Trouble viewing this email? Read it on the Web here.
June 2007

BREAKING NEWS

Innovation is No Longer a Tagline

By Steve Montalto

Innovate or die – we’ve all heard it loud and clear and everyone seems to be jumping on the bandwagon, at least conceptually. But is innovation just a tagline used by marketers competing in a highly crowded and competitive marketplace? Or does it really work? In the highly competitive world of promotional marketing and consumer products, innovation is the key to success. With adroit innovation, companies will experience increased market-share, profits and growth. In order to insure our longevity, it is up to us promotional marketers to dig our hands in deep, take chances and learn how to become masters at the art of innovation. Read More

TUNE UP Articles from MarketingProfs

To Innovate — Break a Rule

By Thomas Ordahl

Today, every business feels the pressure to innovate. Innovation is touted daily in the headlines of business magazines, the presentations of consultants, and in the books and conferences of business visionaries. We feel it in the parity of our pricing and during our strenuous attempts to articulate "unique value." And we witness it as emerging markets move from providers of low-cost labor to competitors, or as new technologies disrupt yet another competitive advantage. Read More

What Jazz Taught Marketing (or Should Have)

By Keith Jennings

In the early 1940s, a new movement began among younger jazz musicians. Tired of playing the same standards to popular dance audiences, these musicians began experimenting with rhythm, harmony and tempo to create what would become bebop, or bop. Those innovations changed the direction of jazz music. Read More

TUNE IN Cool Websites and Trends

The inside urban travel guide from people “in the know”:
www.gridskipper.com

Tech advice for anyone who has a love/hate relationship with their computers:
www.lifehacker.com

The strangest popular culture toys:
www.mcphee.com

FINE TUNE Cool Marketing Stuff We Have Found from Around the World
A Note from CEO Jim Holbrook: Fill Up Your Pipeline With Ideas

As Steve Montalto says in his article, “Innovation is no longer a tagline” (in the Breaking News section of this newsletter), there is no silver bullet when it comes to innovating.  We prescribe a very broad based solution- in order to innovate, you need to seek as much input and ideas as possible. And, these ideas must come from inside and outside your company. 

We all know the story about the Post-it Notes – they were invented by a 3M employee who sang in a choir!   And, while P&G used to be pretty insular and internally focused, they are using many more outside resources to get great ideas.  (Check out the picture of another innovative 3M product in a unique application in our Fine Tune section below!)  Thus, in essence, in order to stay ahead of the curve, you have to be aware of everything and do it all.  Fill up the pipeline with ideas!

This practice can definitely be daunting.  But, that’s where your agencies can help.  If you look across EMAK’s agencies, we have people who by day are account directors extraordinaire and at night, yoga buffs, rocket scientists and sports enthusiasts.  Our employees’ interests cover every aspect of the marketplace and we encourage them to bring their insights about their favorite hobbies and passions to their job.  From these passions, augmented with some cool tools, we are able to garner the great ideas we present to our clients.  While some of these ideas may seem “kooky,” I think that’s okay.  Because isn’t the most important measure of an innovative agency how often you say ‘no’ to them? 
 
So I ask you, is your agency bringing you good ideas, proactively?  Are they pushing with some impossible-to-do ideas?  Are they scanning the landscape for insights all the time?  I hope so!

Finally, in talking to a few of our clients about how they are trying to be more innovative, I picked up the following very good ideas which I pass along to you: 

1. Declare one day a month as “get out and see the world” day - go out and observe, talk to people, look at what’s going on.  
 
2. Next time you’re traveling, grab a new magazine title from the airport newsstand.  You’d be amazed at what others have passion for (I just read Cat Fancy and learned all about Persian cats).

3. Subscribe to trend-hunter and other topical email newsletters (like this one).

4. Check out what my friend John Palumbo is doing at bigheadsnetwork.com. Pay particular attention to his “brandtube” offering, as he does the heavy lifting on YouTube for you.

5. Hire one of EMAK’s agencies (Upshot, Logistix, Equity).

As Michael Porter said, “Innovation is the central issue in economic prosperity.”

Onward!

Jim


Last Issue's Top Article


Five Key Conditions for
Preventing Churn



Contact Us
Rachel Saunders
Director of Communications
t. 323 932 4034
Rachel.Saunders@emak.com