Innovation

Innovation basically means coming up with new products, or making people believe the product is new. Some innovations are easily to spot, like when the wheel was created thousands or years ago, or the advent of the automobile, computer, or cell phone. All of these innovations can be classified as disruptive innovations, because they radically change or disrupt the way things are done. Before the wheel, items had to be carried around, and after, people learned how to use the wheel to make carts to carry things, and to transport more goods at a time. Before automobiles, a cart drawn by horses was the best way to travel in a city or in the country, and have control over your route. After the automobile, roads had to change, jobs had to change, pretty much EVERYTHING changed.


They are other types of innovation, like continuous innovation, where a little bit of learning is required, but it's more of an add-on to existing technology. Examples of this include the remote control for the televison, because while some learning was required, the first remotes were simple, and they have slowly gotten more and more complex.
The tricky thing about marketing innovations is figuring out how your market will respond to a new product, and whether to play up the newness of it, or to make it seem like an easy to use product. For example how would you present a service that allows people to video call friends all across the world using the internet? Would you present it as a completely new product that breaks down boundaries, is the next wave of telecommunications, or would you present it as an easy to use product, something that is like instant messaging, but with voice and video? This product exists, and is called Skype.
Even though it is a disruptive innovation because it is changing the way people communicate and whether or not the purcahse phones, it was presented as easy to use and took off. It is now even used as a noun, and is popular with almost all demographics! Deciding how to market something to it's best advantage is one of the most basic and difficult aspects of marketing. With innovative products, the success of the product, and whether or not people get to see and use it, depends on the marketing plan.