In our worsening economy, the concept of leapfrogging is very applicable in the marketing space today. Marketers must adapt, in some cases quite abruptly. But funds dry up, and dollars are scarce. This is where innovative thought becomes especially crucial to survival. The bad news is that the stakes are higher, the resources are scarce, and some will find themselves burdened with implacable constraints.

The good news is that innovative output is driven by creative thought, and leapfrogging is doable even in challenging circumstances. By exploring the creative process, marketers can use the tools they have at hand to succeed under even the most challenging circumstances.

Think small, in a big way
Often, consumers and marketers alike have trouble seeing beyond their current world, or adapting to things which are totally foreign. It’s not always about the epic change that blows their mind, but more about the smaller tweaks that can change everything. Think about online social networking. Social graphs are not new phenomena — they have been around for ages — and the Web has been commonplace for a decade. But new combinations of existing technologies and functionalities provided consumers with new opportunities to communicate, and new ways for brands to reach their constituencies.

Another example is rich internet applications; revolutionary applications like GoogleMaps leverage technologies that have een around for some time. But how does this translate for a marketer with a limited budget and a stressed executive team? In a few different ways.

For example, leveraging best practices from other fields can provide a competitive advantage when upgrading a web site or other digital promotion. Consider that insurance companies don’t have the best brand perception among consumers. People find them intimidating, and think that the service provider is out to get them. By adopting a rich interface more commonly seen in a retail site, insurance provider HumanaOne  surmounted these challenges and created an award winning experience.

Don’t win the game, change it
Innovation isn’t always about finding a solution to a particular challenge so much as changing the context of the problem. In this economic environment, risking a new approach may well prove to be more successful than embracing a known challenge. Think of gaming, for example.

Forced to compete with the consumer electronics giant Sony and the software behemoth Microsoft, Nintendo was faced with a costly, grueling deathmatch with no guarantee of success. Instead of running a risky approach to create costlier machines with better graphics and compelling gameplay for the typical console audience, it developed a platform with a different, kinetic style of play — the Nintendo Wii. By promoting console gaming in a whole new way, Nintendo managed to dominate market share and create a growing niche for itself.

Cut costs, not corners — track and react to digital users for free
In today’s environment, metrics become increasingly important to justify scarce resources. But in the perfect Catch-22, companies are spending less on marketing budgets, making it harder to track the success of their digital channel.   However, free tools are available that enable marketers to keep tabs on how their site is performing, and on the sorts of things that are being said about them across other digital media for free.

For example, Google Analytics provides tools for site owners to tag and track traffic, referrals, and segmentation data. A valuable tool for tracking competitors, Alexa provides demographic information on the end users visiting any site. Keep in mind though that these solutions aren’t perfect. While the suite is comprehensive and the price is unbeatable, Google has its shortcomings. It is important to note that Alexa relies on a subset of the Web’s user base, as the system relies on a voluntary end user install.

Gleaning free insights from the digital channel does not stop at the Web. It is possible to get a feel for how a brand is performing in blogger buzz through tools like Technorati or Blogpulse. While this isn’t the same as having a fully trained staff and all the tools in place, it is better than nothing and provides vital information that can frequently be actionable, or create better touchpoints with the client.

As Twitter gains in popularity, brands are beginning to use the tool to gauge consumer sentiment and respond quickly on an individual basis. Take JetBlue, which uses Tweetscan to keep an eye on when its name pops up in the streams, so they can interact with clients on an as-needed basis. This innovative tool helps JetBlue reinforce their friendly, approachable brand persona, and helps them leapfrog from the traditional image of a monolithic, unresponsive airline.

Analyze your approach
All too often, stakeholders focus on the end results — without thinking of the means to get there — or rigorously apply a strict methodolodgy with no analysis or forethought. Stop for a moment and think about the team, the goals, and the constraints. Chances are there are ways to inject creativity into the process, and inspire the team to foster ideas ranging from the very tactical to the highly strategic.

One useful tactic is to have participants in a brainstorming session write ideas instead of blurting them out. This approach not only encourages a greater number of responses, but minimizes the likelihood of stale groupthink. On a strategic level, changes can be made to the entire project process, to add more collaboration or open thinking into the process. At Molecular, we perform creative imagining sessions with key stakeholders and larger audiences to inspire great ideas and drive enthusiasm for a project. Carefully timed to coincide with the completion of data gathering, the output from this work leads clients to identify new opportunities and means to achieve success.

Conclusion
Economic times are rough, and marketers must respond to this situation quickly and decisively to stay on top of the challenges and changes. Innovation is core to survival, but funds are scarce. Fortunately, there are ways to make substantial progress without dropping a bundle of cash. Think about what innovation truly is — there is room for big change without redoing everything from the start. Look past the current business constraints and think about how to apply strengths in new places. Search for ways to lower overhead, such as free tools to track digital performance. Finally, remember that innovation happens from the very start to the very end of the project. Imbue the fabric of every day with room for creative thought, and plan the project to remove constraints and encourage creativity.