Innovation is More Fun Than New (OPINION)

There’s a great historical anecdote that I like to share. Back in 2004, archeologists excavating the remains of an ancient village made an amazing discovery.

Inside the remains of a hut, long buried deep in the earth, they found a 4,000-year-old doll, which is now regarded as the world’s oldest toy.  It was a truly remarkable discovery in its own right, but as they continued to dig they found much more. Buried with the doll were miniature pots, pans, and utensils crafted from terracotta: An ancient toy kitchen not so different from what our children play with today. A Bronze Age Easy-Bake kitchen, if you will.

I love this story because it reaffirms what we as shopper marketers need to remember; the universal, historic truth that human nature is constant and consistent. The basic emotions that drive us don’t change with time, distance or location. The wonderful sense of play that kids have all around the world, which you see in your own children every day, is the same emotion that motivated that little girl in the Bronze Age to play with her doll nearly 4,000 years ago. Enchantment. Wonder. Pure delight.

All of us hold a bank of emotions. Memories, experiences, stories and feelings that we draw from each day. These shared emotions are what make us human beings and what allow us to connect with each other. When triggered, these emotions have the power to not just predict behavior, but to change it as well. A great shopper marketing program does just that.

Some shopper marketing just focuses on the bells and whistles, with motion-activated sound effects, eye-catching lights, 3D displays and much more. As all of us continue to look for true innovation we should really be looking for that which isn’t new at all, it’s old. As old as humanity itself.  It is making emotional connections with people in innovative ways.

We know that emotion is what drives our shoppers. We know that the heart always precedes the cart. We know that if we can elicit emotion at the shelf, regardless of whether she is shopping in brick-and-mortar-stores or online with e-commerce, then we can achieve what every brand strives for: loyalty beyond reason. Loyalty that surpasses what’s logical and becomes what we call a lovemark.

Let’s keep the toy theme as we define a lovemark. I want you to think back to your favorite childhood toy. Maybe it was a teddy bear with missing buttons that you carried everywhere. You probably cherished that toy. It was worn, disheveled and completely unreasonably loved. It was a lovemark.

Whether we’re selling toys, diapers or a bar of soap, our goal as shopper marketers is to connect to emotional drivers. A toy’s emotional driver is playtime, fantasy, imagination and thus our objective is to create a shopping environment that inspires childlike wonder and joy. 

While this may seem intuitive, many shopper marketers focus more on the physical landscape rather than on the emotional landscape. To succeed in shopper marketing, we need to focus on both — what we can impact physically and how we can forge new emotional connections with our shoppers. 

We view creating powerful emotional connections as innovation. After all, innovation is fueled by deep emotional understanding. Once you understand your shopper, the door to innovation opens wide. It is not just about what is new. Innovation is about what is true.

So how do you gauge if your work holds up over time? Well, imagine your work being pulled out of the rubble thousands of years from now by archaeologists just like that ancient doll was. Forget the physical components and consider only the message. If that message connects to a true human emotion, it will stand the test of time, because emotions are timeless.

As we turn to fall, we know that the all-important holiday season is almost upon us. How do you win during this crucial two to three months?

Invest in your shoppers’ human emotions. Invest in understanding your shopper, what drives and delights them, and they will respond.  And how does emotional connection pay off in the shopper space?

With a ringing cash register. Something else that is timeless.   

Dina Howell is CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi X in Springdale.  Founded in 1997, Saatchi X is trusted by category leading billion-dollar brands as well as small startup companies to deliver growth and sustainable business results utilizing shopper marketing.  Contact her at [email protected] or 479-725-2222.