As 2012 winds down, we’re thinking of all of the brands that have inspired us this year. BOGO brands such as TOMS and Warby Parker come to mind, as do brands that have totally reinvented themselves, such as Microsoft, Fiat and JC Penney’s.
What brands inspired you this year, and why? Let us know in the comments!
The human library has its roots in the city library of Malmo, Sweden, which allows curious visitors to check out living people for a 45-minute conversation. The experience is designed to confront prejudices and promote understanding. The people available to be “checked out” included a gypsy, a transvestite, a blind man, a journalist and an animal rights activist, and the conversation allows people to learn about the life and beliefs of an individual that had been misunderstood, stereotyped and often avoided.
Prophet’s version of a human library is designed to provide inspiration to a team that wants to develop a big innovation, improve an offering or user experience, enhance a brand relationship, or improve a sales or marketing program. With context and objective in place, a wide array of human “books” that are relevant but tangential to the context are purposefully selected to create unexpected sources of insight.
An apparel manufacturer found that its multi-product sales team was delivering an inconsistent and redundant customer interface because its ability to coordinate and cooperate was deficient. A human library experience focusing on partnership and teaming helped them revise their culture and system so that they could be more effective, particularly with a significant national retailer. In this example, there were four “books.”
A jazz ensemble helped the firm explore the dynamics of communication and flexibility. How do jazz musicians develop enough cohesiveness as a team so that they maintain a cohesive sound, even when they went ‘off script’ in jam sessions? How, when improvising, could each member of the musical ensemble know when to throw a solo from one player to another, and how could others read cues to know when a solo might be thrown their way? Answers to these questions suggest how a team can have enough knowledge and intimacy so that it can align and be capable of adjusting even in the face of a changing environment.
A dance troupe helped the firm explore the relationship dynamics of partnerships and trust. During their conversation, one of the dancers said, “When I do a lift, my partner has to believe that if I were to drop her I would also do everything in my power to break her fall and protect her. I would let her fall on me before I would let her hit the ground.” This comment led to the question, “How do you build a level of trust so that you know have full confidence that someone has your back and is protecting the mutual interests of the team?”
A marriage counselor helped the firm explore how relationships change over time, and how you manage those changes constructively. The counselor pointed out that relationships change naturally over time, from the honeymoon phase to the familiar phase… and they need different things at different times to maintain a high level of engagement and closeness. This insight led to a realization that even the best relationship dynamics change over time and catalyzed a discussion around how to stay adaptable as the relationship expectations change.
A chef & sous-chef helped the firm explore the dynamics of delegation and efficiency. In their conversation, the team explored the question: “How does the chef set the strategy or “menu” and delegate some aspects of that to the remainder of the team for execution?” The conversations were ultimately about how to foster trust among all members of the team – up and down the chain of command. What’s the right development plan for your team, and how do you trust them to execute against your vision once you’ve set the strategy?
The human library employs the classic creative thinking approach of lateral thinking–looking at the problem with a fresh new perspective that is removed from the context but highly relevant to the objective or problem. It really works.
Geof Hammond, Innovation Director at Prophet, contributed to this piece.
Think about two different dining experiences: one at a four-star restaurant and the other at a fast-food restaurant. Both are distinct, yet deliberately created experiences. Valet vs. drive-through. Waiter vs. menu. Linen vs. molded plastic.
It sounds counterintuitive, but similar to how a restaurant creates a particular dining experience, your organization can be engineered to create an innovative competence. Engineering innovation within your organization should include five key drivers: mood, mindset, mechanisms, measurement and momentum. Let’s take a look at each. …Continue reading
After years of leadership in its home market, and being called the “Korean Walmart,” Emart is pushing hard to become recognised as a world-class retailer in its own right. And it’s using strategy-led design to get there. Strategy-led design is the seamless integration of the brand and business strategy with design. This approach is rooted in a deep understanding of the customer, which is built into every facet of design, whether visuals like logos and signage or the experience itself.
Emart’s direction is in keeping with the leadership tradition that has marked the company as South Korea’s first discount retailer since its launch in 1993. Moves like its fresh market grocery, occupying the entire first floor of its typically three-level hypermarkets, and being first to adopt an “everyday low prices” policy helped cement its position. Today, it operates 130 stores in Korea that produce £6bn annually in turnover. …Continue reading
Companies, and especially those in the FMCG world, have a profound interest in understanding where their consumers are heading. Cool hunters, trend watchers, urban influencers: all of these subjects have become a known and relevant part of the corporate world, with the objective of better understanding how consumers’ lives are evolving and how this can translate into innovative products and services. …Continue reading
I’ve recently seen more brands using storytelling and the telling of true stories to build their brand and connect with customers. This new Chevy True Story commercial is really compelling and a great way to make an emotional connection.
I also follow my local Whole Foods Market on Facebook (different from the corporate Whole Foods) and today they posted a video with the copy “watch the story of our sweet potatoes” the ones that end up in the Whole Foods Market I shop in. Watch that video here.
I’m a sucker for these “human interest” type stories, but also think that this kind of storytelling is a great way to reinforce what a brand stands for.
There’s a quote attributed to General Eric Ken Shinseki, 34th Chief of Staff for the U.S. Army, that I often use in presenting the case for change with senior-level marketers: “If you dislike change, you’re going to dislike irrelevance even more.”
It’s a reality that escapes no one, but that doesn’t make it any easier to adjust – much less get ahead of the dramatic reshaping of our economic and social landscape.
Consider some of the forces at work. Customers are changing – 54% comparison shop online and use 10.7 sources of information before buying. Population centers are shifting – by 2030, 90% of the world’s people will live in developing nations. The nature of the workplace continues to evolve, as well: today’s 10 most in-demand jobs didn’t even exist in 2004.
Meanwhile, marketers are struggling to keep pace with the market. Prophet’s State of Marketing study this year found most respondents are not targeting their customers effectively. Nor do they believe their organizations have the capabilities needed to build brands in the future. And there’s a worrisome disconnect between marketing and non-marketing executives, when 71% of the latter group believes the company — not the customer — is the primary “owner” of the brand. …Continue reading
With the evolution of the digital world, only the 1P – product – matters. The questions of how to identify, develop and distribute compelling, relevant products (or should we say brands) will be the first to ask.