For the past several years, Franchise Update Media’s annual franchise marketing conference has been a must-attend event for the Vya marketing team. This year was no different. What was different was the name of the event, which rebranded as the “Franchise Marketing Leadership Conference.” With the new name came a revamped focus on leadership and recognizing marketing excellence. The result was a new and meaningful experience.

Today’s business landscape is constantly changing. Customers are in the driver seat, demanding new products and services, and expecting businesses to always be available. All the while, technology lets us deliver more faster than ever before, while connecting with more and more consumers.

It’s a competitive environment. And it’s one where companies must be agile in order to meet new demands, adapt to new technology and stand out in the marketplace.

It wouldn’t surprise anyone if I said technology plays a big role in our daily lives. We spend most of our days staring at a screen of some sort, whether it’s in our office, on a bus, train or airplane, walking down the sidewalk, or just sitting on the couch. And as we become more comfortable with technology, we’ve placed more of our responsibilities in the hands of technology. This is as true of people as it is business.

In keeping with our innovation theme this week, let’s take a more in-depth look at the driving force behind innovation: creativity.

We live in a world saturated with messaging. It’s this saturation, argues Jez Frampton, CEO of Interbrand, that makes creativity more important than ever before. The market is not necessarily a meritocracy (as much as we like to think it is sometimes); it’s often the case that the product presented most creatively is the one that is heard above the noise. This makes creativity, not product features, one of the most powerful differentiators your company can showcase.

DocuStar’s MarketHUB+ marketing resource management system is a finalist for this year’s Innovation Awards to be announced this week! In the spirit of that designation, below are some guidelines for building a culture of Innovation within your company.

In an era of rapid change and evolving technology, companies that provide the culture, resources and willingness to innovate are better poised for long-term success. But in order to build a culture of innovation, businesses need to think about what innovation means to them. Too often, we hinder our ability to innovate by only thinking of innovation in grandiose terms – “What’s the next greatest product ever invented,” – and overlook smaller, more practical ways to stay ahead of the curve.