In a city where the average lifespan of an upmarket restaurant is something like three years, ‘Michael’s’ has been successfully growing for twenty years. And I think I know why. Firstly, apart from excellent cusine, ambience and service, they have two maitre d’s / reservationists who have been there for sixteen years between them. And guess what? This continuity and longevity enables them to really get to know their clientele.

And secondly they have developed an innovative approach to dealing with the politics and egos of some really powerful and famous people and seating them happily at their favourite tables.

An extensive computerized database keeps track of every customer and has a history of every VIP who walks through their doors; how many times they’ve come in, where they’ve sat before, who they are, what they do.

This enables the staff at ‘Michael’s’ to fully understand and anticipate the preferences and needs of a large clientele who subsequently go out as inadvertent brand ambassadors by telling their friends about the exquisite level of service and hospitality.

And the real innovation here is not in the mechanics of the system itself, but the wherewithal to want to go the extra mile in offering a uniquely familiar experience to their guests. And what they’ve done is take this information which normally resides only in someone’s head, and make it instantly accessible to the business itself.

Remember, all the expensive advertising, messaging and marketing in the world means nothing when compared to the actual experience your clients have when engaging with your product or service. Are you sure that your business lives by this maxim?

But a marketing challenge posed to the two teams – one comprising only men and the other, women – showed a great example of how not to approach innovation.

The project was for each team to create an iconic television campaign for Lamborghini, arguably the world’s most aspirational vehicle, and one that basically sells itself. And the first fundamental mistake that the guys made was to automatically assume that because they were male, they would simply have to pitch to win this one.

The project leader was ineffectual and the team fragmented. The creative premise was badly conceived and executed. And I saw very little if any consultation with, and input from the film production experts provided to produce the commercial. Glaring mistakes were made and glibly presented. But they were guys and guys do cars, right?

The women however, appeared to approach this project with an understanding of the client’s need and a grasp of the emotional outcome. They produced a much better campaign and worked well as a team.

The bottom line? Don’t assume that because you think you’re qualified, you’re always right. Always re-examine your premise and be prepared to let go of that ‘big idea’. And be prepared to take advice from people who possibly have a different perspective to your own.

Above all, understand the challenge. Remember, ideas themselves are a dime a dozen. Just because you’re passionately attached to them doesn’t necessarily make them great…

Has the advertising industry really changed the way they think about communicating their messages, or are they simply trying to find new ways of re-hashing  age-old concepts? We need to consider the fact that the world around us is changing. And it’s possible that people are slowly developing a resistance to pretty and vacuous pictures that are meant to represent an aspirational outcome. That they may never attain.

People’s needs and wants must soon be measured in different ways, and not simply by LSM’s, demographics and psychographic profiles. Since most people are constantly innovating daily in order to stay ahead of the game or merely to survive, isn’t it perhaps time that we looked at more relevant ways of talking to them in their own words, and not just with pretty pictures and ‘cleverly’ researched, well-written copy?

Finding innovative ways of building communities and then communicating with them is probably going to become the way products and services are marketed into the future.

Let’s see if advertisers actually have something relevant to say behind the pictures of those shiny, happy people. And applaud those who’re trying to think differently – and not just for the sake of being different. Just a thought…

Sahar Sarid, owner of the blog Conceptualist.com, posted a logo contest in the SitePoint Contests last week with a prize value of $2,500.

But here’s the thing – he’s not really buying a logo. He’s buying a story. Sahar says so himself: ‘Each logo must include a description of how you came up with it, what went through your mind when designing it. I want a story to go with it. I want to understand the small elements that make it powerful…’

By offering $2,500 for a logo, Sahar’s created a story about the contest itself, and generated a buzz that attracts far more than the usual number of submissions. He’s also creating a story for the future of the logo: ‘This is the logo I paid $2,500 for in SitePoint Contests.’ And of course, Sahar has attracted a ton of SitePoint members to his web site.

What fantastic value Sahar’s getting for his money. And you thought it was just a logo contest! I’m not saying that Sahar has anything other than a logo design in mind. What I am saying is that the approach we take to achieving our goals can generate significant benefits – that may be unusual or unexpected – for us.

A beautiful story indeed. And in my opinion, the innovation here lies purely in someone realizing that there are marketing opportunities to be explored beyond the obvious – he simply targeted a specific community of designers in a well-publicized forum, effectively leveraged their solid existing network infrastructure, generated huge traffic to his site and successfully created a hype around something that would  ordinarily be a simple agency design brief.

