Have you ever heard of an advertising agency whose principals don’t think their future is in advertising? Then, you haven’t heard of Gary Koepke and Lance Jensen, Boston-based Modernista’s founders.
In a recent USA Today article, “Ad agency Modernista relies on out-of-the-box thinking”, some rather interesting revelations were divulged. Profound, in fact. There’s value here and I thought it should be shared with Daily Fix readers, so I invite you to read the article.
“With most of Madison Avenue tanking in the Internet Age, and Modernista’s biggest client, GM, squeezing for cost cuts, perhaps it’s time everyone took notice.” BTW: those noteworthy Hummer and Cadillac ads were brain children of Modernista. So was Bono’s Product Red Campaign U2 video. So was Business Week’s redesigned format. And these latter two projects weren’t ad campaigns.
So this quote was the kicker for me: “This business is no longer about just creating things,” says Koepke, the co-founder widely known for his artistic eye. “It’s about conceptualizing ideas–kind of like a think tank.”
Exactly. As the principal of my own design firm, I have been on this tack for quite some time now. Yes, creative agencies specialize in specific core competencies that offer the value of great insight, expertise and years of knowledge of the consumer and the marketplace to clients. Of course. That won’t change.
But today, there’s a great groundswell of change happening all around us. Old industry standards are giving way due to new business challenges, a volatile business environment and economies that are being reshaped. Question is: how are consultants going to better meet the needs of clients?
My answer: by integrating the creative problem-solving skills of design increasingly into business. Design enables us to look at problems from a different vantage point and fresh eyes–from our right brains rather than our left spheres.
FYI: by their very nature, training and education, businesspeople are left-brained. That is, they are taught to be analytical, quantitative and management oriented.
Collaborative by nature, design consultancies can be great think tanks and catalysts for the kinds of ideas that can meet the challenges of a fast-changing marketplace head-on. If you don’t believe it, check out what Procter & Gamble has accomplished since 2001, after integrating design thinking into its corporate culture.
The current business model in most companies is too slow, too cumbersome and much too reactive to work in today’s global economy. Stiff management hierarchy, the paying of lip service to innovation, but lack of buy-in from the top and firmly-entrenched, separate silos make it very difficult to take a fluid approach to innovation and problem solving.
In fact, this kind of business is reactive, rather than proactive.
Here’s where the Modernista approach and article come back into the discussion. By conceptualizing ideas, design consultants can do more than create a successful ad, video or magazine format (as per what Modernista does) or great new packaging (as per what Design Force does).
It can conceptualize ideas that focus first on real business issues and problems–and then deliver sometimes unorthodox solutions that just happen to meet consumers exactly where they are.
Better yet: it can do it in a collaborative manner across corporate departments–breaking down silos by changing the corporate atmosphere and culture. Little by little. That’s why forward-thinking design consultancies are taking a lead in making this happen.
Questions:
* What do you think of the idea of changing the internal structures of companies to integrate design-oriented thinking?
* Do you know of companies where this is being done?
* What possibilities do you see when business merges with creative design disciplines, whether they integrate design into departments, work with outside consultancies, or both?
* Do you know of examples where businesses took an innovative tack based on clear design thinking? Besides Apple, that is. . .
I’d love to hear from you.
I saw firsthand how a collabrative innovative approach works at Modernista during work for http://www.stophandgunviolence.org. They understand that cutting through clutter and getting people involved in a brand is critical. Even the open architecture of their Chinatown (Boston) offices encourage sharing of ideasare open to collaboration.
I like your points about P&G – it’s a great example for companies stuck in their traditional way of doing business. Under leadership of A.G. Lafley and with buy-in from energized staff, the corporate culture was redirected to look for (and encourage) sound business ideas from outside the company. P&G’s “architecture” is set up for innovation, sound business decisions and growth.
You might want to look at the team of innovation process experts at Sagentia (www.sagentia.com). They work with large companies in a collaborative approach to innovation that is based on studying needs and ethnography. Having an open, collaborative approach and driving a clear/measurable process (whether that’s through TRIZ or searching for unmet needs or storytelling and lifestyle/environmental research) is critical and achievable.
I’m guessing Modernista salutes good ideas and accepts failure. It’s probably the most realistic and fun way to develop programs that get positive results.
Thanks for making so many terrific observations, Adam. I also appreciate the example you’ve furnished for Daily Fix readers to check out. Sagentia’s M.O. is right on the money in today’s business environment.
Lastly, I like your comment: “I’m guessing Modernista salutes good ideas and accepts failure.” No risk, no reward, huh? Playing it too safe sometimes just leads to more banal advertising and marketing, doesn’t it? Being creative means being willing to stick your neck out with new ideas. As long as our research is solid, why not push forward?
Thanks, Adam.
“This business is no longer about just creating things,” says Koepke, the co-founder widely known for his artistic eye. “It’s about conceptualizing ideas–kind of like a think tank.” Thank goodness an ad agency gets it.
Mass marketing (advertising) is yesterday’s marketing news. It costs too much and delivers very little. If ad agencies want to survive they must reinvent themselves. Becoming idea agents and customer segmentation experts to the smallest possible units and delivering value to customers where and how they want it is next generation thinking.
Great post Ted.
They do get it, Lewis. Businesses find themselves at a crossroad today. They need fresh new perspectives, thinking and ideas. We as consultants need to reassess how we can best assist the companies we work with. That is going to mean we all have to get out of our comfort zone. . .but that’s fast becoming a necessity, isn’t it?
Thanks, Lewis, for sharing your insights. They’re always appreciated.
Ted, no surprise to you I’m sure, but I was floored when I read a recent article in HBR about a pharmaceutical company’s diet pill roll-out. Seems that branding/naming was important (of course) but also the packaging of the pills themselves. Pills were packaged into a daily three pack (morning, noon, night) and contoured for the hand so that when held it feels like you are holding someone’s hand–a partner in your weight loss program. The level of detail and research that went into the INTERNAL packaging itself astounded me…
Thanks for weighing in, Paul. No, your example of a well-researched, well-designed product and product packaging does not surprise me. As the president of a package design firm, I can tell you that we do exhaustive research, analysis and brain-storming before we present our package solutions to our clients. Consumers are extremely sophisticated and we have to meet them and their expectations in everything that we do. But packaging products is about a lot more than meeting that first threshold where we induce purchases. We also have to gain consumer trust and meet that all-important second moment of truth. We only do that when the products and packaging are presented with integrity and live up to the brand promises made. That’s the most crucial element of all. . .and another reason for the transparency and traceability you’ve so ably presented in your blog post today.