INNOV8mins
"Any sufficiently advanced technology
is indistinguishable from magic"
Or at least it should be.
A wonderful quote from Arthur C. Clarke and the perfect articulation of how I see innovation.
All too often, I see brands using technology for technology sake, or technology driven solutions that linger too much
on the technology aspect, rather than the solution.
This frustration became the catalyst for a new working group at Ogilvy:
The aim was to stop innovation being seen as purely a specialism and to give people the knowledge and confidence to weave it into their everyday work - allow anyone to hold a confident conversation about Voice Assistants, Chat, AR, AI, VR… etc
The first step was to get people engaged and excited, showing them it’s not all about technology - innovation can come from culture, industry, science, media… anywhere there is a problem to be solved.
To do this, I launched an all agency, weekly workshop:
8 minutes to get people up to speed on the latest and greatest innovations form around the world.
Then, 8 minutes to answer a brief using the knowledge they’d just absorbed.
Using both practical and theoretical examples, as well as external guest speakers, INNOV8mins turned obscure, complex subjects into easy to understand, replicable real-world possibilities - giving Ogilvy the confidence to turn theory in to LIVE work.
‘I’ve always been vaguely aware of emerging tech and recent advances in this space, from VR games to AI assistants. But I didn’t properly appreciate its relevance to our industry or that it could be applied to our creative work – viewing a lot of tech like this as a gimmick. INNOV8mins has massively opened my mind to how we can utilise innovations in the tech space to do more for our clients. It’s inspired me creatively, causing me to push my ideas further and think more outside the box. I think it’s vital for us to be investing in this if we want to stay ahead of the curve.’
Eveline Johnson
Jr Creative Copywriter
INNOV8mins has since grown to provide consultancy and quarterly workshops for a number of high profile brands, as well as participating at wider industry events.
"Ogilvy’s INNOV8mins was very entertaining, engaging and ultimately inspiring.
It helped us realise that we have the potential to be be trailblazers and can/should think outside the box.
What was clear, is that there are many areas within digital that we could be exploring creatively, even if they’re not traditionally used in our category and we may be afraid to do so.
We are delighted to be working with a partner that has innovation at its core and our brands strategies front of mind.”Cristina Rodríguez Echevarría
Mattel Global
Look out for the INNOV8mins Podcast, due to launch in March 2020.
INNOV8mins @I’LL BE BACK
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