Food Brand Resorts to Open Innovation & Crowdsourcing

In this aggressive and competitive market, every enterprise
wants to capitalize on maximum market share and have top recall value.
So why is it that some succeed phenomenally, where as others stagnate
after making some profit? More than extensive R&D, branding,
advertising, marketing and PR initiatives, what works most today is “out
of the box” thinking. The key to exponential growth and increased
consumer goodwill is effective idea management techniques that are well
implemented. Apart from coming up with innovative product development
strategies, streamlined idea management techniques helps in establishing
a deeper audience connect that helps a brand to communicate and expand
better.

Co-creation through open innovation and crowdsourcing
is what most companies focus on in order to capitalize on the
creativity and intelligence of the worldwide audience. Multinational
food manufacturing company Kellogg’s, United States undertook a creative
initiative that helped them in a creating a new product the Cereal
Straws. This project initially commenced in Spain where nine to ten
years old children discussed their breakfast concerns and ways to
resolve them. What came up from these detailed discussions was an idea
that one should not only drink milkshakes through straws but also should
be able to eat the straw afterwards that should be crunchy and taste
good. The outcome was a brand new product called Kellogg’s Cereal Straws
that already had its target audience defined way before the product
release.

Efficient techniques for idea capture not only helps
companies attain creative inputs for new product development but also to
let their consumers know that their views and ideas count. Sometimes,
brands make use of open innovation and mass idea sharing process in
order to boost up their existing product range both for attaining
increased revenue and product awareness.

Leading noodles brand Maggi sometime backannounced an open innovation
campaign where consumers were asked to share the ways in which they have
used Maggi in their lives. What was evident from this idea sharing
campaign was that people cooked and consumed Maggi not only as noodles
but also used them in other food preparation. Other than this, when the
ideas were shared in an TV ad along with the contributor’s name people
also got to know quick easy snack ideas that was tasty and not time
consuming. Through this open innovation Maggi established a better
audience connect by making people realize that their ideas count.

In today’s fast expanding and competitive economy it is very crucial to
understand the pulse of your target and potential consumers.
Enterprises who are able to master this art are the leaders in their
segment. The best way to go ahead with this is through innovative idea
management campaigns and open innovation.

Advantages Of Independent Travel

There is a changing tide in the travel industry. Traditionally massive package holiday companies have block booked villas, hotels, flights, tours and coach transfers from and to the airport. Every detail of ones holiday was catered for by the tour operator. Two weeks in July with bacon and eggs by the pool. The situation is however changing and the trend is towards independent travel.

The independent traveler is on the scene and with the arrival and growth of the internet individuals no longer need accept a tin sardine holiday. The arrival of cheap airlines has helped persons make considerable savings by booking early and travelling in the low season and in the middle of the week. There has been more and more one way tickets purchased. The modern traveler wants more flexibility and will often extend or shorten their trips depending on how much they are enjoying themselves.

The reliance on packaged holidays has caused severe pressures on the infrastructure and environment of holiday hot spots like the Algarve and Majorca, Spain. Their ability to monopolise the accommodation market and dictate pricing has not only created ghost towns that are virtually deserted for most of the year, it has also conned thousands of people with misleading real estate opportunities and created a housing bubble and surplus as well as unnecessarily spoiling miles of coastline.

There are huge benefits in renting holiday villa accommodation with the owners direct over accepting a tin sardine holiday. There are fewer middle men taking their hefty commissions for renting the villa, apartment or hotel room to you. Often these savings are passed on meaning your holiday can be cheaper. You get to choose exactly which property you are renting. Rather than rely on massive companies often poor investigation and selection procedures you can personally speak with the owner of a rental property and satisfy yourself that the arangement is of superior value and high standard.

The idependent traveller has far greater freedom to change their plans and discover spontaneously. The trend towards independent travel has colossal benefits for the environment and local economies. Instead of profits being siphoned off into the already inflated bank accounts of mammoth corporations, small businesses and the local economy get a bigger slice of the pie. The season is extended as independent travelers take advantage of lower prices and less competition in the shoulder and low seasons.

Independent holiday makers travel further afield and to more diverse locations off the beaten path. Instead of large concentrations of people arriving in a single location in July or August the independent traveler will venture elsewhere reducing the environmental footprint and helping the economies of more rural economies.

In the traditional package holiday situation tradition and culture were at best artificial spectacles such as a flamenco night in Tenerife and at worst local people have felt exploited and tourists unwelcome. The mammoth companies keep sending the tourists and in locations such as Majorca where the package still rules restaurant proprietors needn’t worry about reputation or providing value for money because tomorrow a new load of pale faced tourists will be arriving.

By travelling independently one has far more freedom. Free to choose, free to move, free to travel onwards, to follow ones intuition, to enjoy and interact with the local people, to see the real culture and to travel in a more environmentally sustainable way that benefits the local people and their economy.

Spain Cell Phone Rental That Can Save Your Roaming Charges

The world is now considered to be a global village and Spain cell phone rental service and other such services available to us surely prove it right. Traveling to another country is not a difficult thing anymore and one can get to another country in a few hours only. Until a few years back communicating with your loved ones during such international trip might have difficult. But now the travelers can make use of Italy cell phone rental service or rent other country’s phone and overcome this barrier easily.

The ISD charges and the roaming charges from your home cell phone during an international trip would make your roaming call bill run very high. So instead of using your own number at such trips, you can opt for France cell phone rental service, Europe SIM card, or World calling card as per your own convenience. Different kinds of rental plans and phone are available to the travelers and they can conveniently choose the one which fits their requirement.

If you are traveling to a specific country then you can simply get a country specific card. For instance, if you are traveling to Spain only then you can contact a good telecom solution provider. He may be able to provide you with Spain cell phone rental plan. Similarly you can also get France Cell phone rental, and so. Most of the well known and efficient telecom solution providers also provide with unlocked cell phone on rent. It is apt for the travelers who own CDMA phones or locked handset that can work with a specific network only. Renting the handset saves you from spending a fortune on another one.

In case you are traveling to the different European countries then the country specific card like Italy cell phone rental would not work for you. In such case you should look for Europe SIM cards that can work in the different European countries easily. With this you would not have to worry about incoming call charges or roaming charges and can stay in touch with everyone easily.

World SIM cards are also provided by some of the efficient telecom solution provider. These cards are best for the world travelers who may be visiting different countries. The SIM card is valid across the world and covers most of the countries so that the traveler doesn’t have to worry about the high roaming charges.

The cell phone rental plan is available to the Europe travelers and to the World traveler as well. In case someone is visiting a remote village or country that receives bad signals then he might want to rent the satellite cell phone. The rental charge for such handset is high but the good thing is that the handset can catch the signals and can help you to stay connected with your people.