I believe that if you just keep looking beyond the mundane, you’ll find the magic…

So what’s the difference? Well, actually a few things. Firstly, the carefully-chosen selection of movies is sublime – they’re all  classics and represent the very best across several well-defined genres.

Secondly, their interactive process utilises all the possible response options, making life easier for the customer. Flyers are targeted toward a specific neighbourhood, and these are followed up with delivery of an exquisitely produced ‘magalogue’ to potential subscribers who respond to an SMS number on the flyer. And these movies can also be reviewed, chosen and booked through an interactive website.

Thirdly, the distribution and delivery model is based around empowering a burgeoning local workforce. ‘Riders’ from previously disadvantaged communities will both deliver and collect your selection of DVDs at a pre-determined place and time through a bicycle network. This initiative goes a long way toward building a local community of people who are keen to be involved in this business, and creates much needed employment opportunities.

This business model directly addresses the needs and aspirations of several market segments, delivering a high-quality service and product to a discerning market, whilst building an empowered community of distributors who are incentivised to go on and grow their market areas.

Hats off to an innovative and well thought out business model in a competitive market…

ADT Security realized that in order to own a major foothold, they needed to deal with not only their major competition Chubb Security, but also with a plethora of small competitors out there.

It was somehow inevitable. They simply bought out all the minor players and small competition and re-branded them under their own ADT identity. And with this buy out came automatic access to their infrastructure and brand equity for these small businesses.

By doing this, ADT leveraged a two-fold advantage and arguably provided a win-win situation for all. The previously small alarm and security companies now had access to logistic support and the marketing infrastructure of a major international brand. And of course, ADT Security now had a footprint which included the market of their previous, small competitors.

And yes, this tactic obviously raises all sorts of questions around competitive practice. However, they contrived an innovative response to a situation that would have been difficult to address in almost any other way. If you can’t beat them, buy them…

Ultimately, you won’t really know where you’re going. It’s like heading off on a road trip with no specific destination in mind, no roadmap, and no real plan how to get there.

Unless you’ve meticulously scoped the extent and direction you want to move towards, you’re probably better off staying where you are. For now. The inherent risk you run is that you’re going to be making important decisions with crucial ramifications and you don’t want these decisions to be based on little or no information with regard to the potential outcome.

Some years back, a well known department store attempted to rebrand their identity and offering to attract a more upmarket clientele than that which they were ‘successfully’ servicing at the time. The result of this ‘innovative’ program was that they somehow ended up not attracting this market at all, and at the same time they managed to alienate their current client base, who no longer related to their ‘new’ brand. Well-intentioned, but not good for business.

You have to ensure that you really know where you’re going, why you’re changing something, how you’re going to achieve this and understand the implications of where you might end up. Your old picture might not be as broken as the new one you’re attempting to implement could become… 

The magic here resides in successfully creating more than just an upmarket venue. These guys thought way beyond what is commonly accepted as ‘great’. They innovated a concept that is uniquely world-class, and yet still accessible to everyone who appreciates quality.  simply put, it’s the quintessential upmarket ‘African’ experience in the wine lands.

And when combined with absolutely exquisite food,  award-winning wine, sublime service and unforgettable ambience, this venue provides people who are prepared to step out of their ‘norm’ with several compelling reasons to tell your friends about this amazing lunch or celebratory evening out…

Well, for a time, Lucky Strike created and promoted a series of hugely successful ‘secret’ live music events in South Africa featuring a number iconic international bands.

In order to actually be ‘invited’ to the event, aspirant concert-goers had to find a ‘hidden’ contact number on the advertising posters and then SMS a response to engage in a process whereby if you stayed the distance, the location, time and date was revealed, and your ‘ticket’ was secured.

These events became legendary, and people who were present associated the brand with a rewarding emotional outcome beyond the satisfaction of the just the product itself. And they went on to tell people who missed out.

Lucky Strike created memorable experiences that engaged participants in an aspirational and wholly interactive way with their brand…

You think differently, and you successfully persuade one thousand distributors of your products to contribute one thousand rand each to a proposed television campaign. This commercial then directs interested consumers to an 0800 number where an operator will redirect enquiries to their nearest participating supplier.

And, guess what? Everyone wins. Your brand and product – which is now rolling out a national television campaign, the distributors who go on to sell this product and who are now also attracting customers to their business [and are reaping the benefits of national exposure through this campaign for a fraction of the cost], and of course the end user, who can now with just a single telephone call, find the nearest supplier in their area.

A brilliant and innovative financial and marketing concept…