www.ideafarm.co.za/blog hello.... who am isimon de haast what do i docatalyst for new thinking...

www.ideafarm.co.za/blog

hello...


who am i simon de haast

what do i do catalyst for new thinking

lecture site www.ideafarm/blog

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Technology, Branding & Innovation

24 Oct 2005, Cape Town


Trendzzz

• Are we slaves to them?“Trend forecasting”“Youth trends”

• Imply a trajectory, has a history and a probable future

• Danger of staying committed to a set of possible outcomes– so many variables at play that results in a

range of unpredictable outcomes


Atoms vs. Bits

• Put another way, a battle between the physical and digital worlds is raging.

• Not an either/or (awe?) issue– Digital technologies are massively

disrupting the status quo– Incumbents are clinging desperately

onto what they know


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


Status Quo Duo

You’ll soon see that I’m a big fan of Marshall McLuhan:

“When technologies impose themselves on societies, long habituated to older technologies, anxieties of all kind result.”

So what’s going on in the world today that highlights this?


Disruption Central

• Incumbent Music & Movie industries vs... P2P – Grokster– Kazaa– Fight for DRM / Broadcast flag / TiVO

• Incumbent Telecommunications operators– Telkom fighting so hard to retain its monopoly

position.– VOIP legislation– QuickTime™ and a

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Ha! Same people involved in both disruptions.

Watch this space...


Honey, I shrank the cost of doing business

• Current music industry model is toast– but they’re fighting to retain the model– should be innovating new ways– music rental, DRM leasing

• These examples illustrate the major problem around managing technology – making sense of it all, where it’s going and how to ride the dragon.


Tools for a New Worldview

• Lenses to shift the way we see things• To create an awareness of what’s

around us• More importantly, test our

assumptions• Story time...


Marshall McLuhan

So, who was this guy anyway…• Canadian professor of literature • ‘Observer’ of media• Gave us

“The medium is the message” and “Global Village” aphorisms.

• Used the tool of language probes to pose questions of the world around him to gain new understanding


Probes

• Back in the days of LP records:-Are you in the groove? That is, are you moving in ever-diminishing circles?

And…-How can children grow up in a world in which adults idolise youthfulness?-To the blind, all things are unexpected.


Most telling one…

• What haven’t you noticed lately?– The smuggler and border guard.

• Conception vs Perception– Conception: Our business plans, models, how things

are supposed to work– Because of this lens, unable to really perceive what

is really going on out there because of our embedded lenses


Questions vs Answers

Quality of the idea depends on the quality of the questions.


Feeshh

• “I’m not sure who discovered water...but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a fish!”

• So immersed in one’s environment that it becomes invisible

• Media Laws: Applicable to media, but equally powerful a tool to make sense of the present.

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That Rear-view Mirror Again...

• “When faced with a totally new situation we tend to attach ourselves to the objects of the most recent past.

We look at the present through a rear view mirror.

We march backwards into the future.”

• This should tell us something about the design of products, technologies and media - linear design thinking

• The best way to ‘predict’ the future is to look at the present, not the past.

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Peter Senge

• Systems Thinking– See the whole, synthesis vs... analyses– Cause and effect are seldom close in

time & proximity– Fifth Discipline– (Also read Fritjof Capra !!)

• Floated the idea of Component Technologies

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Component Technologies

• Used example of DC3 airplane• Invention (lab) Innovation (wide

adoption)

• Ensemble of technologies• Piecing together all these diverse

elements, across multiple industries and domains

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DC3 “Dakota”

The ensemble:variable pitch propeller, retractable landing gear, Monocoque molded body construction, radial air-cooled engine, and wing flaps

5/5 = first plane that supported itself economically as well as aerodynamically

Plus later: jet engine & radar creates viable air-travel industry

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“Noah!..How long can you tread water?”

• It seems all hell is breaking loose with technology now

• Blizzard of new stuff• C-o-n-v-e-r-g-e-n-c-e• Some truths to it, most of it hype

– Unpack the lifestyle shifts behind this.

• PDA + Digicam + mp3. Oh, and a phone too...


Today's ensemble

• Cheap broadband connectivity that’s wireless, ‘mobile’, and always on– distinction between nomadic (3rd place)

and mobile (in a car/train)• This is the possibilities foundation.• Allows other stuff that’s been around

for decades to suddenly ‘appear’ from nowhere.


Building Blocks

• RFID chips• Nanotech engineering

– cosmetics to smart-dust sensors • Biometric recognition systems• Time-shifting• Long Tail & Collaborative Filters• Digital Home


Stuff on the Internet

• BitTorrent• RSS feeds & enclosures

– way beyond ‘blogs & wikis.

• Podcasting• Tagging - Folksonomies

– Flickr– Del.icio.us– Technorati

• Social Software - on web, on phones– Urban Atmospheres project (Bluetooth)

• etc etc


del.cio.us


flickr.com


Other stuff on the radar


Application to Branding?

• Made you aware of issues around tech, and offered up some lenses.

• So let’s take a look at what some firms are doing with this stuff– some leading edge, some very

creative use of existing technologies


RFID

• Baja Beach Nightclub in Barcelona• VIP clubbers ‘membership card’ • Tues. nights “implant night”


GPS + GSM

• Coke’s “Unexpected Summer” campaign– You can win but you can’t hide

• Winners of big prize big fat SUV• 100 devices disguised as coke cans• You find one, just follow the

instructions on the ‘can’...• Track winners on website


Coke adds innovation


New take on Ambush Marketing

• Maker of home irrigation accessories– hosepipes, connectors etc

• Setup a billboard at a train station in Germany

• Can send an SMS to a number, squirts water on unsuspecting passer-by

• Can also do it from a website that shows web cam


I wonder if Germans have a sense of humour? :)


Something from the future


Some thoughts on Innovation

• A fair bit of media play lately…• The ‘next big thing’.


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.”


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’ - 4 R technique later.• We are ALL creative beings.

– artistry the traditional standard

• Needs constraints


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• One view...


Assessing Innovation

Creative Process

DistinctivenessImpact

When significant new value created from an invention, becomes an innovation

New & different vs improvement

Making leaps and new connectionsSource: Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Centre for Business Innovation, EL Chen, K Kai-ling Ho, June 2002


Segway

• Very creative• Very distinctive• How much impact?

– now not much, but time will tell.

• May very well lead to significant value creation


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 expects to churn out 16 million notebook PCs this year in 50 different models for buyers that include Dell, Apple, & Sony.

• So Sony 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

• Soft, warm 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


Outsource Innovationto 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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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


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


To end, time for a podcast...

Bob Garfield - On the MediaThe Chaos Scenario


Ta!

• Recommended Reading– Douglas Rushkoff - Coercion, The Persuaders– George Lakoff on Framing / “The Word Lab”– Peter Senge - The Fifth Discipline– www.mcluhan.utoronto.ca

• Simon de Haast– 083 326 3496– [email protected]– www.ideafarm.co.za/blog

www.ideafarm.co.za/blog hello.... who am isimon de haast what do i docatalyst for new thinking...

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