Friday’s Wall Street Journal showed a delicious contrast in innovation approaches in side-by-side articles (yes, I’ve just revealed I still read a broadsheet from time-to-time).
On the one hand, you have P&G launching the latest, feature rich, premium-seeking version of its Fusion razor. Blade edges so fine you need a microscope to see them. Anti-hydroplane technology. And an even more ergonomic grip.
(Wait. Backup. My razor blade can hydroplane? On my face? Scary… Does my auto insurance cover that?)
In contrast, the neighboring article details GE’s plans to launch a handheld ultrasound device. Price point: under US$10,000. Compare that to $25-50k for laptop-based machines, or $250k for a cart-based ultrasound. Of course, the handhelds won’t have the functionality of the others, but for many situations, they don’t need to. Cutting out features in favor of portability and low price actually opens up new markets. That’s smart, “good enough” innovation in a tough economic environment. Read More »

Someone smarter than me has surely waxed poetic on the virtue of looking to the past to prepare for the future. Yet if 2009 taught marketers anything, it is that the past is no predictor or guarantee of future performance. 
I don’t know how many of you follow box office results, but I’d like to point your attention to Paranormal Activity, a horror movie getting a slow rollout from Paramount that just this past weekend grossed
Welcome to Wide Angle, a blog brought to you by the