SmithBucklin
Business Situation
SmithBucklin, the world's largest association management company, was looking to develop a company-wide process that would jumpstart innovation and grow revenues for all of its associations. SmithBucklin engaged Kuczmarski & Associates to understand its unique business and develop a customized strategy.
K&A Approach
Through an in-depth study of SmithBucklin's diverse member associations, K&A created an Innovation Center and the process it would follow, and trained its members and users. To jumpstart the Center, K&A ran a pilot project with an association to identify members' needs and generate high-potential new product and service innovations for them.
Results
SmithBucklin adopted the K&A-developed strategy and process in 2006 as a resource for all associations. The process has been activated and teams are currently developing the first portfolios of new products and services for select associations within SmithBucklin.
NASA
Business Situation
Hoping to accumulate the capital to pursue two extremely expensive undertakings - development of the International Space Station and a manned mission to Mars - Kuczmarski & Associates helped NASA convert its many proprietary technologies into revenue-generating services and products.
K&A Approach
K&A identified potential industries which might benefit from NASA's micro-gravity capabilities (i.e. technology that exists only on the Space Station). Primary research was conducted within these industries to identify specific problems and needs for which the technology would offer a valued solution. Business models were constructed to enable the pursuit of the most attractive opportunities.
Results
K&A recommended a specific new-to-the-world business opportunity, including partners and areas of exploration, in the commercial bio-pharmaceutical segment. When NASA signed, it was the first major contract for private biotech development.
- Wall Street Journal
Anheuser-Busch
Business Situation
Looking to develop a systematic innovation strategy and accompanying process that would yield high-potential products in new and existing markets, Anheuser-Busch engaged Kuczmarski & Associates.
K&A Approach
K&A performed an intensive review of past new product efforts at Anheuser-Busch, and analyzed trends within new target markets. This data combined with senior management input and our expertise of innovation best practices formed the basis for the development of a company-wide innovation strategy and new products process.
Results
A-B has implemented K&A's recommendations and is currently generating new products with the process developed in our work. Our strategy has helped to focus and align Anheuser-Busch's innovation efforts, contributing to their consistent innovation success over the past 3 years.
Hewitt
Business Situation
Hewitt, one of the top players in specialized benefits consulting, engaged Kuczmarski & Associates as it looked to differentiate itself from competitive strategy consulting firms, accounting firms, and IT consultants.
K&A Approach
K&A gained a thorough understanding of Hewitt's strengths, its current position, and areas for potential growth through primary qualitative research aimed at uncovering the behaviors, problems and needs of benefit managers and VPs or CFOs of Fortune 500 companies. These insights, combined with an analysis of competitive strategies and positioning, allowed K&A to identify highest-potential growth areas for Hewitt.
Results
K&A's work focused Hewitt's prioritization around benefits outsourcing and HR strategy, with supportable new products and services. Additionally, Hewitt distanced itself from competition with a targeted brand positioning strategy and supporting marketing plan focusing on innovative and measurable results.
Buechel Stone
Business Situation
Buechel Stone, a natural stone manufacturer, engaged Kuczmarski & Associates hoping to achieve a number of objectives, including the development of a new national distribution plan, a communications strategy for a proprietary new technology it had developed, and a marketing strategy to help it focus exclusively on the highest potential customers and channels.
K&A Approach
K&A conducted research with key decision-makers in the natural stone market place - including architects, general contractors, and distributors, masons, and homeowners - to what influencing factors assisted them in making their decisions about natural stone or other masonry products. K&A also conducted a secondary review of new, potential markets to locate and recommend the highest-potential ones for future expansion for Buechel.
Results
Since the conclusion of the project Buechel has implemented the recommended strategies and is currently expanding distribution into its first new market. K&A's findings redefined how Buechel communicated with its customers, and have helped to focus communication to the decision-makers who have the greatest influence over natural stone and other masonry purchases.
Alfa
Business Situation
One of Mexico's largest conglomerates wanted to develop innovation as a core competency within the company and its business units.
K&A Approach
K&A conducted a Diagnostic Assessment of Alfa and each of its business units evaluating current strategy, process, culture, and overall goals against Innovation Best Practices. Based on the findings, K&A designed customized Innovation Systems for each of Alfa’s 4 key businesses and led two pilot projects.
Results
Alfa has implemented the Innovation Systems throughout the company and has made innovation a core competency. The pilot project with Sigma (packaged foods) results in new product concepts are valued at over $300MM USD in first year revenue. The DAK Americas pilot project (petrochemicals) resulted in a recently-announced new line of specialty resins.
[Read the full Alfa Innovation System case study]
St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center
Business Situation
St. Joseph’s major competitor, Memorial Hospital, had recently re-positioned itself as a high-tech healthcare provider. St. Joseph’s wanted to differentiate itself, and had originally positioned itself as a Catholic hospital focused on spirituality-driven care. K&A was asked to create a positioning and marketing platform to help it gain competitive market share.
K&A Approach
K&A’s conducted primary research with consumers and found that they were more concerned with positive outcomes and treatment success, rather than spiritual care or the use of latest technology in the hospital.
Results
- The insights in consumers’ emotional and functional requirements from their healthcare provider helped K&A define a new positioning strategy and messaging for St. Joseph. The new strategy differentiated the hospital by renaming it St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center and creating specialty departments centered on the combination of expert teams using high-tech diagnosis/treatment machinery, rather than solely focusing on latest technology as Memorial Hospital had done. It was that human element, harnessed in the service of providing medical expertise, that allowed St. Joseph’s to logically evolve from spiritual care and compete effectively with Memorial’s cold and distant positioning
- The new positioning strategy helped St. Joseph increase market share by 3 points in its first year of execution