Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

Concept Generation
FINDING NEW CONCEPTS 165
We start with concept creation. Where do those ideas come
from? How can a fl ow of new concepts be generated? Although
we will detail several specifi c approaches that can be used, it is
fi rst helpful to understand two key constructs that drive the process:
unmet needs and organizational creativity.
Unmet Needs
A driving concept that can result in a substantial or transformational
innovation usually centers on an unmet need. A focus
on customers ’ unmet needs as opposed to, for example, their
motivations is useful because responsive products or services are
highly likely to be relevant to customers and can lead to new
categories or subcategories because they represent unserved or
underserved markets. When Best Buy, for example, changed
the customer relationship to one of helping in the store and
later, with the Geek Squad, one of helping at home, they were
addressing a signifi cant unmet need. Betty Crocker ’ s Gluten
Free cake mixes addressed a real unmet need as well. In each
case the fi rm created a new, well - defi ned subcategory, and competitor
brands were rendered less relevant.
Offi ceMax found that people, especially women professionals,
each wanted a workplace, often a cubical, with color,
patterns, and textures. The result was four product lines that
promised to enliven and personalize cubicle environments,
delivered under the tagline, “ Life is beautiful, work can be too. ”
An unmet need provided not only a route to a successful offering
but also lead to the creation of a new subcategory. Ariat
broke into the market for equestrian footwear by providing
high - performance athletic footwear for riders who were not well
served by traditional riding boots. Driven by the belief that riders
are athletes, Ariat developed a brand and product line that
was responsive to an unmet need.