Innovation thinking and setting OOH benchmarks at ABC Pvt. Ltd.

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower Steve Jobs, Co-founder, Chairman & CEO, Apple Inc. Innovation is not improvement or invention it means changing. According to David Ogilvy innovation is a sustainable strategy created by synchronizing all departments in a serendipitous unorthodox manner so that a visceral form of energy pervades the organization. Each employee becomes a passionate, enthusiastic outward looking adaptable sensor and a nave listener. ABC Pvt. Ltd., had innovation in its registered company name, but to Amit Gupta, Managing Director, ABC innovative was more than just an identity, he knew that innovation was the life-force that would drive the brand ABC to claiming leadership position one day. He believed in the power of innovation. Understanding its power lies in the understanding of human history. Amit was having breakfast and contemplating the days activities just before their strategic leaders meet was to commence. ABCs senior leadership conference in Goa marked the beginning of the innovation journey. Inculcating innovation into the companys DNA was on the radar and for the first time a robust performance evaluation matrix was formulated and rolled out. Innovation could be only possible if all teams pull together towards innovations that are actually solutions. The team was always inspired by heroic stories and admired the companies who survived their fierce reality and emerged winners in the end. The consumer buys expectations not goods, and all improvement and innovation is caused by the user. Innovative companies do not have big departments dedicated to this purpose. Senior management at ABC always emphasized the fact that Innovation should be nobodys job and everybodys passion.

Lineage conducive to innovation

ABC is a subsidiary of XYZ Pvt. Ltd., which has a 170 year heritage of market leadership in the media industry. ABC resonates with the values on which Indias largest media conglomerate is built, and these values have gently guided the company to a leadership position on the Out of home (OOH) landscape. Consistent research got the company to develop an environment conducive to innovation thought process specifically relevant to the OOH industry which was still in its infancy. The innovations triggered, left no iota of the spectrum untapped. Large formats, promotions, clutter breaking OOH sculptors, tech savvy digital products, if one could imagine it, ABC could execute it. The fall out of this mindset gave ABC the confidence to take on a challenging approach of utilizing unexplored terrains as an integral part of the OOH focus. Here it is important to share an insight into the brands foray in airports. Mumbai Bus shelters was the brands first serious move towards redefining how clients perceived outdoor advertising. Soon the airport bid was won after aggressive bidding as well and the company knew that it was the first step to many more. Marketing teams were briefed to create out-of-box solutions for

clients. Innovation would be possible in the controlled environment of the airport. The strategy team had realized that this would be the most conducive route to profitability. In 2007 GMR Group decided to revamp the airport and invited fresh bids, in which ABC won the short 3 year bid for Delhi IGI Airports 186 static sites. The bidding process was again initiated in 2009 as the Delhi Airport was being renovated to match international standards with a new terminal 3(T3). Delhi airport was swankier, new age and exuded the class that no other airport in the country could match up to, making it ABCs crme-de-la-crme opportunity. Armed with previous knowledge and experience the company bid for advertising rights again. This time ABC won the bid for the 20 year contract starting 2010 on the basis of lineage, past success and reputation. T3 DEL was just what the company needed at the moment to make a foray into innovative and path-breaking outdoor.

A small step is a giant leap

The Nokia Lumia campaign that went live in Feb 2011, was the first truly innovative campaign for the brand. For the first time ever a larger than life 88x40 site at airport would adorn T3 DEL. Owing to the tech genre of the campaign, a digital and static integration was an imperative. A giant sized Nokia Lumia phone welcomed everyone stepping out of the airport. The screen of the phone was a large format LED and the innovation luminated the T3 building adding oomph to the entire arena. The take away of this innovation was that executing turn-key campaigns could be a reality now that the operations team was integrated in the innovation framework.

MINI-The power of innovation

One of the ABCS most celebrated innovation has been the Mini launch. Mini has been the global favorite of advertising award functions since decades. The OOH brief for their launch was simple, it had to be clutter breaking, impactful and at par with global standards. It is one of the most iconic brands from the BMW stable. The parent company has always portrayed the Mini as the little big car. In movies like Italian Job it symbolizes style, taste and living to the hilt. The legacy had to be communicated in India coupled with a loud launch at the critical time when Delhi was hosting the Auto EXPO. As the location chosen was T3 Delhi airport, the team decided to paint the airport beyond imagination. The first step for any innovation at ABC was to identify the Right location. The second was about executing an eye catching creative. The third most important factor was the size, to create larger than life structures for a high recall experience. ABC created a landscape of hitherto unknown dimensions. Creative use of space where a 20 foot pug was high on the cute factor, acted as a showstopper of sorts. More so because no one expected such a radical giant size cut out of the mascot welcoming them home. The campaign received excellent media reviews and cashed in on the media amplification, it also received accolades across the country and won the Bronze medal at Outdoor Advertising Convention (OAC) 2012, Indias most respected outdoor awards convention. David Ogilvy once said A good campaign resulting in volumes and effective recall takes place when the ad company understands the DNA of the client and synergistically creates a magic which is ephemeral and larger than life.

