Promise Index: Konstantin Pinaev on innovation in a recession
Every day for a week, a Promise staff member comments on the 2009 Promise Index Results. Today Konstantin Pinaev shares his thoughts on innovation in a downturn.
Apart from anything else, recession is a good time to think, take a few steps back and reflect on the way we do business. In a downturn, many companies fail or don’t do as well as they thought they would. Those who survive have to try harder and find new ways to do things.
This is probably why recession can be such a fertile time for true innovators. In fact, 16 of the 30 companies that make up the Dow industrial average were started during a recession or depression. And if we look at the list, we really can say “recession is good for you”. Downturns gave birth to such companies as Procter & Gamble, Disney, McDonald’s, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Hyatt, HP, Wikipedia and Microsoft.
Counterintuitive as it may seem, recession is the time to start new things. This is the time when consumers are looking for a fresh start and fresh ideas. During the last recession Apple worked in iPod, iTunes and their stores. I wonder what life-changing new ideas will come out of this one?
To find out more, read the Marketing Week article or Promise’s own report.
Tags: Recession
This entry was posted on Tuesday, 6 Oct 2009 at 8:57 am and is filed under Branding, Innovation, Promise Index, Research.
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