Influx

Most agencies are involved in short-term conversations called campaigns.

This is the core focus of what we do.

We target and reach people for short periods of time hoping that they pay attention to our brand messages and act on them.

While there have been some moves to recognize the longer-term efforts are required and that “the conversation” is on-going, less structured, more human and spontaneous, many of us are still operating in campaign mode.

To go beyond this you need to know where your brand is heading and to be possession of a mission/vision/plan would be useful.

If you are a big company and you take a look into the long-term, it’s not too hard to predict some of the challenges lay ahead.

To say it’s going to “business as usual” is naive at best.

We are under-going some of the biggest transformations in the history of mankind as technology makes globalization a reality.

With these changes come some of the challenges for the planet as a whole; population growth, resource constraints, etc.

Dealing with this is a long-term reality- they are big challenges or what some might call opportunities and to consider these you need a long-term mindset.

While IDEO has been the “poster child” for Design Thinking for years, it’s a company that gets the opportunity that lies within these global challenges.

A perfect example of this thinking in action is its Fellowship Class.

” IDEO.org is seeking individuals with proven leadership experience in the social sector, business world, or design industry with a passion for improving low-income communities and spreading human-centered design. Residents will join senior designers from IDEO to form IDEO.org’s interdisciplinary design team for an 11-month period. Through the course of 11 months, residents will work on poverty related challenges covering an array of topics – such as, agriculture, gender equity, financial services, health, and water and sanitation. Example projects include working with a microfinance institution in Kenya to create new ways for low-income customers to save, supporting a small Indian start-up to design a low-cost electricity system, or partnering with a domestic healthcare non-profit to bring birth control options to low-income women in the U.S.”

Maybe not all clients will get it or appreciate it, but it shows thought leadership and is the type of initiative required to identify real solutions and actions for the long-term.

It shows how those that think long-term and are in the business of making things, both physical and digital, could have a sustainable advantage over those who just talk and show. 

Posted by Ed Cotton