Посты с тэгом: goldenberg

Marketing Innovation: The Subtraction Tool in Saint Gobain Commercials

Published date: May 20, 2013 в 10:31 am

Tags: advertising tools,goldenberg,innovation method,inside the box,subtraction

The Subtraction tool works by removing elements generally considered essential to the situation. The tool can be used in any marketing communications medium (television, print, and so on). The tool works by drawing your attention to the missing component. As a result, the ad is more memorable.

Subtraction is one of eight patterns embedded in most innovative commercials. Jacob Goldenberg and his colleagues describe these simple, well-defined design structures in their book, "Cracking the Ad Code," and provide a step-by-step approach to using them. The tools are:

1. Unification
2. Activation
3. Metaphor
4. Subtraction
5. Extreme Consequence
6. Absurd Alternative
7. Inversion
8. Extreme Effort

Here is an example from the French multinational, Saint Gobain, a manufacturer of construction, materials, and packaging products. To highlight the superiority of one of its product lines, it released a series of commercials including this one:

What makes this example more interesting is the “fusion” of the message and product. The glass is so superior that it seems “subtracted” from the situation. Only until we see the surprising fog on the glass do we realize the message. The commercial not only has this nice element of humor, but it also has a sense of simplicity and “ideality” – the solution appears only when needed.

To use the Subtraction tool, make a list of the components of the situation. Remove what seems to be an essential one. Imagine telling the story without this component and test how strongly the viewer’s mind will interpret the situation with the component. Make the message, brand, and missing element fuse together into one memorable visual experience.

Marketing Innovation: The Metaphor Tool Using the Division Pattern

Published date: February 11, 2013 в 3:00 am

Written by: boydadmin

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: corporate innovation method,division technique,goldenberg,metaphor,SIT

The Metaphor is the most commonly used tool in marketing communications because it is a great way to attach meaning to a newly-launched product or brand. The Metaphor Tool takes a well-recognized and accepted cultural symbol and manipulates it to connect to the product, brand, or message.

   1. Unification
   2. Activation
   3. Metaphor
   4. Subtraction
   5. Extreme Consequence
   6. Absurd Alternative
   7. Inversion
   8. Extreme Effort

The trick is to attach a metaphor in a non-obvious, clever way. The process is called fusion, and there are three versions: Metaphor fused to Product/Brand, Metaphor fused to Message, and Metaphor fused to both the Product/Brand and Message. Here is an example metaphor fused to the message:

What's clever about this commercial is
its use of the Division pattern, one of five that form the basis of the
product innovation method, Systematic Inventive Thinking.
Division works by taking the product and/or one of its components and
dividing it physically, functionally, or in a way we call 'preserving'
where each portion maintains the characteristics of the whole. By
dividing the news about her affair with her husband's best friend into
one word at a time, the wife softened the impact. Banco Continental uses
this little story as a metaphor for breaking loan payments into smaller, more
manageable amounts.

To use the Metaphor Tool, start by
defining the message. Then create a list of symbols (objects, images, or
concepts) that are directly related to the message (a metaphor). Next
make a list of the product's components or components near the product
(Closed World). Finally, choose a symbol and a component and fuse them
together. Create various combinations of metaphoric symbols and
components to find candidates that have that element of surprise or
cleverness.

Marketing Innovation: The Activation Tool in Advertising

Published date: December 3, 2012 в 3:00 am

Written by: boydadmin

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: activation tool,creative advertising,goldenberg,innovation techniques

Through a sea of clutter in the world of advertising, how do you get your message across? One technique is to actively engage the viewer. The Activation Tool invites the prospect to make an immediate action during the encounter with the ad, either in a physical way or mental way. It is particularly useful when you want to: 1. make the target audience aware of a problem, or 2. make the target audience aware of the solution. Consider this print example from the advertising agency Saatchi:

When recipients of this postcard place a hand over the image, their body heat changes the image to reveal a helpless animal covered in oil.