Creating a journey experience

When the Delhi and Mumbai airports sales team approached Blackberry for the launch of playbook they were brimming with ideas. The brief of the campaign entailed the need to create an immense recall with a focus on sales within the airports electronic stores. Focusing more on the experience and hands-on execution, 15000 feet of Blackberry branding was rolled out, making it omnipresent. From ABC stand point it was a huge innovative initiative as escalator and travellator branding was done for the first time in Indian airports. The ABC team created a floor sticker trail within the airport that ended at the point of purchase i.e. the CROMA stores where the customers could physically feel the product and also get a good price. For those journeying between Mumbai-Delhi the campaign was a hit, as it picked up exactly where it left off at the airport of departure. The showstopper of this campaign was the 8500 sq.ft. glass faade which was an innovation in itself that had a towering effect. Since the dwell time in the departure area was the greatest, the campaign was rolled out on the digital screens as well. The campaign had all the qualities intrinsic to media leverage, the videos and tweets went viral, with appreciative reviews from across the country.

Innovation trends in India

The best laid out plans, highest paid executives and PERT charts together with bookish research need not give birth to a successful strategy. The idea is optimization and garage tinkering while developing a feel as an invariant measure. A study conducted entailing 30 companies across all products showed that innovation does not occur due to product development department but rather by the high-end users. Most of the new ideas come from the consumers. It is imperative however to see the other side of the coin. Many technically innovative campaigns planned with clients who have innovative products which look very good on paper, thoroughly researched by crack teams and envisaged to lead forward the company ahead of the competition, bomb out when proper research of the location and the needs of the property owner with whom the contract has been made, are not factored in. The story at ABC was not all hunky dory. After the successful roll out of Mini, the company got an offer from Renault who were about to introduce their first competitively priced SUV, technically adapted to Indian conditions and aesthetic appeal with a diesel variant. The main stay of the campaign was the wrap which was disallowed by the airport authorities due to aesthetics. The client backed out and was not ready for modifications. Though deemed a failure it was actually an important learning experience for ABC which helped them along in the ascent of innovation.

Inspired by Global Innovators

The team was aware of the convoluted path of innovation i.e. the initial use of a product does not ensure its success but subsequent innovations and adaptability to consumer needs ensures success for example from cathode ray TVs to interactive LED screens. Consumer usage when scrutinized in pragmatic and holistic ways helps sow the seeds of innovation. What looks good on paper may not necessarily be what a consumer wants. ABC wanted to bring about a revolution so that each employee challenged himself and started thinking horizontally. The need to bring the customers, the research teams, marketing and engineers on a common platform and format the bureaucratic rules of the company was evident. In an entrepreneurial environment each employee will think like an owner. The culture which brings about

innovation is the one that rewards risk taking, learns from failures rather than penalizing them. This allows ideas to percolate freely at all levels across the organization. Till now in the industry ABC had to contend with conventional wisdom and innovate in a water jacket. The team wanted to break free and implement new technologies and ideas. Innovation is not a single department or individuals initiative. To mobilize an entire organization towards innovative campaigns and execution, efficiency is of utmost importance. Bringing a crucial change of streamlining processes and propagating process centrism was integral to this goal. Process centrism, gave members the valuable gift of more free time and also made the work environment one that is based on meritocracy and fulfillment.

Harbingering Digital Innovations

Digital advertising was the future of OOH. There were not many players offering world-class DOOH advertising solutions in India. The senior management did not believe in cosmetic changes or ad hoc measures so they worked towards transforming the DNA of the company. Developing a trained techsavvy sales team that could understand and promote digital OOH was very crucial. There was no predecessor in the country who knew the facets of selling digital OOH and hence ABC decided to invest in global stalwarts and renowned consultants to interact, induct and inspire the revenue team. The innovative hardware, and vertical screens synergistically supported by brilliant software and content, at the swankiest airport ensured that the entire package reeked of customer delight. The software and content creation was not outsourced; instead in-house capability was developed and hence could be modified from time to time giving the brand freedom to define itself. Another salient step was DNext, the ignition spark that got the ball rolling; it was ABCs epoch digital launch event which created a platform for showcasing to the world the new digital signage story at Delhi airport. It brought in leading brands, agencies and media buyers to taste the new technology and talk about changing trends. The event showcased the power, flexibility and interactivity of digital screens.

