Innovation is everywhere. A Fleischmann Hilliard study of corporate taglines that debuted in 2009 found “innovate/innovation” to be one of the top ten most frequently used words.
Apparently it’s still with us. In the past two months I’ve logged a lot of miles on trade show floors. Taglines linked to innovation have screamed from banners and walls and graphic panels in front, behind, above and to either side of me.
Here’s what confuses me. They all speak of innovation in the past tense.
“A history of innovation.” “Pioneers in innovation.” “Where innovation is tradition.”
These brands are placing a lot of value on what they did yesterday. Even economist Alan Greenspan, whose name doesn’t come up too often when the topic is marketing, seemed to understood that focusing on the past misses the point of innovation. Perhaps he wasn’t stating the quite-so-obvious when he said “The process of innovation is, of course, never-ending.”
So, all you innovators out there, what innovations can your brand deliver to your prospects today?