Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

FINDING NEW CONCEPTS 177
Observation needs to be taken to the next level, to be pursued.
Some of the transformational innovations were based on
lucky happenstance — someone not only observed but had the
insight to see the implications of what he or she saw. A mistake
in production around 1880 led to a soap that fl oated. This
soap became Ivory and was the base product for P & G. Someone
recognized that there were symbolic and functional benefi ts in a
fl oating soap and did not simply correct the problem and move
on. Ivory came to mean mildness and purity, a signifi cant claim
in a day of harsh soaps. Its fl oating quality became a point of
differentiation that lasted for many decades. P & G ’ s SK - II skin -
care line originated when older workers in a sake brewery were
observed to have young and smooth hands. That observation
led to a line of high - end skin - care products that created a rather
intense following. The key is to be able to capitalize on luck by
recognizing the potential of a fortuitous event and being prepared
to develop and test the resulting concept.
Finding New, Unintended Applications
How are customers actually using the offering? Are some uses
very different than intended? If so, is there a core group that
might have a similar need? Would it represent a very different
value proposition? Ethnographic research can illuminate
applications, but applications also can be discovered by providing
customers with a means — perhaps a survey research
instrument — to communicate how they are using the product
or service. The key is to be curious and connected in some way
to customers.
A classic example is Arm & Hammer baking soda, which
dates from 1846 and was long used for baking but also for baths
and the cleaning of teeth. In 1972 it was discovered that customers
were using baking soda in their refrigerators to freshen
the air and protect foods from odors. By advertising the application,
the fi rm created a whole new business that turned a