PiNG! Connecting with Your Consumer - Flipbook - Page 135
PiNG!
CHAPTER 5
PiNG!
CHAPTER 5
Tapping Adjacent Categories for Ideas
Think Outside
Your Category
Find excellent sources of inspiration outside of
your category. It is difficult to create new ideas from scratch. It
is like imagining someone’s face based on a description. What often
makes the process easier and more fluid is to use relevant adjacent
products that have elements similar to your core objectives as idea
stepping-stones.
The first step in this process is to shop at your local store or—even
better—in other countries that have product dynamics similar to
those you are seeking to develop. Buy widely from the category you
are working in, and also buy products from adjacent categories that
have similar marketing elements. The benefits, language, packaging, support and even style of communication often are different
enough to appear innovative if used within your category, but are
still similar enough to be relevant. Often, there will be concepts
that may not be obvious, but will be even deeper than you originally
thought. It is these deeper concepts that often have applicability to
other products and ideas.
How can you apply successful
Innovations from categories
other than your own?
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