Unilever Case Study
Most industries have an orthodoxy – a set of deeply-held, unspoken beliefs that everyone follows when it comes to “how we do things around here.” This is the functional equivalent of a set of blinders, like horses wear. We continue plodding straight ahead, unable to see what lies to the right or left of us. By questioning assumptions during every point of the product or service development process, we can entertain new ideas and possibilities.
Mattimore tells the story of his colleague Gary Fraser, who took over the oral care business unit at Unilever, and had to take on two much larger, deeply entrenched competitors in the toothpaste market, Colgate and Crest. He couldn’t compete with them head-to-head from a product standpoint, and couldn’t …show more content…
Next, generate 20 to 30 assumptions, true or false, that you may be making about it. Then pick several of these assumptions and use them as thought starters and idea triggers to generate new ideas. Be sure to consider all aspects of your business, including consumer or customer beliefs, manufacturing, materials, pricing, distribution and product positioning.
2. Opportunity redefinition
This ideation technique is deceptively simple, but can generate extraordinary results. First, create a statement that clearly defines what your creative objective is. Mattimore shared the example of working with the Catholic Knights Insurance Company to help grow their business. In this case, the opportunity statement was, “How can we sell more insurance to Catholics?”
Next, pick three of the most interesting words in the opportunity statement and generate creative alternatives for each of them. Mattimore recommends using words that represent the 5W’s and H – who, what, when, where, why and how – of your challenge. Once you have generated your three lists of alternative words, place them in a table, with the original words at the top of each column and the alternatives you have brainstormed arranged in columns below …show more content…
Triggered brainwalking
Mattimore characterizes brainwalking as the most flexible of the seven ideation techniques, because it can be easily combined with other techniques. It’s also an ideal way to ensure that everyone in your group gets an opportunity to contribute ideas. Here’s how it works:
The group first selects several aspects of the problem around which it wants to generate ideas. These become the creative prompts for the group to work with. The facilitator tapes several pieces of paper to a wall. Each member of the group gets a marker. Participants write their ideas on a paper and then rotate, adding their thoughts own original and ideas to the page as well as building upon those of their colleagues. This can also be done by having a group sit in a circle and have the papers passed one person to the right or left after several minutes of brainstorming.
When each “pass” takes place, Mattimore points out, the facilitator can suggest different ideation techniques or triggers. This helps people who may not be able to think of any new ideas and may help them to see the ideas their colleagues have written in a new light. It also helps the team generate a wider diversity of
Mattimore tells the story of his colleague Gary Fraser, who took over the oral care business unit at Unilever, and had to take on two much larger, deeply entrenched competitors in the toothpaste market, Colgate and Crest. He couldn’t compete with them head-to-head from a product standpoint, and couldn’t …show more content…
Next, generate 20 to 30 assumptions, true or false, that you may be making about it. Then pick several of these assumptions and use them as thought starters and idea triggers to generate new ideas. Be sure to consider all aspects of your business, including consumer or customer beliefs, manufacturing, materials, pricing, distribution and product positioning.
2. Opportunity redefinition
This ideation technique is deceptively simple, but can generate extraordinary results. First, create a statement that clearly defines what your creative objective is. Mattimore shared the example of working with the Catholic Knights Insurance Company to help grow their business. In this case, the opportunity statement was, “How can we sell more insurance to Catholics?”
Next, pick three of the most interesting words in the opportunity statement and generate creative alternatives for each of them. Mattimore recommends using words that represent the 5W’s and H – who, what, when, where, why and how – of your challenge. Once you have generated your three lists of alternative words, place them in a table, with the original words at the top of each column and the alternatives you have brainstormed arranged in columns below …show more content…
Triggered brainwalking
Mattimore characterizes brainwalking as the most flexible of the seven ideation techniques, because it can be easily combined with other techniques. It’s also an ideal way to ensure that everyone in your group gets an opportunity to contribute ideas. Here’s how it works:
The group first selects several aspects of the problem around which it wants to generate ideas. These become the creative prompts for the group to work with. The facilitator tapes several pieces of paper to a wall. Each member of the group gets a marker. Participants write their ideas on a paper and then rotate, adding their thoughts own original and ideas to the page as well as building upon those of their colleagues. This can also be done by having a group sit in a circle and have the papers passed one person to the right or left after several minutes of brainstorming.
When each “pass” takes place, Mattimore points out, the facilitator can suggest different ideation techniques or triggers. This helps people who may not be able to think of any new ideas and may help them to see the ideas their colleagues have written in a new light. It also helps the team generate a wider diversity of