Since Roger Martin and I co-chaired a DMI conference on Design Thinking in June, I have been hearing and reading a lot of very good designers respond by expressing their discomfort, mounting all out attacks, and some even denying the existence of the subject. While there are a larger number of designers that are enthusiastically embracing the notions behind it, it is clear there is a backlash. Where is this coming from?
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Over the holiday I saw Avatar in its full glory – 3D IMAX. This film is one of 7 blockbuster films to break the 1 billion dollar revenue mark. The plot line? Saving a spectacularly unspoiled planet from greedy resource suckers. While not exactly an original storyline, its release coincided with the tail end of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. I was briefly elated by this fact then realized that Hollywood for decades has been telling meaningful stories and this powerful movie’s coincidental release may not yield the popular discussion I might’ve hoped for.
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In the personal watercraft race, Yamaha was stuck in second place. Their boats were innovative, but not making waves. Year after year, it was the same. A solid second place with a steady 32% share. The question was how to gain share and increase boat sales.
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Japan has been a leading edge adopter of mobile phone activities for the past decade, in large part based on its early i-mode platform for mobile-internet services and fast cellular networks. Now they are talking on their phones less and using mobile data services (e.g. texting) more. The Economist reports that in 2002 the average Japanese mobile user spoke on it for 181 minutes each month, about the global norm. By early 2009 that had fallen to 133 minutes, half the world average. Whereas worldwide in early 2000 an average user spoke for 174 minutes a month, and by early 2009 that had risen to 261 minutes.
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It was only 6 months ago I blogged about why industry pundits don’t include virtual goods and microtransactions in their lists of up-and-coming business models. And six months later AdNectar ( a small company with 9 employees) announced that it has reached 2 billion virtual goods served from its platform for clients ranging from Gillette and Funny or Die to Jelly Belly and Snapple/Dr. Pepper. For example, over 1 million Malibu Rum branded drinks were sent in two weeks.
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We take the questions your customer could never answer and ask ourselves: what could?
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We help clients make the right brand choices to dominate every market they target.
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We use cultural insight to look at the world from a different point of view and pinpoint inspiring and emerging expressions of the values that could be leveraged to redefine your category.
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We put culture under the microscope to find the small emerging changes the world has not yet noticed and harness them to mobilise your brand.
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We create frameworks for segmenting markets which inspire future growth opportunities.
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