I recently read an article titled “How Brand Innovativeness Creates Advertising Flexibility” by Michael J. Barone and Robert D. Jewell courtesy of the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Sciences. In customer experience surveys, we often evaluate consumer perceptions with regard to “innovation.” Intuitively it makes sense to want to work with innovative companies and utilize innovative products.
This article suggests, though, there are by-product benefits to being seen as innovative. The authors state that advertising context (the typical way a specific category is marketed to consumers) is more impactful than the advertising content (the actual message) for non-innovative brands. Conversely innovative brands have ‘advertising flexibility’ which allows the advertising content to be more persuasive than the advertising context of the category. A consumer responding to the ad’s message rather than its delivery is an advantage for the innovative brand.
I enjoyed this article because it provided yet another reason to listen to our customers and how they perceive us – are we innovative? The answer may be more impactful than we realize.
