Posts Tagged ‘ innovation ’

Economist – Internet of Things

Wood Cut SculptureThe Economist recently published a special report on smart systems. I literally tore it out of the magazine. I am a long time Economist reader – it keeps me informed on issues around the globe, but man is it a slog. It is so dense compared to other publications I subscribe to  (Fast Company, Wired). It is extremely not Web 2.0/ADD/etc.etc.

But I digress. The special report is all about the convergence between the real and digital worlds in ways that were very surprising to me. I focus most of my attention on digital marketing, which doesn’t even scratch the surface of some of the emerging capabilities.

The article posits that the catalyst for many of these technologies is smartphone adoption given their ability to marry technology with location.

2010
11/15
CATEGORY
Innovation
Mobile
Mobile Strategy
Technology
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Retail Therapy

Man Walking with Shopping BagsI had the opportunity this summer/fall to support retail clients. Retail is all those things we know it to be – frenetic, high frequency, and competitive. But I was stuck by how much innovation the space is ripe with. From augmented reality to mobile, the sheer physicality draws out our need to comparison shop, be social, and be drawn to bright shiny new toys. We are really starting to see convergence in terms of the internet of things. There is so much potential for innovation but also a need to get extremely granular about strategy. Digital strategy forces some hard questions about aspects of business strategy that are sometimes easy to gloss over or neglect. It forces granularity and precision and of course accountability due to our ability to measure just about everything. More so now with the rise of social signals

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2010
09/15
CATEGORY
Innovation
Mobile Strategy
Retail
Strategy
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Innovation

Larry Keeley Talk @ sLAB

idea bulbsThere are just so many ways to look at innovation. And to study it’s effect. And come to consensus as to how it happened. And there are quite a few books on the subject. But my view is that while yes, you need a framework for systematic innovation you also need unbridled collaboration, and I suppose a systematic way to get it out of people. I attended a talk by Larry Keeley at sLAB through OCAD and he summarized the following points on innovation:

A new discipline of innovation is emerging today because:

  • Companies need new discoveries and strategies to drive organic growth
  • Innovation successes are now noticed and even expected by analysts
  • Industries and enterprises must grapple with an increased rate of change
  • Operational excellence is no longer differentiating enough
  • Methods and tools are emerging that vastly improve innovation success rates
  • Design, from cell phones to hotels, is now an imperative for competitiveness
  • Innovation has evolved beyond technology planning to embrace a broad array of strategy, market opportunity and operational questions
  • It adds new options to consider along with where to play and how to win

The talk was phenomenal and Larry was able to dimensionalize innovation in a way that I don’t think is widely understood.

 

2010
01/10
CATEGORY
Digital
Innovation
Strategy
Technology
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Meta – Agency

I have been having some intense conversations recently about this notion of a meta agency. Some sort of entity that acts as an aggregator between some of the partners that currently assemble around big brands. And often around smaller brands. As niche skills develop and relationships are forged, the number of agency partners around the table can be overwhelming. For quite obvious reasons they are all somewhat at odds with each other, which one could argue keeps everyone on their toes. But quite the opposite happens and there isn’t a clear accountability line drawn to  make is easy for everyone. Ideally this clarity would come from the client, but they are not staffed to do so (it’s just that they have the authority). It’s an interesting conundrum. I’ve been exploring this idea with some like-minded people – we’re trying to sort out what the model would look like and how it could work. It’s reasonably scintillating stuff.

2008
05/25
CATEGORY
Innovation
Planning
Strategy
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