About the Guest(s):

Ivonne Kinser is a renowned marketing innovation expert, the founder of Vantage Creative Group, and a celebrated author of the book "Think." With a distinguished career that began in 2001, Yvonne has led marketing efforts for prominent brands such as American Airlines and Avocados from Mexico. Her work has earned accolades, including placing Avocados from Mexico in Fast Company's list of the most innovative companies. An international keynote speaker and thought leader, Ivonne is dedicated to driving growth through unconventional marketing and disruptive creativity.

Episode Summary:

In this episode of "Growing Your Business with People," host Jeff engages in a dynamic conversation with Ivonne Kinser, a trailblazer in marketing innovation. With a fascinating career spanning multiple industries from fashion to CPG, Ivonne shares her unique insights on how business executives can harness marketing innovation to accelerate growth and how leaders can foster a culture of disruptive creativity.

Ivonne elaborates on the critical role of innovation as a problem-solving tool and stresses the importance of starting with a clearly defined problem to drive creative solutions. Highlighting her remarkable efforts at Avocados from Mexico, she discusses leveraging chatbots to enhance consumer education and the more recent application of cloning a persona using AI to offer authentic consumer engagement. The episode is rich with actionable advice for business leaders on cultivating environments that foster innovation, including creating psychological safety and encouraging curiosity within their teams.

Key Takeaways:

Innovation as Problem-Solving: Yvonne emphasizes that true innovation stems from creative problem-solving rather than just pursuing novelty for its own sake.

Role of Leadership: Leaders must create psychologically safe environments that encourage risk-taking and foster an innovative mindset among team members.

Strategic Innovation: Effective innovation requires a blend of clear strategic goals and the flexibility to pivot as new insights emerge.

Leveraging Technology: Techniques such as chatbots and AI can enhance consumer engagement and provide scalable solutions to common business challenges.

Empowering Teams: Give your team the freedom to explore and solve problems creatively, reinforcing trust while maintaining strategic oversight.

Notable Quotes:

"Innovation is just creative problem-solving." – Ivonne Kinser

"When you solve problems in predictable ways, you don't differentiate yourself in the market." – Ivonne Kinser

"The key is to start with a problem that no one else has solved in your industry." – Ivonne Kinser

"Innovation and strategy go hand in hand; it's all about problem-solving." – Ivonne Kinser

"Allocating a small amount of budget and letting a creative team solve a problem can start an innovative culture." – Ivonne Kinser

Resources:

Ivonne Kinser's Book: Think

Avocados from Mexico: Avocados from Mexico Website

SOMOS Foods: Check out their latest innovation with Abuela AI

Be sure to listen to the full episode for in-depth insights and stay tuned for more enlightening content from "Growing Your Business with People." Don't forget to subscribe, comment, and share the podcast on LinkedIn, YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and other platforms. Visit GYPWP for more information.