Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant - always yours

WINNING THE BRAND RELEVANCE BATTLE 23
model. But the innovation that supported the company was
minor, mainly in process. When Westin introduced a better bed
in 1999, called the Heavenly Bed, it was not an R & D breakthrough
that was involved. The bed simply used existing technology
and featured upgraded quality, but it could be considered
transformational because it changed the way hotels are perceived
and evaluated.
Sometimes a group of incremental innovations can combine
to create a substantial or even transformational innovation.
Some breakout retailers, such as Whole Foods Market,
have a host of incremental innovations. By themselves each of
these incremental enhancements would not be noteworthy, but
together they can be category or subcategory creators and even
game changers.
A substantial or transformational innovation may not even
involve a change in the offering. It can be driven by a reframing
of the category or subcategory. DeBeers reframed their target
category from jewelry to expressions of love. Thus the
“ Diamonds are forever ” line, plus the associations with marriage
and weddings, recast the category without any changes in its
offering. DeBeers was no long competing with other fi rms selling
gems or jewelry.
Identifying whether an innovation is incremental is crucial
because this affects the management and investment behind
that innovation. If it is incremental then there is no opportunity
to create a new subcategory, and the management challenges
and investment that go along with forming a new subcategory
can be avoided. However, if the innovation is substantial and
offers an opportunity to create a new category or subcategory,
it is vital that the innovation be so labeled so that the necessary
programs are developed and investments made. Of course,
making the distinction between incremental and substantial is
not always easy. As already noted, what brand champions think
is substantial is often regarded by consumers, who live in a cluttered
and dynamic media environment, to be incremental.