My post in the Challenger Innovation egroup
How did Dutch Boy Paint stir up the paint business? It's so simple,
it's scary. They changed the can.
Paint cans are heavy, hard to carry, hard to close, hard to open,
hard to pour, and no fun. Yet they've been around for a long time,
and most people assumed that there had to be a reason why they were so bad. Dutch Boy realized that there was no reason. They also
realized that the can was an integral part of the product: People
don't buy paint, they buy painted walls, and the can makes that
process much easier.
Dutch Boy used that insight and introduced an easier-to-carry,
easier-to-pour, easier-to-close paint jug. "Customers tell us that
the new Twist & Pour paint container is a packaging innovation that
was long overdue," says Dennis Eckols, group vice president of the
home division for Fred Meyer stores. "People wonder why it took so
long for someone to come up with the idea, and they love Dutch Boy
for doing it."
The breakthrough idea was gathered from that insight. Where does
your firm gets its insights from? How many different windows do you
open to get different insights?
