Establishing an innovation strategy, process and organizational guidelines for a leading weekly publication
Establishing an innovation strategy, process and organizational guidelines for a leading weekly publicationEquiBrand2022-04-14T11:59:39-07:00
Project Description
The leading weekly magazine for celebrity and human-interest stories wanted to grow but was under attack from lower-priced competitors and a shift toward digital media.
While the company had a strong brand, it had not solidified its value proposition or positioning. With no guardrails to guide innovation, there were almost too many brand extension ideas, which risked diluting the brand’s equity.
A clear brand strategy was developed and used to prioritize where-to-play and how-to-win decisions, allowing the brand to maintain its leadership and premium pricing.
Challenge
Leading brand of celebrity and human-interest stories (i.e., the corporation’s cash cow)
Historical track record of innovation, balancing editorial and publishing requirements
Stalled innovation due to perceived business risk, lack of innovation strategy and plan, inconsistent process and organizational issues
Action
Diagnostic audit on current state (i.e., not lacking creativity and ideas)
Strategy workshops to review innovation and brand extension best practices
Customer framework (across consumers and advertisers – both corporations and their agencies) to inform target selection
Strategic direction setting, informed by financial growth gap, strategic opportunity area definition and screening criteria
Innovation process developed and piloted “real time” (including ideation, screening of new and on-going initiatives and organization enablers)
Result
Prioritized strategic opportunity areas (where-to-play) and related innovation concepts (how-to-win) to fuel revenue growth, including innovation product plan roadmap
Skills transference through collaborative approach
Successful launch and implementation of several identified growth concepts
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