Page 152 - DNBI_A01.QXD

1294 : STEP TWO – GENERATING NEW IDEAS

model represented an existing combination of raw material, processed in
a particular way, promoted to a specific market and uniquely defined as
a distinct product. The gaps represented opportunities for new products.

Markets

Processes
Materials

Figure 4.3 Carson’s three-dimensional model

Carson had the wit to term the process of systematically examining the
model for new products ‘cube-crawling’. His approach was to take a
slice across the model, such as a particular market sector, and then
analyse each cube within the slice – the empty cubes automatically
represented a potential product, which could subsequently be
evaluated and refined further.
‘Cube-crawling’ represents an elegantly simple framework to structure
creative thinking. In the model shown in Figure 4.3, the grey cubes
represent existing products. The white cubes represent opportunities
within a given market sector to create new process/material
combinations.
Clearly the axes do not have to be restricted to markets, materials or
processes. You should use any dimensions which help you interrogate
a market.
taking Swatch to the slopes Swatch, for example, could have
mapped out the conventional watch market along the dimensions of
price, technical performance and market type, including fashion. A
systematic analysis such as this cube-crawling would have created the
potential combinations of high technical performance and high fashion
across a range of prices. This might seem counter-intuitive to Swatch’s
predominantly fashion-conscious accessory positioning.