The tool is one of eight patterns embedded in most innovative commercials. Jacob Goldenberg and his colleagues describe these simple, well-defined design structures in their book, “Cracking the Ad Code,” and provide a step-by-step approach to using them. The tools are:
1. Unification
2. Activation
3. Metaphor
4. Subtraction
5. Extreme Consequence
6. Absurd Alternative
7. Inversion
8. Extreme Effort

Here is another example of the Activation Tool. Students in my Innovation Tools course at the University of CIncinnati learn how to use these tools. Students must develop an advertisement that conveys the value proposition of a product or service. This example conveys new features of a suitcase. Shown here is a mock-up of a print ad created by my students. It requires the viewer to pull the luggage handle only to reveal the text inside. Very clever.

Patterns That Predict Innovation Success

Published date: June 4, 2012 в 3:00 am

Written by: boydadmin

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: goldenberg,innovation patterns,New York Times,SIT,sweet spot

The New York Times published a list of “32 Innovations That Will Change Your Tomorrow,” an eclectic mix of concepts that range from the wild and wacky like SpeechJammer (#14) to more practical ideas like a blood test for depression (#25).

I analyzed each of the 32 concepts to see which ones could be explained by the five patterns of Systematic Inventive Thinking. These patterns are the “DNA” of products that can be extracted and applied to any product or service to create new-to-the-world innovations. Dr. Jacob Goldenberg found in his research that the majority of successful innovations conform to one or more of these patterns. Conversely, the majority of unsuccessful innovations (those that failed in the marketplace) do not conform to a pattern.

Based on my analysis, here is the breakdown of which pattern explains each innovation on the list:

Task Unification: 9
Attribute Dependency: 7
Division: 3
Subtraction: 3
Multiplication: 3
None of the above: 8

In other words, 24 of the 32 innovations in the New York Times list could be explained by the SIT patterns. The eight concepts that were not pattern based were either process or performance enhancements. For example, the carbon fiber bicycle frame (#9) is one of the eight. That does not mean these eight will not be successful. But based on Dr. Goldenberg’s research, the odds are they are less likely to succeed than if they had one of the patterns embedded inside. The patterns, in essence, are predictive of success.

Marketing Innovation: The Extreme Consequence Tool

Published date: May 7, 2012 в 3:00 am

Written by: boydadmin

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: advertising templates,cracking the ad code,extreme consequence,goldenberg,SIT

Commercials that show the benefits of using the product are likely to be ignored because consumers expect it. The message becomes cliche. If the advertiser shows how the consumer is transformed by using the product, consumers become skeptical. Telling viewers they will become young and adventurous by drinking a soft drink lacks credibility. It is wishful thinking, but unrealistic. The ad is tossed aside.

But show these same product benefits in an extreme, unrealistic way and the advertisement is likely to be more memorable. The message sinks in. That is the goal of the Extreme Consequence Tool. This tool creates ads that show the absurd result of using the product. Over exaggeration of the promise is viewed as clever and credible versus traditional exaggeration.

The tool is one of eight patterns embedded in most innovative commercials. Jacob Goldenberg and his colleagues describe these simple, well-defined design structures in their book, “Cracking the Ad Code,” and provide a step-by-step approach to using them. The tools are:
1. Unification
2. Activation
3. Metaphor
4. Subtraction
5. Extreme Consequence
6. Absurd Alternative
7. Inversion
8. Extreme Effort

Here is an example from Mercedes Benz.

The Patterns in Super Bowl Commercials

Published date: February 6, 2012 в 3:00 am

Written by: boydadmin

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: creative advertising,goldenberg,innovation patterns,SIT,super bowl commercials

Super Bowl commercials capture our attention because they tend to be highly creative and well-produced. At $3.5 million dollars for a thirty second spot, Super Bowl advertisers need to create the best, most innovative commercials possible. To do that, they use patterns. Professor Jacob Goldenberg and his colleagues discovered that 89% of 200 award winning ads fall into a few simple, well-defined design structures. Their book, “Cracking the Ad Code,” defines eight of these structures and provides a step-by-step approach to use them.

Here are the eight tools:
1. Unification
2. Activation
3. Metaphor
4. Subtraction
5. Extreme Consequence
6. Extreme Effort
7. Absurd Alternative
8. Inversion

Let’s see how yesterday’s 2012 Super Bowl ads fit these patterns.
The Unification Tool uses components of the medium or within the environment of the advertisement to convey the message. This Bridgestone commercial does a nice job of taking sports objects like balls and pucks and “unifying” them to the theme of rubber tires:

Marketing Innovation: Sharks to the Extreme

Published date: October 3, 2011 в 3:00 am

Written by: boydadmin

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: advertising patterns,Gillette,goldenberg,innovation method,Snickers

Great television commercials deliver the right message in a creative way. Great commercials are memorable. The longer customers remember your commercial, the more cost effective the campaign.