Innovation challenges and obstacles

Austere times require audacious innovation is the only route to growth - Vijay Govindrajan. goals. When resources are scarce,

The fragmented nature of the OOH industry is the chief reason of the sporadic and sluggish progress of innovation. ABC as a brand had broken the mold in 2005 itself with its brand equity focus. Yet only the tip of the iceberg was touched. While the marketing teams were churning out communication campaigns and CRM modules, the inherent nature of OOH billboards could not be ignored. For decades billboards and outdoor sites had been both sold and bought as commodities. ABC was the first company selling packages, products and solutions instead of sites, locations and dimensions. The challenges faced included changing the thought process of teams within the organization. And the perception of agency managers and clients outside. Rolling out a nationwide change was no mean feat, and till date the occasional commoditization catch, hampers what could be an innovative campaign. Clients demanding a higher return on investment and marketing teams had to rise up to their expectation. However the global economic scenario posed a challenge in terms of pricing.

Creativity is timeless and the next is more innovative

ABC teams were always juggling the transition from traditional OOH to DOOH. They knew the time was coming to keep pace with new locations, architecture, lifestyles and the increasing purchasing power of the youth. Innovation per say had to be based on two fronts stickiness and interactivity. On the flywheel of innovation ABC had to take the next step how, the first step already taken, namely what. To implement how of the innovation habit, teams at ABC reverted to the classical flow of understanding the category, developing the concept, prioritizing the concept and finally the entry. All through the evolution of human race or for that matter for all living forms in nature, evolution occurs in a very non bureaucratic fashion in sharp contrast to organizations which become highly bureaucratized over time. The fuel of innovation is challenge, creativity and chaos. Small teams which had members from various departments were made so that lateral thinking and lucid conversations conducive to innovation took place. The teams were allowed to tinker, change and shred all conventional wisdom. The concept of play, fun, work and mission, was incorporated. They did not settle for just good but wanted great and brilliant. From innovation being a habit, the teams now had to make innovative solutions a reflex action. This could happen when the organization starts behaving as a self-organizing system and goes into the conceptual mode. Stalwarts defined innovation as a simple primary specific action for a highly rewarding end result, where the company becomes opportunity focused not risk focused. The organization self-checks its own expectations and decisions vis-a-vis the consumers and competition. Innovation is both conceptual and perceptual.

The innovation gene is born

In a conscious effort to make innovation a part of the companys DNA the quarterly innovation awards were envisioned. It was the managements way of communicating to teams that the smallest effort towards ideation and innovation was not going to go unnoticed. In addition Youth conclaves were organized as everyone unanimously believed that the younger generation was the change agent. Innovation workshops for revenue teams and experts from diverse verticals were invited to train and interact with members. Senior management meetings were held to chalk out the modus operandi for rolling out the culture of innovation across the organization. Senior management wanted to make the DNA only once for the organization and let it then take over the protoplasm of the company, so that the company becomes an entity which is not only motivated and inspired but also a pulsating dynamo on the juggernaut of innovation.

Analysing Innovation Catalysts

According to a study creativity is nonlinear and cannot occur when we attach a predetermined outcome to our present actions. We miss the opportunity and the real value we can derive from the unexpected. Many innovative products were either an accident, by products, or off shoots while developing some other products. An innovative mindset removes incongruities between challenges and solutions. There has to be proper preparation to change according to the changes in industry, demographics and latch on to new knowledge.

When the team went through the case histories of all the great companies which were leaders in their own fields, there emerged a common denominator and it helped him chart a course for ABC. There could be three main aspects that would drive innovation thinking and all three focused on diverse priorities for ABC as an organization. The first was environment management, how could the brand create an environment within and outside the organization that was conducive to innovation. This would entail focus and investment on initiatives like Innovation awards and DNEXT. The second was technology imperatives. Utilizing the power of technology to wow the teams and clients alike constituted the core of this approach. Creating amplification for traditional OOH through social and mobile media would be integral to using technology as the fuel. The third route to establishing an innovative future was incentivizing innovation. Could an aggressive focus on innovation be the answer to a sustainable future. This would entail reforms at every level of the system. The challenge of losing out on the cake in chase of the icing was one to consider. Could focusing aggressively on innovation have an impact on the regular campaigns? Common denominators like small overlapping teams who learn to live with incongruities, absorb new knowledge, are flexible and keep demographic changes in perspective, hold the key. Also top management involvement where ever required ensured that permits and priorities were set. Innovation has the power to satisfy the unfulfilled needs of the brand. Cross-functional exchange between revenue and marketing teams ensure aligned execution. Learning from setbacks and empowering the know-how of the company with new skills is a common factor across every category innovation achieved. With his head in sky and feet on the ground Amit laid the strata needed to absorb change and formed a socially innovative entity. The teams got the canvass optimum to navigate their actions and practice innovation till such time that like swimming or golf it would become an enjoyable experience they can never unlearn. The innovation gamut is yet not completely mastered by ABC. While the airports have showcased an affinity for innovations, the marketing and operations team have to yet roll out such clutter breaking campaigns on other properties across the nation. What should be ABCs next step? How can this success and innovation process centrism be replicated at bus shelters and DMRC? What are the approaches that make ABCs blueprint for the future for viable? The organization can transform its future only when all aspects integral to innovation are harnessed.