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June 2002
Ideas – Where Are They?
We’ve all heard an industry speaker or colleague proclaim, "…there are no NEW ideas, just
old one’s repackaged in new ways."
Do you believe that?
If so, why?
Is that the way it should be?
There is certainly plenty of interest in the subject. Every bookstore has a bulging business section with
multiple titles on the subject of innovation and creativity. It must be important. My personal favorites
are Lateral Thinking by Edward de Bono and for actual "brainstorming", the Creative Whack Pack
by Roger von Oech.
At just about all industry functions we share the "best" ideas - - Yet, how often is there time
devoted during any of these gatherings to "brainstorm" and to try and create something new?
Similarly, it’s common for new advertising or marketing directors to implement the "best" they’ve
learned from earlier positions as soon as they’ve settled in.
As important as this is (and, one of the reasons such individuals are hired in the first place is to adopt
such practices!) what else should we be doing?
GOING FARTHER!
If all that’s done is implementation of earlier successes or the repackaging of someone else’s program we
might be addressing the short term revenue challenge perfectly -- BUT, it invites damaging precedence:
NO new revenue (potentially HUGE) opportunities are created from BRAND NEW sources.
Existing paradigms are perpetuated – these same ways of thinking might have served us well for a century,
but they are a very real Achille’s heel right now.
Sameness is also perpetuated. A distinct brand or identity – the more distinct the better is almost always
true – helps establish an emotional attachment with our users.
And, the old, "…if you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always
had" maxim will apply. Do you know many Publishers who are happy with "what they got" last
year? If you do, then they may also have an unlimited research budget and we’d love to be introduced.
Not long ago Seth Godin (author of Permission Marketing and Survival Is Not Enough and regular contributor to
FAST COMPANY magazine) made a remark that struck us as dead on:
THE COMPANY THAT MAKES DECISIONS QUICKLY WILL HAVE A SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OVER OTHERS!!
Now our industry already has real advantages over other media and we’ve been able to maintain them over an
extended period of time, but it HAS NOT been because of our speed and fast decision making. How cool would it
be if we made faster decisions and didn’t just react to the marketplace and started dictating for a change?
The answer is, "VERY!!"
So, where might new, grandiose, paradigm shifting ideas come from? We haven’t a clue. But, it’s clear that old
ideas – even if revenue generating and worth implementing – will not serve as the catalyst for REAL revenue
growth. And, to try things – all sorts of whacky, weird, off-the-wall, there’s no chance this’ll work types
of things constantly if you want to find the next breakthrough gangbuster of an idea.
Some notions to think about…
…hire whacky people. Give them a budget and responsibility to achieve something GREAT without too many
limitations of time and reporting and see where it leads.
…if seeking new ideas, devote Time and Management to developing them. Brainstorming sessions, theme days
and working with people within the organization you don’t normally work with and setting a deadline and meeting it.
…ask customers – both advertising and reading – what they think the newspaper (and all it might become)
can be? This isn’t just a bald faced plug for more research, but rather, the suggestion that regular sessions
be convened that allow a dialog between audience and senior (the higher, the better) management. Perhaps an
Advisory Panel? Or, a Meet the Publisher for Lunch Bunch? During these play lots of "what if" and
"why" games. Then, keep on doing them.
Did you know that in the year 2001 Intel committed over 4 Billion (that "B" is not a typo) dollars
to R&D? That would represent ~ 10% of the newspapers industry’s gross advertising revenue! And, that’s exactly
why they haven’t seriously been challenged as the dominant microchip processor in 25 years. They don’t wait
for the paradigm to shift and react, they constantly attempt to understand where it might be shifting on their own.
…if at first you don’t succeed, try again, only this time do it more quickly and be sure to use some sort of
metric that won’t allow the same "failure" twice. All the clichés about not scoring unless you shoot,
or closing the sale until the 6th call are TRUE. We inevitably tell new sales reps this all the time – are we
telling the truth and do we believe what we say or not?
…good ideas come from other industries. Look elsewhere. Look from other perspectives and through completely
different frames of reference. We all know that, we just don’t act upon it. Why not? Everyone at Belden Associates
loves working for newspapers. Recent Internet work suggests the online environment can be an incredible windfall
for smart thinking, willing to try new things companies; so please – PLEASE – give that new idea from the rookie
kid in the classified department a shot…it might just be a new revenue stream from an entire new category of
customers to sustain that competitive advantage that we’ve come to enjoy.
The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and
we reach it.
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