's different

 

How did a brand such as Zara become so successful? How did so many others go wrong?

Millions of clothing stores and brands in the fashion industry have come and gone. Therefore it's important to ask what Zara did differently. What were the decisions and strategies they implemented that made it work?

Zara's innovative approach (many called it backwards) allowed them to build a multi-billion dollar fashion brand.

Some would say this is impossible to put a finger on because it's fashion - it all comes down to the opinion of style. I say they're wrong.

This quote from a Businessworld article is the difference-maker:

"Zara was a fashion imitator. It focused its attention on understanding the fashion items that its customers wanted and then delivering them, rather than on promoting predicted season's trends via fashion shows and similar channels of influence, which the fashion industry traditionally used."

So they basically put the creative and R&D back into the hands of the people. They kept their finger on the pulse of markets and trends and simply responded to them.

This type of reverse engineering when applied to the ever-changing demand and whims of fashion is genius. How can you break the rules of your industry or processes in order to focus more on how your audience works?

Tim Andren - Guideas