INNOVATION AS MARKETING
INNOVATION AS MARKETING
Turning Bold Ideas into Market Advantage
Turning Bold Ideas into Market Advantage
Many innovative companies and programs fail—and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. When a company fails, the founder and employees often walk away with valuable experience they can leverage in future roles or ventures. They turn their failures into a story of growth, learning, and expertise.
But what happens when a company’s internal innovation program fails? Too often, the value of that effort is lost. The ideas, energy, and resources poured into the program disappear without leaving any tangible benefit for the company. That’s where Innovation as Marketing comes in.
Turning Innovation into Value, Even When It Fails
By embedding marketing into the innovation process, you ensure that every step of the journey creates value for the business—whether the innovation succeeds or not. The program itself becomes a tool to:
Build the company’s reputation as a forward-thinking leader.
Engage customers, partners, and investors with compelling stories of progress.
Boost employee morale by celebrating the effort and creativity behind innovation.
Reframing Innovation Budgets
Think of Innovation as Marketing as a shift in the cost center. Instead of spending $1M a year purely on traditional marketing efforts like lead generation, PR, and trade shows, why not split that budget? Allocate a portion to innovation programs that double as strategic marketing initiatives.
Here’s how:
Run Innovation Programs: Develop products, processes, or initiatives that address industry pain points or align with market trends.
Promote the Journey: Share the story of your innovation process through blogs, videos, or thought leadership to showcase your company’s vision.
Capture Brand Value: Even if the program doesn’t yield a successful product, the narrative positions your company as bold, innovative, and willing to take risks—traits that resonate with customers and stakeholders.
The Bottom Line
Innovation as Marketing isn’t just about building the next breakthrough product—it’s about capturing the value of the innovation process itself. By integrating marketing and innovation, you create opportunities to amplify your brand, engage your audience, and ensure that no effort is wasted, even if the final result doesn’t go to market.
Many innovative companies and programs fail—and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. When a company fails, the founder and employees often walk away with valuable experience they can leverage in future roles or ventures. They turn their failures into a story of growth, learning, and expertise.
But what happens when a company’s internal innovation program fails? Too often, the value of that effort is lost. The ideas, energy, and resources poured into the program disappear without leaving any tangible benefit for the company. That’s where Innovation as Marketing comes in.
Turning Innovation into Value, Even When It Fails
By embedding marketing into the innovation process, you ensure that every step of the journey creates value for the business—whether the innovation succeeds or not. The program itself becomes a tool to:
Build the company’s reputation as a forward-thinking leader.
Engage customers, partners, and investors with compelling stories of progress.
Boost employee morale by celebrating the effort and creativity behind innovation.
Reframing Innovation Budgets
Think of Innovation as Marketing as a shift in the cost center. Instead of spending $1M a year purely on traditional marketing efforts like lead generation, PR, and trade shows, why not split that budget? Allocate a portion to innovation programs that double as strategic marketing initiatives.
Here’s how:
Run Innovation Programs: Develop products, processes, or initiatives that address industry pain points or align with market trends.
Promote the Journey: Share the story of your innovation process through blogs, videos, or thought leadership to showcase your company’s vision.
Capture Brand Value: Even if the program doesn’t yield a successful product, the narrative positions your company as bold, innovative, and willing to take risks—traits that resonate with customers and stakeholders.
The Bottom Line
Innovation as Marketing isn’t just about building the next breakthrough product—it’s about capturing the value of the innovation process itself. By integrating marketing and innovation, you create opportunities to amplify your brand, engage your audience, and ensure that no effort is wasted, even if the final result doesn’t go to market.
Many innovative companies and programs fail—and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. When a company fails, the founder and employees often walk away with valuable experience they can leverage in future roles or ventures. They turn their failures into a story of growth, learning, and expertise.
But what happens when a company’s internal innovation program fails? Too often, the value of that effort is lost. The ideas, energy, and resources poured into the program disappear without leaving any tangible benefit for the company. That’s where Innovation as Marketing comes in.
Turning Innovation into Value, Even When It Fails
By embedding marketing into the innovation process, you ensure that every step of the journey creates value for the business—whether the innovation succeeds or not. The program itself becomes a tool to:
Build the company’s reputation as a forward-thinking leader.
Engage customers, partners, and investors with compelling stories of progress.
Boost employee morale by celebrating the effort and creativity behind innovation.
Reframing Innovation Budgets
Think of Innovation as Marketing as a shift in the cost center. Instead of spending $1M a year purely on traditional marketing efforts like lead generation, PR, and trade shows, why not split that budget? Allocate a portion to innovation programs that double as strategic marketing initiatives.
Here’s how:
Run Innovation Programs: Develop products, processes, or initiatives that address industry pain points or align with market trends.
Promote the Journey: Share the story of your innovation process through blogs, videos, or thought leadership to showcase your company’s vision.
Capture Brand Value: Even if the program doesn’t yield a successful product, the narrative positions your company as bold, innovative, and willing to take risks—traits that resonate with customers and stakeholders.
The Bottom Line
Innovation as Marketing isn’t just about building the next breakthrough product—it’s about capturing the value of the innovation process itself. By integrating marketing and innovation, you create opportunities to amplify your brand, engage your audience, and ensure that no effort is wasted, even if the final result doesn’t go to market.
