Chris Lochhead was the final keynote speaker for Day 1 of the FEI Conference. Talk about ending on a high note!
In my business, I talk to clients in terms of finding a niche, a unique selling proposition, but Chris had something a little larger, a little bolder and perhaps for some, a whole lot scarier. But Chris does nothing in bite sizes having recently invested $750K on research for a book he co-authored, Play Bigger: How Pirates, Dreamers and Innovators Create and Dominate Markets. I think Chris is a Pirate!
Chris talks in terms of creating a new categories. He cites growing a category as a driving market cap.
My mother wore a girdle. There is no way I would ever where a girdle. So when Sara Blackly created some "underwear to make everything smooth and less bumpy" and that would hold you in, she called it Shapeware. "She didn't call it a girdle or even G2 " saids Chris. What she did was create a new category.
In a world where we are being bombarded with over 60,000 marketing messages per day, reach and frequency are essential for businesses to survive. Create a category and you extend your reach exponentially.
And you need to create Lightning Strikes. With that many marketing messages out there, we need to making lightning strike shots of activity over short periods of time. According to Chris we should be 'marketing' to the influencers of the influencers.
My final takeaway from Chris' energetic, lightning shot burst on stage? Please don't measure innovation just by the dollars. And with that, I couldn't agree more.
Christina Gerakiteys is Founder and Creative Director at Ideation At Work, a creativity and innovation consultancy.