In 2004, British supermarket Sainsbury’s decided it needed to improve sales.

The target? An extra £2.5bn within three years.

They had recently lost second spot to Asda, sales were falling and the future looked especially challenging. In such circumstances, the options were limited. They had the option of opening more stores or going on the acquisition trail, both of which were expensive solutions. They needed something different.

They needed a new idea.

Sainsbury’s decided to conduct research. Into shoppers’ habits. When they did, they discovered most shoppers were “sleep shopping.” Literally walking around the store, buying the same items, week after week. On auto-pilot. Sainsbury’s even had someone dress in a gorilla outfit to see if shoppers’ would notice. Most did not!

What Sainsbury’s needed was a way to wake people from their slumber. If they could, this was the new idea they’d been searching for. By grabbing shoppers’ attention, they realised each shopper only needed to spend an extra £1.14 per shop to hit the £2.5bn sales target.

Try something new today was launched using chef and TV personality, Jamie Oliver. The campaign encouraged shoppers to add one or two simple ingredients to their normal meals, to transform them into something special. Like nutmeg on “spag bol”. Or rocket and chilli jam to a simple sausage sandwich.

Sainsbury’s hit £2.5bn in extra sales within 18 months, half the time it had set.

I often think of Sainsbury’s when people ask me for a new idea. Because in truth, there is no such thing as a new idea. Most of us beg, borrow and steal from elsewhere. Which is perfectly acceptable as long as we don’t simply cut-and-paste.

For example, in 2021, a pub company came to us with a challenge. They had a £4m profit gap, which they needed to communicate to staff spread across multiple locations. It had to be simple enough for people to understand as teams worked different hours, on shifts, so it would be a challenge to communicate anything complicated.

Our solution was “Just one more,” a simple tagline that both summarised the challenge and the solution.

Research told us that an extra round of drinks would generate 000’s in extra sales. As would adding one side dish to every order. Or dessert to a percentage of diners. The key was encouraging staff to ask the question. Would you like just one more…

In the first year, Just One More generated £3m in new sales. The company’s internal communication platform exploded with daily success stories of staff selling more with new records being set every week.

I recently read a book by a CEO I once worked for, on the 8 secrets to a £billion business. His first secret is to “copy and pivot.” He says: “Everyone is in a rush to be first. Second movers have the advantage. Watch, correct and adapt.”

I think that summarises where new ideas come from. The answer is they’re all around us.

We simply have to look for them.