Paul Sagel, Procter & Gamble

He's the inventor of Crest Whitestrips, one of the most successful new-product launches at P&G in many years. The key moment in selling this radical soft innovation to a very large bureaucracy came when he pitched it to senior management. He did two things. First, he brought in the parts to his prototype and built it right there, on the spot, to show how easy it was. The second--and far cooler--thing was that a few days before the meeting, he had his teeth whitened. They glowed. Sagel was the prototype!

Jay Gouliard, General Mills

Currently the vice president of packaging development at General Mills, Gouliard knows "you can't introduce an innovative new package at the same cost that you've been running a highly optimized package for the last 20 years." He realizes that although introducing an innovation might cost more, the consumer is also willing to pay extra (sometimes a lot extra) for the free prize.

When General Mills introduced Go-Gurt (the yogurt that comes in a squeezable plastic tube) in 1998, there was no way its costs would be comparable to a boring paper or plastic cup. But General Mills was smart enough to realize that people weren't going to pay for just the yogurt; they would pay for the fun (and convenience) of the package itself.

Years later, the costs of this package have likely gone way down, and the idea looks smart. The difficult part was being brave at the beginning. General Mills is doing it again with Yoplait Nouriche--yogurt for grown-ups, in a package that fits in your car's cup holder.

Joe Perrone, FedEx

When Perrone, retail sales manager for FedEx's eastern region, thought to put a slot in every FedEx truck to make it easier to drop off a package, it's unlikely that management would have been happy if he had taken a Skilsaw and started cutting holes in trucks. So he chose to champion the soft innovation through the system.

Perrone approached every department in the company. He didn't ask for permission. He didn't say, "I've got this great idea, do you guys want to do it?" Instead, he asked whether they were willing to hear more (if someone else did the work!). They agreed. Everyone had concerns, but no issue was big enough to give the project a permanent no. Perrone focused on internal coordination. He'd ask, "If we can solve that problem, are you willing to try this?" As each department bought in, he made sure the other departments knew about his progress. The key was that he championed it, step by step, until there was no one left to object. Along the way, he kept painting his vision (increased convenience, free marketing) and the puny costs in giving it a try.

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Adapted from Free Prize Inside! The Next Big Marketing Idea, by Seth Godin. Reprinted with permission from Portfolio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright ^(c) Seth Godin, 2004.

Discussion Guide

Interested in further exploring some of the ideas and issues in this article? Consider starting a Fast Company reading group. Here are some possible conversation catalysts:

Seth Godin says the best free prizes come via soft innovations. Brainstorm what free prizes you have enjoyed lately -- frequent flyer miles, movie tickets, free meals, etc. What's the logc behind these offerings? Develop three soft innovations for your company's core product -- and present them to teammates. Incorporate some level of edgecraft into one of your prototypes; is the reaction favorable or skeptical? How might you be able to change the attitudes toward new products and soft innovations in your company?