WisconsInnovation

Another Example of Co-Creation

I thought I would give you all a sneak peek at my latest innovation. Ellery Lynne Lincoln is now 33 weeks and still in the research and development phase. We have an expected launch date of 1/22/09. In this particular case we are not only the innovators but also the consumer, so to speak. Although, with those cheeks, it might be debated who is doing the consuming!

“Innovation is something truly different in the market that makes your customers’ lives better.”—Herb Baum, CEO Dial

We anticipate that this innovation will follow some of the basic innovation guidelines:

• Something new and valuable
• Alter the way we live
• Deliver benefits/solve problems

This innovation is important because our "firm" has a focus on innovation as a means for growth.

On the Product-Market Matrix she would be a market development: existing product (baby) for a new market (Daniel and me).

Daniel Lincoln and I have formed a NPD Alliance to produce Elle. “A formalized collaborative arrangement among two or more organizations to jointly acquire and utilize information and know-how related to the R&D of new product innovations.” (Aric Rindfleisch lecture slides)

Although we are aware that most new products fail, we are hoping to mitigate this statistic by addressing the following criteria:
•Most failures seem to be due to poor sensing rather than bad solutions.

We feel we have the pulse of the consumer and are sensing the right time for launch

•Other key problems include risk aversion and slow development times.

Through thorough research we have determined that the levels of risk aversion are at an all-time low and we are positioned to offer a product that falls well within the risk criteria of the target segment. Although the development time appears to be on pace with industry average (40 weeks), the risks associated with expedited development do not appear to offset any rewards.

However, we are also aware that failures may not always be bad. We are focussed on learning from our mistakes and using them to continue to innovate with Elle.