A great example of the Attribute Dependency Technique can be found at My Place Café & Bar at the Hilton Osaka hotel in Japan. Attribute Dependency is one of the five innovation methods called Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT). It works by creating (or breaking) a dependency between two attributes of a product or its environment. And this technique is helping My Place increase their customer base in a surprising way by offering female customers a discount on their food and drink orders based on the height of their high heels. The higher the heel the greater the discount.
According to Fox News:
To qualify for the promotion, heels must be at least five centimeters (two inches) tall. But the higher the heel, the greater the discount on the bar’s select dining options, craft beer, organic wine and cocktails.
Discounts start at 10 percent off your order, with each additional two centimeters of heel height receiving a better deal.
Heels from seven to nine centimeters get 15 percent off, nine to 11 centimeters 20 percent, 11 to 13 centimeters 25 percent and 13 to 15 centimeters 30 percent. Anyone wearing heels above 15 centimeters (almost 6 inches!) will 40 percent off their bill.
My Place is running its “High Heels Ladies Night Discount” on Thursday nights starting June 15 and it lasts from 6 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
It’s true that anyone can learn to create by utilizing the SIT methods. If you would like to get the most out of the Attribute Dependency Technique, follow these steps:
- List internal/external variables.
- Pair variables (using a 2 x 2 matrix)
- Internal/internal
- Internal/external
- Create (or break) a dependency between the variables.
- Visualize the resulting virtual product.
- Identify potential user needs.
- Modify the product to improve it.
