(Scott) Wow - I've been a bit neglectful of this lil' blog for a while. Not that my mind has been blank or free from questions... just lots of travel and dial-up internet connections.
In flight yesterday, I was reading "
Made to Stick" by Chip and Dan Heath... which includes the story of
Hamburger Helper, a "quick prep" meal for those who are unfamiliar (essentially, noodles and sauce... you add the meat). When sales were declining a few years ago, the brand team went out to visit customers (busy Moms) and got a sense for the frenetic pace of their life, and their kids' preference for consistency and comfort.
Consequently, when charged with sales growth, rather than add new flavor lines to appeal to new markets, they actually cut back the number of flavor SKUs to make it easier for Moms to find their family favorites. The proliferation of flavors had created some confusion, and so in the end, reducing and simplifying their brand extensions actually fueled growth. I love this, because I think it's counter to the dominant belief that more choice = better.
As I read this anecdote, I thought of the sports drinks, side dishes, frozen meals, etc for which I've driven innovation projects. The brand team always came to us with a request to develop line / flavor extentions. We rarely if ever challenged them to think about simplification. Now that I'm older (definitely) and wiser (questionable), I wonder if these brand teams had appropriately valued the impact of simplification. My challenge today is to look at the work I have planned for the next months and determine how I can simplify my channel(s) and message(s). I don't want to create choice paralysis in my audience... I want to make the right choice and action easy to take.
What else is there to say? Viva simplification. What brands have you seen get over-complicated, over-extended? What brands exude simplification?
