Innovation by SIT

My husband and I decided to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary by visiting Petra, the amazing Nabataea site. We crossed into Jordan just south of the Lake of Galilee and drove down the Jordan Valley. On our way, we noticed that many of the vehicles transporting agricultural produce were decorated in a way we’d never seen before:

These vehicles are decorated by the farmers themselves. They caught my eye because they are the only colorful objects in an otherwise arid landscape. I was curious why a poor farmer would invest time and money to decorate, sometimes elaborately, what is merely a functional vehicle. What are the origins of this phenomenon? Cultural? Commercial? Something else?

I asked around but no one had a good answer. So I decided to flip the question: if the farmers are spending this much money, what is the benefit that they get? This reminded me of a technique we use in SIT ideation processes, where we first manipulate a product in some unexpected way, and only then ask ourselves what the new version could be used for.

Here are some of the ideas that we came up with on the road to Petra:
1. Efficiency – the decorative element increases the height of the side railing of the pickup, which means that the farmer can carry more goods on each trip. (While this might explain why the railing is added, it does not explain the investment in the decoration.)
2. Branding – perhaps it helps the farmer create a recognizable image in the farmers’ market.
3. Symbol of success – maybe decorations are like notches on a belt; the more successful the farmer, the more elaborate the decorations on his truck.
4. Identification – what better way to find your truck in a big parking lot?

Once I came up with some possible benefits, additional ideas for new products came forward quite quickly, suggesting benefits also for other players in the market (such as the manufacturers or distributors of the trucks):

1. It is a great differentiator in the market. If all vehicles of a certain brand were colored and decorated, it could give them an interesting edge. And if we further develop this direction, the manufacturer could provide local types of decoration for each area in the world (Chinese, Indian, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Balkan etc.). By this, the car manufacturer / distributor can support a position in the market as the brand which understands best the local culture and actively supports the desires of local customers.

2. A company which sells other types of products for farmers (seeds for example) could give away a “decoration kit” to their loyal customers to send out a message such as – “with us, your yield will be so much better that you will need the extra storage space in your pickup”.

3. Vehicle manufacturers that offer such add-on kits actually enable their consumers to purchase a vehicle with extra storage space at a lower cost than a truck (creating an in-between size). Yes, we know we all want to sell bigger for more, but smaller with higher margin is also good.
So, can you think of other benefits of this product for the various players in this market? Any ideas for new offers or products?

Of course, if you are familiar with the local Jordanian culture, you are welcome to share with us your knowledge. Just don’t let the “real answer” stop your creative thinking…