How to turn innovation into a brand strength 💪

Five scenarios for using innovation to build brand equity

Alan Turing, WWII-code breaker and precursor of artificial intelligence, noted: “this is only a foretaste of what is to come and only the shadow of what’s going to be.” They are true to any moment of a rapid change.

Since Turing’s time in mid-last century, the use of the term “innovation” skyrocketed. Companies across industries seem simultaneously obsessed with innovation, and unclear what to do about it. There are more than 3 billion search results of “innovation” on Google. There are countless attempts to create innovation labs, install chief digital and innovation officers, and hire external innovation consultants. Labs whiter away, innovation officers leave, consultants’ recommendations end up dismissed.

Definition is lacking. According to dictionary, innovation is “the action or process of innovating” (good to know!). The executive mandates are still not clear. The role descriptions are vague. The process and the practice are isolated. Too often, corporate approach to innovation simplistically focuses on advances in technology, at the expense of the organization, business, and society needed for anything new to be implemented, monetized, and adopted.