This two-dimensional porcine character has successfully captured the minds of two- and three-year olds throughout Britain. She exists, along with her little winy brother and long-suffering parents in a substantial detached family home perched on an impossibly shaped hill. Nothing bad ever happens and they do really boring stuff. Her astute musings, questions and petulant attitude have been adopted widely by her target audience. Her cartoon strip and associated merchandise has made someone extremely rich.

I’m in admiration for this little pig not because her play-doh stamp figurines keep my little ones amused for minutes on end, but because of the time and care that her creators have taken to really “get” their audience.

A book entitled “Peppa Goes Recycling” is a case in point. Peppa and co sort their rubbish into plastics, paper and the like and take a trip to the local recycle centre. Utter banality. Yet it kept my fidgety three-year old enraptured to the extent that when I suggested that we sort out the recycling and take a trip to the local dump, she squealed with glee. Never would I have thought that such a grimy and frankly, boring activity would have appealed to my otherwise anything-pink-and-purply-with-sparkles-dolly-loving daughter.

And that’s my point, really. You may think that you know your target market, but really, you don’t.

Many a time I’ve enjoyed brainstorming new product and service concepts around the water cooler, or by a white board the size of a wall with extremely clever people, coming up with unique product ideas that should have served a pre-conceived unmet need. Not until we talked to honest and freely-speaking potential customers did we discover the reality.

If your innovation requires customers to adopt a new approach, a change of mindset or the creation of a whole new market, beware. Just consider what Peppa would have done.