Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

WINNING THE BRAND RELEVANCE BATTLE 21
in brand health and loyalty. But in either case it is a brand preference
play.
When the innovation is substantial, there is an offering
enhancement that is so noteworthy that a group of customers
will not consider a brand that is not comparable. The offering
might be a new feature like the Heavenly Bed at Westin. Or
there might be a performance improvement that is significant,
such as superior safety, economy, or design. With a substantial
innovation the basic offering and competitive go - to - market strategies
may be the same or have only minor differences, but the
improvement in the offering will be so substantial that it defines
a new category or subcategory. The resulting differentiation will
be major, noticeable, and even “ newsworthy ” in the buying context.
The iMac, with its novel design, was one such substantial
innovation, as was Asahi Super Dry beer. The offering in each
case was very similar to other subcategories, but a new set of
dimensions was created that provided the basis for a new subcategory
definition. The result was a change so substantial that customers
were motivated to rethink their loyalties and perceptions
of the category or subcategory. If the new dimension was missing
from a competitive brand, that brand would not be considered.
The distinction between incremental and substantial is at
the heart of the matter. A judgment by the involved managers
that is needed is made diffi cult by the bias that exists. Most
managers are inclined to view many incremental innovations as
substantial because they are substantial in their minds. So the
decision as to whether an innovation is incremental or substantial
needs to be made based on more objective thinking and
data. Chapter Eight will address such evaluation more fully.
When the innovation is transformational, the basic offering
has changed qualitatively to the extent that existing offerings and
ways of doing business are obsolete for a target segment or application,
and existing competitors are simply not relevant. It will
involve a new technology, a reconfiguration of the product, a different
approach to operations or distribution, or a radical change