The Innovation Diaries

Urban Outfitters have hit the marketing nail on its head by using Flickr to interact with their customers. Free advertising for them and also an insightful way to see how their customers use their products.
Flickr is a fantastic and creative tool in connecting with your consumers and most importantly it’s free and […]

First, a disclaimer: I’m a huge fan of Michel Gondry. I’ve been following his work since he cut his teeth making TV commercials, around half of my top 10 music videos have him at the helm, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is one of my favourite movies of all time. But still […]

How does a fashion retail chain stand out in the busy high street? M&S has certainly caught my attention recently by their new social business plan; Plan A, a five-year, 100-point ‘eco’ plan to tackle climate change, reduce waste, safeguard natural resources, trade ethically and build a healthier nation.
One example currently underway is M&S working […]

We’ve been using our opposable thumbs and overgrown brains for the purpose of innovating since we came down from the trees and lost our bad posture. And our innovating thumbs have served us well – from first gripping a dye-soaked cave-painting reed, to cuing up Icky Thump on my Nano’s click wheel.
But until recently, I […]

What’s more important - to do more, or to do better? That’s a debate that crops up regularly in technology innovation, and a can of worms that’s been opened again by Nicholas Negroponte, founder of the One Laptop Per Child association. He’s accused manufacturers of “a general obesity in the electronics industry”, and it’s quite […]

My first blog entry. And I’m stuck on a train waiting for the signals to get fixed. Writing this on my BlackBerry. Actually quite pertinent, because the lovely people from BlackBerry took me out for lunch last week. They wanted to go somewhere posh, but I was in a hurry, so they […]

Tyler Brûlé’s “hipper than thou” culture bible Monocle recently featured an interview with Lego CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, where they discussed innovation and how the company has adapted over the last 10 years. It’s a great piece of stimulus on how a company can become successful again by focusing on their key values - and […]

We recently completed a rather exciting project with the UN trying to work out how they might bring ethically produced honey from Mongolia to eco-hungry consumers in the UK. Not our average job, so the team made the strategic decision to start by searching high and low for anyone who might have the slightest idea […]

The history of innovation is littered with brands that had it all, and lost it all. Sadly, Polaroid has just become one of the victims. The iconic instant photography brand announced this week that is was shutting down film production, bringing to an end the era of Polaroid photos.
So what went wrong? […]

Now, everyone knows that the only reason people ever smoked was to attract members of the opposite sex. And with the smoking ban has now well and truly with us, there’s not only a hole left in people’s hearts, but in their pockets as well.
London-based on Tank Form working from (where else) Malborough St […]