Reading about P&G's experience on Alway's Discreet pads and adult diapers is a classic case of why traditional market research has its limits and why transactional-testing needs to be utilized more often. You can read the WSJ's description of the case here:  https://www.wsj.com/articles/p-gs-incontinence-problem-how-to-get-women-into-adult-diapers-1530014400 . Here's our analysis:

I love working in consumer insights, and I especially love ethnography work. Whenever I wear the hat of ethnographer I always have this single question in the back of my mind, “what’s your secret?”, meaning, what is it that drives you, that fuels your hopes and dreams, your fears and inhibitions, what drives the choices you make in life, both big and small.

The path of product innovation is always a curvy and twisty road... but sometimes it can produce something else entirely unexpected!   Hint-hint, poke-poke, prod-prod - you know who I’m talking to…

It is hard – very hard – to unknow what you’ve worked hard to learn, to be able to see beyond what you know to be true and to re-try to solve a problem you or the team has already investigated. Bringing in fresh perspective to solve tough business problems can be just what a team needs to find fertile new ground for growth.

Innovation is about imagining new and better ways of doing things, and for all of you innovators out there we want to celebrate you! To celebrate, we took the time to curate a list of exciting articles, inspiring videos and deep thoughts on innovation to stimulate your senses. And if you scroll down to the bottom - we have a free gift for you as well!  Click anywhere above to be taken there!: www.mission-field.com/innovationday2018

Imagine you could make anything you want, right now. In any shape, in any size and in any structure that you could dream up. In theory this sounds liberating, but to most people the possibility of unlimited choices will likely feel paralyzing: What would I make? We in innovation deal with this every day...

We at Mission Field have been amazed at the high abandonment rate exhibited by shoppers as well as challenge to be noticed on either a store shelf or a digital context. While this poses risk for brand building it is also an area ripe for innovative real-world testing of new technologies and merchandising techniques,

The best insight often lies not in the middle but on either end of two differing opinions. Our consultants have strong insights and opinions, but we all would rather acquiesce on a point of view if someone has deeper level of passion for their idea. Why? First, a strong conviction for a specific direction is the rocket fuel of passion. And passion can turn into an infectious enthusiasm that can be a driving vision for upending the way we look at a category or product challenge.

“The unknown competitor that you haven't had a chance to think up yet is a viscous antagonist fighting against what it takes to create success.” This type of psychological construct is often present in large companies – where those cultures require always having answers for every single detail at your fingertips. This ever-present concern about the things you can’t control can unintentionally make incredibly talented innovation leaders feel limited, cautious and hesitant in their ability to deliver something extraordinary.

There are many reasons why startups with significantly less resources are able to disrupt the big players... but the clearest difference is the speed of change and the willingness to pivot. Simply put, they are not afraid of change. One great example is GoodOnYa a hydration beverage started by Kris Buchanan, a former US Olympic athlete. Kris has radically changed as she’s learned with a full rebranding to 1051 this year...

Just a short 5 years ago there was never any question within traditional retail that product placement provided important context for the consumer on their path to purchase. But with the entire model of brick and mortar retail being turned on its head, the traditional way of thinking about product launches & shelf placement is quickly losing its impact.

Learn about Norman Doors, the roots of Design Thinking and how Mission Field puts its own unique Entrepreneurial spin on the process.

Did you ever think that a rep-pop recruitment may be undermining your innovation efforts? Talking to the “average” consumer may work fine for assessing line extensions of well known product categories, but when you have disruptive, behavior-changing concepts – ones that often smash or reinvent product categories - then you are more likely putting disruptive ideas into a testing situation where the cards are automatically stacked against them. Luckily there's a solution...

Those of us in innovation are on the hook for an endless stream of contribution. And we all need a refreshing re-set from time to time. I find that all types of challenges can melt away when I take a step back and think about "ORBIT"-ing the situation:

Collecting retailer insights early on when you are developing a new product opportunity helps teams to build better ideas and pivot in ways that strengthen the overall proposition. The insights born from the retailer's point of view allow innovation teams to create a highly differentiated product offering that consumers love and retailers can recognize as deserving their commitment. 

Avoid the high-risk scenario of many new item launches, where high level investments are used to support new rollouts that have only been previously tested in focus groups or through online methodologies… neither of which can flush out the real-life launch challenges. Increase your success of new item launches by quickly identifying which innovations are worth investing in, and which ones pose risk

The researcher’s job can be a hard one; especially when consumers give out surface-level thinking to complex issues that need solutions. We have learned at Mission Field that there are times when we need to act like an unbiased classic researcher, but there are also times when we need to dig, push and challenge consumers in order to get to the heart of the matter… more like an investigative journalist.

How often do you find your innovation portfolio under duress because you haven’t yet landed that big idea?  Getting rigorous quantitative proof that you have the next $100MM idea is challenged by the complexities of consumer behavior. Simply put – when a consumer makes a decision to buy a product (or choose your new concept), it is unlikely to be based on a singular factor, but rather lots of elements that shape the final choice. But what happens when the desire for innovation validation leads to “positioning” the data?