Saturate a Niche Market

As was mentioned a couple of posts back, I'm a new Dad. At the hospital, post-birth, we were moved to the maternity ward.

Walking the halls with baby, we could not help but notic every three feet on the wall was a beautifully framed photo of children at play. In the bottom right corner of each frame was a small ad that read, "Kelly Chandler Photography", with a phone number.

This photo studio / service had completed saturated the maternity ward. Her name and number is burned into my brain. Given all the excited new parents, and cute-as-can-be babies, professional photography is already top-of-mind. Kelly Chandler Photography has carved out their niche.

I just think this is a good example of saturation advertising. Too often, companies try to go big and broad and saturdate enormous spaces, or poorly defined target markets... reducing their Return on Marketing Investment. You can saturate a niche for a lot less dough, and probably generate more business as a result.

Other examples that you've seen? Effective or ineffective?

Process for "Converging" on Best Ideas

(Scott) I've also felt that a weakness in the idea generation process is the "converging" stage. I haven't come across a process / company that has a tried and true, scientific method for identifying the best ideas.

In my experience, we tend to sort through ideas and use a combination of gut instinct and basic criteria to separate out the "winning" ideas. There must be a more concrete, systematic way to converge on great ideas. What processes do you use? What have you seen in practice that worked?

With a little brainstorming, we may be able to build a better process together.

Diaper Ink-Blots - How do you stretch your creative mind?

As per the previous post, I'm totally thrilled to be a Dad! Callum was born on 1/11/07 and in 6 short days (actually long, given the lack of sleep) has changed our lives.

I'm hoping it also makes me more creative as I learn to see things for the first time (through Callum's eyes). I'm interested in the little things you do on a daily basis to stretch your creative thinking... what are your mental aerobics. At the risk of losing all credibility, I've decided to use Callum's poopy diapers as psychological inkblots (only momentarily of course, before they make their way to the trash). I have had many laughs the past few days describing to little Callum how his various poop "works of art / inkblots" remind me of certain images, objects, paintings, etc.

Yes, perhaps I'm over-tired. I prefer to think of it as stretching my creative thinking and keeping my spirits light. I've heard others advocate taking new routes home, walking different office corridors, etc. What do you do to regularly refresh your mind and bring creativity into your life?

Congratulations to Scott for the birth of his son Callum

Wonderful news - Scott's first child Callum was born last week. Here's a picture of his wife Alison and the little one. Congratulations to Scott!

Likemind coffee & creativity

Third Friday of every month = Likemind.

Likemind is a gathering of creative, thoughtful folk for coffee, banter and ideas. Whether you're in Seattle, London, NYC, Oslo, etc. there could be a Likemind in your neighborhood. I'm involved in the Seattle edition, and I've found it a really inspiring, entertaining way to start a day.

Global Consumer Insights

(Scott) Hey there - Sofia's last post has got me thinking... what are some of the most compelling or memorable behaviors / actions / human factors you have observed in other countries.

Let me get the discussion started... (from my experience)

1. Russians drink on planes. You may find this a generalization, but both times I've traveled to or within Russia, many of the passengers became drunk (certainly more than in any other region in which I've flown). Several of the passengers on board purchased full bottles of liquor from the "drink cart" and walked up and down the aisles pouring shots for both friends and strangers. I found this behavioral both really social, and really odd. Insights?

2. Chinese taxi drivers do not accept tips. When I was in Shanghai a few months back, I took maybe a dozen taxi rides and the first few times tried to tip my driver. On each occasion, the driver flatly refused my tip. When I tried to force the matter, the money was thrust at me and the motion was made for me to get out. I found this really surprising... especially when service in surrounding countries (Thailand, Philippines, etc) thrives on tips. Insights? Other experiences?

Mini- products in India

Hi Guys,

One of the things I have noticed on my trip (I am in India) is that a lot of products are sold in mini-formats. For example Ariel washing powder is sold in sachets. Initially I was confused by this. Surely in a country where poverty is so prevalent, people would want to buy in bulk?

I asked a shop keeper what people usually use to wash their clothes. Most people are so poor, they just use water (I saw some people washing their clothes using river water). They don't have machines, so they wash their clothes by hitting them against a hard surface to get the dirt out.

Ah ha! So the clever thing about putting "luxury goods" like Ariel washing powder into mini-formats is to get people to potentially try them out? Maybe in a good month where they may have a few rupees to spare?

Just an observation....

Thanks for the interesting posts. LOVED the innovation tube map.

Trend Tube Map

(Scott) Inspired by subway maps, Nowandnext and Future Exploration Network have mapped out the major trends impacting society... check out this PDF - it is an incredibly cool visualization of the intersection of trends. Great inspiration.

http://www.psfk.com/files/Trend_Blend_2007_map.pdf

Do you agree / disagree with what you see depicted? What trends are missing? What trends are you betting on in 2007?

Thanks to our friends at PSFK for the heads-up.