How Companies and Individuals are Innovating with New Products During Coronavirus
By Nicole Danuwidjaja
In the mid-1300’s, the Black Death resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of people. The harsh reality of a rapid, incurable plague prompted the surviving people to swiftly come up with solutions. To make up for a shortage of labor, productivity-improving tools such as the water wheel or improved crop rotation systems were invented. After medical practices failed, a new era ushered in and birthed modern medicine.
Today, we are placed in a similar situation — governments, companies, and even schools are all scrambling to cope with COVID-19. However, unlike hundreds of years ago, our current advancements have placed an underlying importance on technology to remain connected with, yet safe from, the outside world.
Product Development Concerns
Travel restrictions and mandatory stay-at-home orders have trapped a majority of employees at home. As a result, the use and reliance of technology is at an all-time high, such as using digital video conferencing platforms like Zoom in place of physical classrooms, or automated robots to deliver grocery orders.
That being said, many companies now must adapt to new customer behaviors. Shopping online has become the new norm, which has led stores to focus on digitizing their shopping experiences. Fitness centers, tourist destinations, movie theaters, and so many other crowded facilities have now become ghost towns and consequently have been forced to adapt with online alternative revenue streams.
The threat of the novel coronavirus is very real. Businesses, organizations, and industries alike are rushing to impede the spread of coronavirus and are adjusting to a quarantined society — indefinitely.
Ideation now revolves around the growing applications of technology, regardless of industry. Products created during this time that have been traditionally social and physical in nature are pressed with the challenge of transforming digitally. Software and medicine are put on the spotlight to hash out coronavirus-related products, also piquing consumers’ interests in home self-care products and time-intensive activities in place of social interaction.
The focus in containing the spreading of COVID-19, along with the continuous effort that the medical and technical workforces have put into researching the virus and possible cures has been instrumental in rapidly ideating and manufacturing solutions on a global scale. For example, new medical diagnostic devices by Abbott Labs have been developed to expedite the distribution of point-of-care testing kits, and hospitals have used new 3D printing techniques for replenishing medical supplies for nasal swabs.
Product Case Studies
COVID-19 has proven to pose serious challenges for companies launching new products.
Poppi, a prebiotic soda brand, was set to launch its apple cider beverage drinks nationwide, but after a large natural foods trade show canceled, the brand lost significant attention and investment.
Konami’s new TurboGrafx-16 Mini retro console was slated to be released on March 19, but ended up being postponed because of manufacturing disruptions in China, along with major supply shortages shared throughout the electronics industry. Resultantly, major launches seem unlikely during these times.
The cancellation of mega-events and conventions has sent a ripple effect of great magnitude throughout industries that have consequated in unrecoverable costs and time.
For a new product, concept testing is crucial in determining its potential; such hardships in brand publicity, drowned by a vital concern for public safety, will affect companies in their ability to test products’ proof of concepts. Consequently, many retailers are primarily stocking up on essentials and delaying new launches until opportunities for gathering mass audiences arise again. The fact is, COVID-19 has the world wrapped around its finger.
Ideation Engagement
With all the information at the tip of our fingers, staying up-to-date with the news on the latest government regulations or local case counts of COVID-19 is seamless, especially with companies’ efforts on providing complimentary coverage. The news is our primary way of learning new ideas and announcements from others across the world, and thus we are able to work together globally to discover new inventions.
Companies eager in the search for new ideas and projects are encouraging college students — the majority of which have transitioned to online education and have been impacted in the job search — to ideate software solutions for COVID-19. Immersed in a tech-centric world, our efforts are pushed towards new developments for tech solutions.
These dark times have caused a new normal for many people. New social implications, new health concerns, new communication tools, and so much more. Businesses are now posed with newfound difficulties to stay profitable and relevant during times when people are at home. Never before have we been hit so hard with a global crisis, and never have we been pressed so intensely to innovate.
As best stated by Alan Kay, the computer scientist credited with pioneering object-oriented programming, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
We hope to invent solutions to our problems. So that we as a society can fight against coronavirus and triumphantly prevail.
