Ukonwa Ojo, CMO of Amazon Studios and Prime Video, believes that customer requirements should always drive innovation. In reality, a large partof a company's success is listening to and paying attention to what itscustomers want, sometimes even before they realize it. 

Amazon has long been known for its preoccupation with customerservice and experience, which Ojo has quickly embraced since joining thecompany from MAC Cosmetics last September. 

She mentioned today (9 June) at the Festival of Marketing: FastForward, "The best ideas emerge from a customer-centric viewpoint."“Fix it if you see something that isn't working.” 

Ojo went on to say that every employee at the company is encouragedto think creatively and long-term, a concept that is closely tied to the idea thatinnovation should always be done for the benefit of the client. 

“At Amazon, we're all innovators,” she remarked. 

Of course, the fact that the company was valued at $1 trillion lastyear and that its users are known for sharing feedback, likes, and dislikeshelps. 

However, as Ojo pointed out, there is a significant distinction inthe company's philosophy that sets it apart from its competitors. It seldom, ifever, thinks twice about its competition. 

Amazon KPIs focus on the customer rather than market shareindicators. “That has a significant impact on your behavior. She explained,"Your emphasis is on who you're serving, not on who else is helping thesame person." 

“It indicates you're not afraid to take large risks, because we'renot afraid to fail at Amazon. We often discuss the differences between one-wayand two-way door options. The majority of decisions are the former; if itdoesn't work, you can try something else. With that perspective, we're moreinclined to take risks and try things that haven't been tried before. That's something I'm quite proud of.” 

The data at the company's disposal informs Ojo and her team about what's working and what isn't, allowing them to quickly determine what shouldbe kept and what should be abandoned. There's a faith in the tried and true, including focus groups and even word-of-mouth, despite all the cutting-edgeAI-driven science. “Anecdotes are equally as important as data,” Ojo statedemphatically. “They have given us some of our best ideas.” 

Bringing the traditional and the radically modern techniques together sparks a lot of discussions throughout the trial-and-error process.This is part of a "recurring mechanism" that keeps track of progressand comments for both the marketing department and the entire firm. “It isquite openly stated at Amazon, from Jeff Bezos on down, that we are OK failing,” she continued. “It implies that we are aware that we will make mistakes. That is what truly defines a culture. It allows people to think bigger because they are in an environment that allows them to explore newthings.” 

Even if not all of Amazon's output immediately reaches the bingeing sweet spot, Ojo's ability to create so much content is a significant advantage for him as a marketer. She stated, "Launching a show pretty much everyweek provides us a broad canvas to test a lot of different ideas." 

Ojo is aware that creative teams have internal filters that canmodify or reject some of the more bizarre ideas, and that by the time an idea reaches her inbox, it has already been thoroughly tested.