The Spark

Why 2025 may need a little extra flex

Whatever you test, think small. And sippable. No one has the time to navigate the ocean anymore.

Make a big business by nurturing a niche network

Why data visualization is a game-changer for explaining your big idea

To keep your audience looking hot

How smart brands find new audiences without losing their current one.

How design sprints and heat-testing bring speed and confidence to product innovation.

How to survive (and thrive) in a marketing world that’s increasingly niche-ified

How blockbusters can crowd out product innovation

In innovation and new product development, bad ideas are not the problem. The problem is the ability to discern good from bad.

Your strategy: deconstruct, reconstruct, test.

When do you step out vs toe the line of average?

How to identify the best innovation ideas

From social media to customer acquisition cost, here’s your ultimate guide to understanding the basics of customer acquisition

Signs you’re due for a brand refresh

Down the rabbit hole of a new sustainable beverage brand

Is your company running faster and faster just to stay in place?

How to talk about innovation in a topsy-turvy time

How rebrands are putting on a great show.

Spring forward and work backwards: How to build momentum for a big new business idea

Is there a right way to generate new business ideas? 

Ways To Build Innovation Into Your Business.

According to survey data from BI Survey, “58% of respondents say their companies base at least half of their regular business decisions on gut feel or experience [emphasis added] rather than being driven by data and information.” Hmm.

Let’s use failure to learn as much as possible. But failure, like success, can be managed.

How do you prepare for disruption? First, know what’s coming. There’s no certainty, of course, but there are smart ways to plan for big shifts.

Validate-first, build-later requires product innovators and marketers to get their hands dirty with testing when the product is still just a tiny spark of innovation.

Big companies are getting savvier about innovation. And a number of service firms (Spark No. 9 among them) are evolving to help them.

Sometimes we get stuck. We need the big idea—the hot new product concept, the clever business model, the catchy tag line. We’ve done our homework on users and their needs.