December 11, 2009

22) Nissan

Nissan_logo10

危 wēi  danger

Driving in an environmentally sound way is often perceived to be boring.  Frequently, consumers have good intentions but don’t follow through in their actions.  This is in part because other, more significant behaviours and needs overtake their best intentions – not least the desire to get to their destination quickly.  With Nissan investing so much in more efficient petrol and electric vehicles, these other consumer behaviours are in danger of limiting environmental benefit.

机 jī opportunity

Nissan has realized that harnessing these other consumer behaviours might provoke their customers to drive greener. Accordingly, Nissan and the city of Yokohama plan to offer an iPhone application that’s intended to encourage local residents to drive more efficiently. The application links to the car over a Wi-Fi connection and monitors the driving behaviour. The data is continuously uploaded to a central server, where it’s compared to optimal driving profiles to rate the user’s driving in three areas on a scale from one to five. The application also delivers summaries, enabling drivers to compete and try and improve on their own scores.

How about:

  • Harnessing existing human behaviours rather than having to create new ones?
  • Harnessing technology to benchmark performance and encourage the desired behaviour change?

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December 4, 2009

21) OfficeMax

OfficeMaxLogo

危 wēi  danger

At the end of 2007 OfficeMax had reduced its advertising budgets but its need to drive footfall into its stores and to its website was ever present.  Its lower budget made it unlikely that traditional marketing channels would meet its frugal needs.   Viral marketing held great appeal but Office Max had no competence in the area.

机 jī opportunity

These lean times forced Bob Thacker, SVP of Advertising and Marketing, to be creative.  He approached his digital agency and asked them to develop a series of viral marketing campaign options.  They built twenty and when confronted with the tough decision of which to launch Thacker launched them all.  One of the twenty, ‘Elf-Yourself’ (click here) was a run-away success and will run this Christmas for the 3rd year running.  There are even rumors that OfficeMax will start selling Elfs as of next month!

how about…

  • Harnessing the low costs of digital campaign launch by launching multiple campaigns?
  • Launching those campaigns earlier to allow the market to decide?

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November 12, 2009

19) Cirque du Soleil

cirque-du-soleil-logo-blue

危 wēi  danger

Circus attendance had been on a steady decline since the Great Depression in the 1930’s – the industry has been continuously disrupted by new forms of entertainment, particularly cinema.  In addition, circuses haven’t innovated to compete, for example the bench seating in many remains uncomfortable and the ‘big tops’ are often shabby.  More recently circuses have also received bad press for their inhumane treatment of exotic animals.

机 jī opportunity

Circuses might be out of fashion, but Cirque du Soleil under the leadership of Canadian Guy Laliberté certainly isn’t.  Its results have been extraordinary, annual turnover is estimated to be in the region of $600m and 90m people have seen the show worldwide.  Laliberté’s success stems in part from recognizing the broader competitive set (entertainment rather than solely circuses) but also from looking to that broader set as a source of inspiration. For example, Laliberté borrowed much from the booming theatre industry – introducing storylines, music, a sensational set and comfortable seating to his ‘cirque nouveau’.  Cirque du Soleil also dropped many of the circus ‘staples’ that had damaged their appeal, not least the exotic animals.

how about…

  • looking at the broader competitive set or adjacent industries for inspiration
  • spending time focusing on what not to offer as well as what to offer
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