This is not an innovation.

From the invention of the wheel to the mobile phone, every truly significant innovation in human history has been a unique opportunity for transformation – a game changer. Whether it affects our relationship with the world, with life, with others or with ourselves, any meaningful innovation always involves a major transformation in the way we think and do things.

Many innovations have come about by accident or through a stroke of genius. Today, innovation must be baked into the business model of brands and companies.

Today’s most enthusiastic consumers demand innovation. This subgroup of consumers, who contribute the most to the growth of consumer markets, are driven by a deep desire to transform their lives. To achieve such a transformation, they are counting in some measure on innovative products and services. Consequently, if companies and brands want to continue to grow, they have no choice but to innovate!

Our studies of the Canadian marketplace indicate that 12% of consumers are very enthusiastic about innovation. When you want to launch an innovation in the marketplace, these consumers are the ones you need to target first.

The latter represent the Early Adopters (see our updated Rogers’ model of diffusion and adoption of innovation).

There are many. Notably, you need to promise consumers that your innovation will:

• Aid their personal development or improve certain aspects of themselves

• Transform their relationship with others, with nature and the environment (in a sustainable way)

• Offer them hitherto unknown pleasures

• Offer them the opportunity to proudly show off these innovations to their peers (status-seeking).

Obviously, very few innovations are able to position themselves on all these motivations at once or even radically transform the way we live or think.

However, the more you can make consumers aware that you are responding in a new and creative way to their emotional, sociocultural and utilitarian needs, the more likely you are to be successful in the marketplace.

The goal is not to dupe consumers by trying to impose new ways of doing things, but to transform the various experiences of their lives into moments that will make sense to them. Moments that will be sociable, pleasant and an eventual source of pride.

The indices on this table compare regular Tim Hortons customers to the rest of the population and quantify the extent of their variance. At 100, these consumers would be similar to the general population.