Two screenwriters once walked into a Hollywood producer’s office and said three words ‘Jaws in space.’ Those three words won them the contract for the blockbuster movie Alien.

This is an example of a technique I like to use for idea generation called cross-fertilisation. Ideas are imported and mixed from different places to create something new and distinct.

 Cross fertilisation in your business

 You can use this technique in your business to improve products. 

In a 1994 interview, Steve Jobs, explained that what made the original Macintosh computer great is that the people working on it were “musicians, poets, artists, zoologists, and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world.” Apple took inspiration from their team’s knowledge of these diverse fields to create something that was completely different from anything else out there.

You can also use this technique to improve business services. I’ve used this technique numerous times for Robot Mascot.

For example, I applied advertising and brand communication methods to our investment pitch services so they stood out and communicated quickly. When this was combined with our other unique methodologies, it meant that the service we provided was different from anything else out there. This differentiates us in the market.So whether it’s a product or a service, cross fertilisation puts you in a strong position, because it means you’re not really in competition with anyone else in the exact same field. What you’ve created is outside of that, it’s unique to your business.

Brand partnerships / co-branding

You can also use cross fertilisation through brand partnerships and co-branding. This is where brands mingle and merge to create a unique twist on an established product. A recent example is the collaboration between Puma and Minecraft where Puma took inspiration from the games iconic graphics and incorporated this into the design of their products.

Lego have been doing it years through their partnerships with brands like Disney, Marvel and DC to create Star Wars and superhero-themed play-sets.

One of the most successful examples of co-branding is Nike and Apple. In 2006, they joined forces through a Global brand partnership so they could collaborate on innovative products that appeal to their combined customer base, this has resulted in them creating things like smart watches, fitness trackers and fitness apps.

Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve an established business, you can use cross-fertilisation in so many ways. You could import and mix ideas from different places such as markets or people to produce better products and services. You could partner with other brands or import a technology from another industry. Plus, the advantage of integrating tried and tested practices or adapting systems already developed by another industry, is the groundwork has already been laid meaning implementation is faster: Time-to-market is reduced, and this increases competitive advantage.