Tricks, treats and innovation!

Image from - ulsterweaversblog (online), accessed 31/10/11


Hey everyone,

So with halloween today I thought it would be apt to make a blog post all about halloween and innovation surrounding it. An article in The Sun newspaper on Thursday 27th October stated that this year alone we will be spending "a record £315 million this year on spooky costumes, party gear and sweets for trick-or-treaters — 26 times as much as ten years ago. " But what is with this dramatic increase in spending in an economic climate where families are on tight budgets? And how does innovation link into all of this? As cliche as it sounds, the answer is all around us! 10 years ago you would not have found items such as halloween costumes for pets through to halloween lawn decorations, but these have bombarded the shelves in shops and supermarkets throughout the country as we try to keep up with our American counterparts with this age-old tradition.



Image from- trendhunter (online) accessed 31/10/11


Even companies are exploiting this holiday to sell more of a product, releasing a plethora of marketing campaigns to advertise their products, again something unseen 10 years ago. But how does innovation link into all of this? As mentioned in the previous blog, innovation is one of two things, firstly it can be " the process of creating a new product or service ", so in this case we have the addition of halloween lawn decoration, halloween cake decorations and spooky window treatments (a solution you rub onto your windows to make them seem bloodstained), but also innovation can be "improving a product or service", in which case we have the improvements of better quality and more complex costumes at a cheaper price due innovation in the manufacturing world (i'll post a blog about this next week) and also the improvements in terms of a wider selection of sweets being designed especially for halloween (Haribo "horror mix" being one example).


Overall, it is fair to say that Halloween has become less of a public holiday and more of a marketing campaign, with innovative products being released especially for this time of the year and companies exploiting it to see an increase in revenue and profits. I'll post a blog soon as well about the innovation of halloween within the theme park market, there was too much to talk about to just add it to the bottom of this blog!


Refence list:


Trend hunter [online] found at: http://www.trendhunter.com/slideshow/halloween-marketing#26 accessed 31/10/11
The Sun [online] found at: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3897219/Hallow-earn.html accessed 31/10/11
Ulster Weaver Blog [online], found at: http://www.ulsterweaversblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/halloween-pumpkin.jpg accessed 31/10/11

A warm welcome!

Hey everyone!


So I basically created this blog to demonstrate the importance of innovation and how it is used within everyday life. Apart from covering the obvious examples such as innovation within the market place (for example to innovative advancements in the mobile phone markets, computer markets etc), I will also be exploring the more abstract uses of innovation; everything from electronic queue jump tickets in theme parks to innovation within the 4 seasons markets (all will be clear!).


Whilst keeping this blog academic: bringing in theories and examples from everyday life, I also want to aim to keep this informal as to make it less boring to read!

Just a quick side note: if you see a number in brackets at the end of a sentence, e.g. (1), it indicates I have used a reference and you will find the reference list and bibliography at the bottom of each blog post.


Innovation, invention and the differences


Just to clear this up, although they are similar, "invention" is the process of creating a new product or service for a market place, whereas innovation can be seen as improving a product or service and is seen as having a generally positive impact on the business. Innovation relies on employees creativity and imagination and so workplaces are encouraged to have a free-thinking philosophy when it comes to new ideas; as this increases the changes of creating an innovative product- as Walter Lippman said "If we are all thinking alike, then no one is thinking" (1).

So why innovate?

Innovation has changed the world we live in, even in the past 5 years we have seen huge innovative advancements in the form of High Definiation television (HDTV); touch screen technology all the way through to more everyday essentials such as innovation in skin care products and in the way our clothing is manufactured. Innovation has led to new, more time-effective/cost-effective ways of producing goods and services, for example HTC Sweden switched to an innovative new piece of machinary called 'Digital Prototyping' to produce some of their products,  which in turn "cut product development costs by approximately 97%" (2). Put simply, innovation has led to a positive change in our everyday life-individually it has led to cheaper goods due to decreasing production costs and also an increase in the goods and services available to us, whereas as a business it has led to an increase in the number of products being produced, an increase in profits and also a greater range of products being produced.


" Innovation gives us a temporary monopoly and higher profits. People will pay for quality products and we need quality products to sustain margins in a mature industry. If it’s not innovative there’s not enough profit in it.” (3)
Mark Henry, Group CEO and Chief Design Engineer, Furitechnics



References
Picture- Demontive Us [online] found at: http://www.demotivateus.com/ accessed 24/10/11

(2)- Industry week [online] found at :  http://www.industryweek.com/articles/product_design_innovations_reduce_costs_and_increase_customer_satisfaction_21025.aspx

(3)- Innovation toolbox [online] found at: http://www.innovationtoolbox.com.au/why-innovate accessed 24/10/11
(1)-Leadership now [online] found at: http://www.leadershipnow.com/creativityquotes.html accessed 24/10/11



Bibliography


Picture- Demontive Us [online] found at: http://www.demotivateus.com/ accessed 24/10/11

(2)- Industry week [online] found at : http://www.industryweek.com/articles/product_design_innovations_reduce_costs_and_increase_customer_satisfaction_21025.aspx

(3)- Innovated toolbox [online] found at: http://www.innovationtoolbox.com.au/why-innovate accessed 24/10/11

(1)-Leadership now [online] found at: http://www.leadershipnow.com/creativityquotes.html accessed 24/10/11

Marchington, M "Managing the Team" (1998), published by Blackwell Business