One way to make memorable ads is to make them funny and vivid. The Vividness Effect causes people to recall experiences and images that stand out in their minds. Images of wild creatures like sharks, for example, tend to be good choices to create vividness. But just showing sharks in a commercial is not enough. They have to be fused to the core marketing message – the value proposition. That is where you need a structured innovation method to channel the creativity process and regulate your thinking.

Jacob Goldenberg and his colleagues describe eight such tools in their book, "Cracking the Ad Code," and provide a step-by-step approach to using them. The tools are 1. Unification 2. Activation 3. Metaphor 4. Subtraction 5. Extreme Consequence 6. Absurd Alternative 7. Inversion and 8.Extreme Effort.

Let's look at two examples. The first uses the EXTREME CONSEQUENCE tool. This tool conveys the absurd result of using the product or service. By over exaggerating the brand promise, the ad is viewed as clever and credible versus traditional exaggeration. It is particularly useful when the product is well-understood. These ads can help viewers see secondary attributes in new ways. Snickers does this well in this 2011 commercial. The exaggeration here is: "Snickers is so good that sharks prefer to eat humans who have eaten a Snickers bar."

Marketing Innovation: Red Tape and The Inversion Tool

Published date: June 20, 2011 в 3:00 am

Written by: boydadmin

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: advertising,goldenberg,innovation,Southwest Airlines,tools

"Red tape" is defined as the collection or sequence of forms and procedures required to gain bureaucratic approval for something, especially when oppressively complex and time-consuming. That's how Southwest Airlines describes other airlines' frequent flyer programs versus its new Rapid Rewards program which has none of the traditional limitations like blackouts and point expiration. In a series of highly innovative commercials, Southwest demonstrates not one but two of the eight advertising tools described by Professor Jacob Goldenberg in "Cracking the Ad Code." These ads are flawlessly executed, funny, and memorable.

Take a look:

The first pattern is the Inversion Tool. It conveys what would happen if you didn’t have the product…in an extreme way. It shows the benefits “lost” by not using the product. It is best used when the brand and its central benefits are well understood by the viewer. It is particularly useful when you want to emphasize a secondary benefit as Southwest has done by emphasizing their less restrictive loyalty program. To use the Inversion Tool, start with the components of the brand promise. Take each one away one at a time and envision in what ways the consumer would be affected…in an extreme way…if it did not have this aspect of the promise.

As Goldeberg notes, an important tactic of Inversion is to show unlimited generosity, understanding, and empathy for the poor consumer who does not use your product. The idea is to convey your product as having great understanding for your dilemma and generously suggesting assistance. The Southwest commercials do this perfectly by showing their employees rescuing travelers from being all wrapped (literally) in the competitor's red tape.

The second pattern is the Metaphor Tool. It takes a well-recognized and accepted cultural symbol and manipulates it to connect to the product, brand, or message. The trick is to do it in a clever way. The process is called fusion, and there are three versions: Metaphor fused to Product/Brand, Metaphor fused to Message, and Metaphor fused to both the Product/Brand and Message. In this example, the huge red tape ball represents the bureaucracy of other airlines' frequent flyer programs. The commercial fuses the red tape metaphor against the competition's weak spot.

Brilliant!

Marketing Innovation: The Metaphor Tool

Published date: April 4, 2011 в 3:00 am

Written by: boydadmin

Category: Uncategorized

Tags: ad code,advertising,goldenberg,innovation,metaphor

The Metaphor is the most commonly used – and abused – tool in marketing communications, especially in western cultures. It is a great way to attach meaning to a newly-launched product or brand. But some approaches are more effective than others.

The Metaphor Tool takes a well-recognized and accepted cultural symbol and manipulates it to connect to the product, brand, or message. The trick is to do it in a non-obvious, clever way. The process is called fusion, and there are three versions: Metaphor fused to Product/Brand, Metaphor fused to Message, and Metaphor fused to both the Product/Brand and Message. Here is an example:

Посты с тэгом: goldenberg

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