What if this economic downturn is not the time to give up on new thinking, but really provides the opportunity to more freely explore some fresh ideas? Since stressing out does nothing toward increasing, or even maintaining, your numbers... why not use that worry-filled brainwave space, instead, to identify and integrate consumer trends you never needed to notice before?


Reena Jana's quick hit Businessweek article and video with David Rockwell, architect/branding expert/set designer, presents a great example in the discussion of his design thinking process. Rockwell's ideas for hotel design in a down economy, specifically, include this nugget: what about holding cooking classes in hotel kitchens? Given the current convergence of trends in staying home, cooking more, and being with family, this makes a lot of sense.
So, what else, physical space or otherwise, might be primed for such "transformability," as Rockwell called it? The possibilities are endless.
The interesting thing to note is that without this "what now" sense of doom we feel, tranformable ideas might never surface. Yet, offerings that bubble up that way, like cooking classes in hotel kitchens, can serve consumers and add value on so many levels. Perhaps, the counterintuitive truth is this: that extreme limitations or tighter parameters, in a way, force a bolder, creative thinking. And, the solutions found in that process aren't necessarily big, glitzy astounding constructions, but actually are "boiled" to a simpler essence.
Subaru's current "Share The Love" philanthropic effort is yet another example of transformability, in my mind. Rather than promoting money-back at loan signing or one of the other typical car dealer year-end strategies, the Subaru decision-makers kept to tight parameters, learned more about their consumers and were "forced" to think quite differently. What their research found was that a charitable donation would very much resonate with the types of people who'd be considering a Subaru buy right about now.
Doing good while inspiring consumers to purchase a new vehicle in a downturn? Wow. A tried and true, established auto industry tradition turned on its ear. Existing "space" transformed with a bit broader perspective. Without an extreme impetus to fill a void of ideas in a difficult economic environment, such a concept might never have surfaced.
Now, before I sign off - let's consider the gender angle: 1) Think about what your brand has done lately and specifically with women in mind (either pitched as "for women" or not). 2) Step into the economic downturn mind space for a newly wide-open vision. Are there elements, products, experiences therein that may actually have an appreciative male market as well? Could your women's this or that be transformed in a way that could help you expand your market - even now?
All this talk of hotels trying to reach a changed consumer makes me think that the women-driven comfort/living room feel of lobbies and guest rooms may serve the many traveling men who'd rather be home with their kids, as well. Or, what about transforming the perhaps little noticed sustainable building practices (of hotels or residences) into a new economic downturn "value(s) proposition?" Women aren't the only ones who appreciate the long-term implications of such corporate responsibility. Hmmm...
If new thinking and transformability begin to emerge only when long-established industries with embedded business practices get hit this hard, perhaps we have something extra to be thankful for right about now? The overwhelmingly bad business environment of 2008-09 may have opened a few more of us up to clever, possibly unusual design thinking-derived solutions. And, consumers will take note.