Product Development
My product development career dates back to when I was kid in the 1950s and had the idea of plastic grass. Of course at age 8, that’s all it ever was, an idea. I felt somehow robbed when artificial turf was launched in the 1960s. My second idea was wipers for spectacles. I think someone actually made these at some stage. Over the years I have played a role in helping a number of clients break new ground. The ideas have included community service initiatives, such as a wellbeing portal, an ethics register of businesses, company directors, politicians and public servants. At other times, the ideas have been simple new products or packaging.” Greg Alder
Two examples -
Breville is an Australian manufacturer of electrical appliances. Up until the 1970s all appliances were sold in plain brown cardboard cartons. Having noticed that many retailers stacked boxed products on top shelves, it seemed like a missed opportunity to advertise the products and their features. We treated the packaging as if it were an ad for the product inside. We added full colour photography of the product and showed how it could be used. We listed the product features. The result was that Breville became the dominant appliance brand – and full colour packaging is now the norm.
SuperRatings is the most respected analyst of the superannuation industry in Australia. In the process of analysing the industry, SuperRatings collected a wealth of data which was then scrutinised by a dozen researchers. As an outsider with super, Greg knew this data would be useful for those Australians who were starting to take an interest in where their super was invested and how it performed. The result was the creation of SuperSavvy, a subscription service for all Australians with super. This has been the most hands-on project of Greg’s career. He is involved in everything – from concept to the writing of content for the site and the monthly enewsletters. SuperSavvy is a financial services site – but not as you know it. Have a look at the SuperSavvy website
