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Good piece in Business Week by Alonzo Canada of Jump Associates about how companies can see expansion opportunities beyond their core area of business.

"Their Explore team was given the audacious task of helping Nike become a sports company. The team met the challenge by creating a map to identify the richest opportunities, define a strategy for growth, and set first steps toward a future vision. The map helped the team see product beyond shoes, such as sunglasses, watches, MP3 players, and sports apparel. The data on their map included consumer needs, societal and technology trends, and Nike's chief competitors, adidas, Puma, and Reebok. It also included indirect competitors such as MTV, because it offers a rival option for what kids can do after school: Nike wants them playing sports; MTV wants them parked in front of the tube. By drawing such a comprehensive map, Nike was able to consider new directions, such as partnerships that marry sports and digital entertainment like its successful Nike + iPod platform."

Clearly, looking over the horizon and exploring all the possibilities is a way to see opportunities, but this no test of whether a brand can credibly stretch into these new areas. Much work has to be done to understand the strength and equity of the brand and it's ability to expand into other areas.

In addition, rather than rely on existing published data about surrounding markets, it would make sense to talk leading edge opinion leaders in these areas and in other fields to get some speculative understanding of how the shape of this map could change.

It's also further proof that strategists increasingly need great designers to bring their thinking and ideas to life.


Posted by Ed Cotton Business Week recently conducted a survey amongst senior executives on the topic of innovation. One of the questions struck Influx as being especially interesting; the obstacles to return on investment for innovation.

The barriers aren’t exactly what you expect them to be, for example, clients don’t seem to have a problem generating the ideas, it’s the implementation that’s the issue.

Clients need help in areas beyond the creative generation of the ideas themselves.

Specifically, clients want help in the following areas...

-    Becoming more comfortable with risk
-    Streamlining the internal co-ordination process
-    Identifying the right opportunities
-    Bringing relevant consumer insights to the table

It appears clients want strategy and process, more than creativity a notion that runs counter to the thinking at most communication agencies.