Creating Priceless Value

by Kevin Roberts

This week was a biggie - speaking at HSM World Business Forum at Radio City Music Hall in New York. I was onstage immediately before George Lucas, and as much as I would have loved to stay, I had the week from hell with speeches and meetings over the following three days in Miami, Washington DC, and Chicago.

In the lead up to the event I recently gave a webinar where I gave a preview of what I covered in my presentation, and I answered about 20 questions which poured in from all parts of the world.

In my webinar opening remarks I focused (again!) on Winning Ugly, which has been my mantra at Saatchi & Saatchi since the recession. There are a bunch of ways to win ugly, but one constant in the list is reframing your beliefs about value. With more choice, more connectivity, and less spend, consumer power is reframing the notion of value.

In this time of "new frugality" everyone is wanting more for less. People are evaluating more (71% of Americans shop online before buying a car), trying more, comparing more, and contemplating switching more. Online themselves, and online through others.

Here are the ways consumers are thinking about value; they're saying:

"I'm sorting true value from false economies."
People want smart abundance, not rubbish

"I'm not cutting back on luxuries, I've just redefined what luxuries are."
People still treat themselves, just not in the same way.

"I'm into the challenge of finding creative solutions."
Ingenuity is the new innovation.

Companies must jump-shift their value comparisons.

P&G invites consumers to compare Tide Total Care with the costs of dry cleaning.

Prius invites drivers to enjoy exhilarating motoring while at the same time refreshing the environment.

Tylenol shifted the goal posts in an admirably non-self-serving way: their advice for a headache? Drink a glass of water, wait 20 minutes - and if you still have one then take Tylenol.

Even a private jet company - Flexjet - reframed its private jets from a luxury item to a valuable business tool, from status-oriented cost center to commonsense transport investment.

Each of these examples represents an 'emotional bonus'. They check the rational value boxes but also deliver emotional value by improving your world.

I call this Priceless Value... uplifting life solutions tuned to how people are feeling, living, spending - and sharing.

I'll be talking again about reframing value, and creating priceless value, at Radio City. Now this, for me, is Priceless.


For more with Kevin Roberts, check out our video interview from the World Business Forum.

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Kevin Roberts is the CEO worldwide of The Lovemarks Company, Saatchi & Saatchi. For more information on Kevin, please go to www.saatchikevin.com. To see this blog at its original source, please go to www.krconnect.blogspot.com.

Innovation for CEOs

by Bob Donnelly

Innovation is one of the most misunderstood concepts; time to clear things up.

What is an innovator?

Definitions abound by all kinds of academics and business experts, but in reality most innovations are just a new way of doing something.

One of my favorite innovations was George Foreman's lean, mean, grilling machine and all of its recent derivatives. George just developed a way to reduce the fat in grilling. His simple innovation has resulted in about 100 million George Foreman Grills being sold since they were introduced in 1995.

In 1997 Foreman entered into a $137.5 million deal with the grill manufacturer for unrestricted global use of his name to market the devices. Not bad for such a simple innovation by a classic entrepreneur who was also the heavyweight champion of the world at one time and who went on to reclaim the title when he was 44 years old.

Another part of the confusion about innovation is how symbiotic it is with entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are innovators by nature.

Foreman is infamous for the entrepreneurial/innovative way he has used his name and persona to market a clothing line for big men, shoes for diabetics, a chain of health-food restaurants, household cleaning products, and even his Big Boy sausages. If you visit his website you can buy cookbooks, autographed boxing gloves and even his memoirs. And George has done all of this while boxing and having 10 children!

Another confusing description for a real innovation is "disruptive technology". The best way I can describe disruptive technology is an unexpected new way of doing things that through a quality, price or service improvement changes the dynamics of the marketplace.

Dell changed the business model for selling computers when they introduced their online model for ordering customized computers. Dell eliminated the need for finished goods inventory in stores or warehouses, and in so doing created a cash cow as a result of customers paying for the product before it was made, and in turn allowing Dell to pay their suppliers before the product was delivered.

Starbuck's was another classic innovation when introduced and for many years thereafter. How about the Swiffer, a simple replacement for the age old mop and pail. Even better was the Tide Spot Stick for removing stains from ties and clothing.

Something that I had been waiting years for was the iPod. And what an innovation the iPhone has become.

Apple, through Steve Jobs creativity and vision has become an icon for innovation. Apple stores are jammed with customers talking to iHeads and sitting at Genius Bars waiting to be helped. How about that for innovative retailing?

Rachel Ray began with her 30 Minute Meals concept and has expanded the market for all things tagged with her logo, much like George Foreman before her and many others who have become a part of our world. I often wonder, what did everyone do before all of these wonderful innovations?

I guess the real explanation of innovation is the entrepreneurs perpetual ability to come up with better, faster and cheaper solutions to their own and others problems. But, the best innovations are those that solve a problem before the customer realizes that they have it.

Think about all the problems that you encounter or things that bug you in your day-to-day activities. Each one of those problems or daily irritants represents an opportunity to come up with a creative and innovative solution. Look around your marketplace at all the issues customers have or problems that they constantly deal with and you will have a list ripe for potential innovations.

What kinds of innovations can you come up with for your business?

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Bob Donnelly is the Editor of the online Entrepreneurial CEO column for Chief Executive magazine.