‘New’ has always
been hot, but the digital age has made it even hotter. The historically clunky
and slow moving process of R&D, with progressive investment checkpoints and
hurdles, has been put on warp speed. Increasingly the R&D phase has been
moved out into the sunlight early, put live, as a Beta test. Pioneers and
earlier adopter customers are now frequently the co-creators and shapers of ‘new’.
One measure of
the momentum building behind ‘new’ is the 2 million patents applied for in 2011
up from 1.4 million in 2000.* Closer at hand, the app updates screaming to be
unleashed on your smart phone is a daily reminder of the pace of change and
improvement.
‘New’ isn’t a
shock anymore, it’s an expectation. Customers want brands to evolve before
their eyes. Those that aren’t keeping up are losing out. Trendwatching rightly identifies digital as the driver
of the pace of change, commenting, “The online world with its relentless
acceleration and amplification – of information, of excitement, of attention –
is of course a major contributor to NEWISM.”
Kickstarter – the online funding platform for
creative projects is another child of
the ‘new’ age, since its launch in April 2009 - $362m has been pledged to ‘new’
projects by 2.7m people.
'New’
experiences have become the most valuable social currency at a time when ‘new’
possessions have become less attainable and sometimes environmentally
questionable. Volume and velocity of experience is on occasion compensating for
the value and quality of the experience. The smorgasbord of the music festival,
the always on ‘shuffle’ desire for something ‘new’, different and unexpected
provide grist for the status update, tweet and blog post.
For some social
status comes from being the first to know. Brands need to understand which
consumers crave this and feed their thirst to be first. Giving them prototypes
to play with, or the chance to access limited edition exclusives.
People are now
very quick to sniff out products that aren’t ‘new’ enough, witness the lukewarm reception for the iPhone 5. But the hype and noise ahead of major
launches by prestige innovator brands like Apple sell garners massive sales
volumes.
Ratings and ‘try
before you buy’ opportunities are taking some of the risk out of doing ‘new’
things. At the same time eBay is making it easier for ‘new’ people to own old
things. But ownership isn’t everything either, it’s now often easier to
experience ‘new’ things without ever owning them at all, from the Zipcar and
Boris Bikes sharing model to subscription models like Spotify and Netflix.
Consumers want
‘new’ - NOW. They are less prepared to wait. Brands must come to terms with the
marketing consequences of this: using skunk
works innovation models,
agile and
‘in play’ strategy management, learning fast from failure, testing out in the
open, engaging customers early in product development, knowing how to surf
success and grow with the flow. Who knows ‘new’ may eventually become the ‘new’
normal and ‘old’ could become a compelling differentiator – but probably not
for a long time yet. Here’s to ‘new’ kid!
