me?

me? simon de haast

i’m a catalyst for design thinking

have you been there yet?

www.ideafarm/blog

- look for vega category link

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Innovationin Business and Branding

The Innovation Illusion

• New product development treadmill– incrementalism– keeping the product line fresh

• Yet market share remains the same, revenue growth static

• Loads of lip service to innovation• So what’s going on?

Fresh Bits

“Consumer electronics have become almost like produce,” says Michael E. Fawkes, senior vice-president of HP's Imaging Products Div. “They always have to be fresh.”

Seeing Differently

• Are we aware of the lenses we’re using?

• Some fun first…

• Which way does the flag go?

Anchors in Seeing

So how do you see things?

Write the word

R E A C T I V E

on a piece of paper.

So how do you see things?

Write the word

R E A C T I V E

on a piece of paper.Now move the “C” to the front of the word.

So how do you see things?

R E A C T I V E

C R E A T I V E

Real meaning of Innovation

• Process and culture• Making connections between diverse stuff• Bringing that back into your space• Completely re-perceiving the status quo• Discovering new sources of value

– value in the eye of the beholder...customer

• Not creativity.

Creativity is...

• A behaviour• A raw material to the innovation process

• Can be ‘taught’• We are ALL creative beings.

– artistry the traditional standard

• Needs constraints

The Status Quo

“It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, ... than to initiate a new order of things. 

For the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order, this lukewarmness arising partly from fear of their adversaries, who have the laws in their favour; and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new

until they have had the actual experience of it.”

Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince and The Discourses, 1537

Innovation as Porn

• On porn: “...but I know it when I see it...” Justice Potter Stewart 1964

• Seems to be the same for Innovation.

• No real measure, but...• Vital for a company’s success

What haven’t we we noticed lately?

The smuggler and border guard.

A quick story on seeing new stuff

Let’s lose the theory

• Business Environment– short term earnings myopia/pressure

– eye on competitors– cost cutting / efficiency drives

• Consumer Environment– empowered, informed & astute– short attention-span

Consequences

• Businesses– outsourcing everything– culling brand extensions– products becoming commodities

• So what’s the impact on brand strategy?

More on Outsourcing

• Taiwan’s Quanta Computer churned out 16 million notebook PCs last year in 50 different models for buyers that include Dell, Apple, & Sony.

• So Apple doesn’t make computers?• Trend is to ODM

– Original Design Manufacturer

Context....

“Given the complexities of today's technologies and supply chains, nobody can master it all. You have to figure out what is core and what is context.” Nokia CTO

So if we don’t make stuff...

• ...what do we do?• Brand

– becomes the interface between ODM and insight into needs & wants of customer

– but needs to figure out how to do this differently because...

It’s broken...

• Focus groups• Product development• Advertising

Don’t believe me?

What Americans say should be regulated:

1. Water pollution2. Toxic waste3. Air pollution4. Advertising5. Nuclear powerSource: Yankelovich Partners, 2004

A Brand’s New Role

• Establish a dialogue with consumers

• Create a conduit for insight• Create a platform for innovation• Deliver on promises

• Natural consequence of this is– loyalty, revenue growth, innovation

Food for thought

• What happens if...– Pep Stores decide to get an ODM’d low cost cellphone with embedded features unique to it’s customer relationship?

A model for innovation

• Outsource both marketing and innovation to your customer

• Based on two major themes currently getting a lot of play– Customer Evangelism– Lead-user innovation

Customer Evangelism

• Not about warm, soft fuzzies• Really about creating conditions to allow customers to sing your praises for you – in an authentic manner

• How?

Outside - in design

• First, create a map of organisation– from customer’s point of view– move from hierarchy to doughnut

• Find ways to completely transform every aspect of the customer’s experience– Through People, Process & Product

Empathy Economy

“We're moving from a knowledge economy that was dominated by technology into an experience economy controlled by consumers and the corporations who empathise with them.” Bruce Nussbaum

The organisations that do this, will win the consumers’ trust and loyalty.

The reward will be very effective word-of-mouth done on your behalf.

Open the conduit

• Created a dialogue with customers– based on current product experience– demonstrate that you’re listening– put in place trust bridges

• Now in a valuable vantage point– watch, observe, engage customers at a deeper level

– eg. call center rich source of insight

Essence

Innovation begins with an eye.

Engage Lead-users

• Co-design products and services• Includes your suppliers• Eric von Hippel

– The Sources of Innovation– Democratising Innovation

• Customers use products for things the product developer never envisaged

• Look at SMS

Implications for Product Design

• Design platforms, not products– allows for multiple uses beyond initial concept

• Create “tinker licences”– a licence to hack the product to figure out how to do other stuff

• Make sure your brand infrastructure has the ability to listen & respond

• Customer co-creation

Outsource Innovation to Lead Users

• Establish conversations with them• Who are they

•Demanding•Painful•Troublesome•Interesting, at the ‘edge’•Novice, new

• These guys will have the most to say.

Not sure you want these novices though…

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How design = experience

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The Apple Experience

...“insanely great” products.

Designed by Apple in California

“Good product design starts from the outside, and works its way inside.”

Unpack this

• Product features– Big things like laptop design– Small things like power cord clip

• Packaging • Retail environment• Service

– Till slip

Good design...

• is embodied everywhere• fosters great experiences• which in turn gets me to tell people about it

• Also makes me more likely to share ideas, problems or opportunities back to Apple

• Virtuous cycle repeats itself.

Till slip

Now time for a podcast...

The Chaos Scenario - Bob Garfield