Driving Creativity

Nicholas Ind and Cameron Watt

Chapter 11 in Inspiration, 2004, pp 143-154 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract One theme that has emerged throughout this book is the problem of how to use market research as an aid to creativity. Quiksilver, Funcom, Tate Modern and IDEO are all against traditional customer research as they feel it inhibits innovative thinking and weeds out good but challenging ideas. Research, they might argue is valuable in giving you an understanding of current and past behaviour, but it is problematic when trying to define a future world. As the designer, retailer and restaurateur, Terence Conran argues, people don’t know what they really want until you present them with the opportunity to try it. However, while Conran and others might deride research, they are great believers in listening to and identifying with their audience. Conran’s success with Habitat was because he understood the lifestyle of his customers: ‘Terence was absolutely clear about who his target market was — partly because he was part of it’ (Ind 1995, p148). Equally, Quiksilver employees are surfers and skaters and Funcom employees are games players.

Keywords: Cross Country; Sport Utility Vehicle; Automotive Company; Innovative Thinking; Ground Clearance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2004
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:palchp:978-0-230-51088-3_11

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DOI: 10.1057/9780230510883_11

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