BEFORE we get on with the business of this week’s piece, I would like to thank all the readers of this column for the positive words of encouragement you have been sending.
Thank you very much.
I will extend an invitation to you all that have a topic of your particular interest or question(s) that need answers; kindly share; it might benefit the rest of the other followers of the column. Now this week on innovation in marketing, we will share experiences that cause companies to innovate, change or face obsolescence.  
There are a lot of brands that have been around and today are only tales that people tell.
You will hear stories of mobile phones, washing soap(s), clothes, television sets and many other household consumables.
We always have our now renowned experts reminisce about brands that fill only most of the poor management examples in the school of business.
This is not to discount the value in provoking the thought about what good management should be.
The material is invaluable. Not to mention the many successes that are overshadowed by the magnitude of the brand failings.
There is a niche of indigenous products in the food industry that will help us to understand what the foregoing is getting at here.
About decade ago, a workmate could not join us at a local restaurant during lunch time for reasons only known to himself.
I later learnt that he had taste only for the finer things in life and would not patronize any local business houses in the food and beverage industry. They did not fit his description of finer things in life.
Fast forward to the present, this individual is no less than a policy maker.
He is currently wondering why there are only a handful local firms processing and preserving our traditional foodstuffs like pumpkin leaves and blackjack.
He has the answer within himself but refuses to accept that a decade ago; he refused to support a local restaurant owner who specialised in local delicacies.
Chika Onyeani – in his book Capitalist Nigger – illustrates this kind of behaviour by castigating black people that do not want to develop their own communities but move to already developed areas.
This is the gravity of not recognizing that behind every wonderful experience a customer has are a firms’ capabilities to be appreciated.
In the 21st Century, the strength of activists and lobbying organisations has gained ground enormously.
These organisations have both legal and financial backing far greater than some business houses. Organisations like Green Peace will advocate against any innovations that might not be environmentally friendly.
In Zambia, the marketer should heed the concerns raised against the weak structures of billboards being mounted.
These have caused serious concerns during rainy season as they are unable to withstand adverse weather conditions and pose a risk to motorists and the general public.
Now, your take as a marketer in this is your ability to outsmart the environmentalist who could be building a case against your product or service-innovate.
For example, streamline the number of billboards per town and introduce digital billboards.
This will drastically reduce your capital expenditure overtime and worry less about lobbyists. Remember, you are making your own product or service obsolete without losing the brand.
A more recent event is the closure of the Ringling Bros Circus in the United States (US).
Animal rights activists were not something that the Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Feld could point at but blamed it on the declining ticket sales coupled with high operating costs, reports The Guardian newspaper.
Perhaps they could have taken a leaf from the other circuses that closed much earlier, like the Great British Circus in 2012.
The underlying phenomenon here is the ability to innovate.
Understanding customer needs is critical in this case.
The customer, coupled with the muscle of animal rights activists, managed to close down this 146 year-old business.
Therefore, innovate or close shop!
The Zambian environment, in terms of marketing programmes, has seen an onslaught of programmes being offloaded on the market to an extent of completely obliterating indigenous courses like  the   ZIM Marketing programme and university marketing degrees.
The competition for students is stiff.
The ability to innovate and adapt to changing times is the only serving ingredient in this day and age.
It does not end there; the industry in which these professionals are absorbed is constantly changing as well.
In light of these developments, Zambia Institute of Marketing rebranded and responded to the industry by introducing a postgraduate programme.
Embracing innovation in marketing is a wakeup call that change should be the daily bread for marketing oriented organisation.
It should be part of the organisation’s fabric, not just marketing but finance, human resource and the rest of the bolts and nuts.
Look out for part 2 next week….
For comments and contributions: email: bernadnkhata@yahoo.com.