What If Communication Meant Innovation?

This Friday I had the honor of speaking at the 4Annual HUB Forum in Paris. The HUB Forum is the brainchild of Vincent Ducrey, expert in social media and influence. The HUB Forum, is a fascinating annual event (now held in Moscow and Sao Paolo), where professionals in digital, media, and marketing can meet up to discuss our ever changing environments.

I opened up a panel on innovation. Personally I think that the digital and social revolution has lead to innovations arriving and being adopted at breakneck speed. Today, it is relatively easy for brands to copy or improve upon an existing innovation. This is why I believe that communication—and communicativeness in general—needs to be at the heart of all innovations in order for them to stand out from the competition.

The Communicative Object

Communication innovations are around us everywhere. In particular, it feels as though there is a battle being waged for our wrists: from Samsung’s long-awaited Galaxy watch, to the Nissan Nismo, to the Nike Fuel band, connected and communicative objects are where its at. Of course, this doesn’t just pertain to what we wear, but also to home appliances, heating systems, and even to the cars we drive.

Design Innovation that Communicates

As someone who has spent 30 years in communications, I cannot stress enough the importance of good design. In my opinion, design, user experience, and look should never be seen as an afterthought or as a “perk” of an invention—this should be an integral part of any innovation. In addition to looking nice, good design pays dividends. I look at a brand like Sony. I love Sony and I love their products. Hell, I remember being a high-school student and saving up to buy my first Walkman. Yet, in 1998, Sony released one of the first Mp3 players—the Mp3Man. This was a smart move on their part—they were legitimate in the market of portable music players. And yet, the design was clunky, with a small screen that didn’t allow for much picking and choosing. Five years later, the iPhone, with its wheel navigation system, computer screen, and the iTunes music store, changed everything. A pity for Sony, but a boon for Apple, who have since gone on to re-invent the music industry.

The Name of the Game

What’s in a name? Quite a bit actually. I am someone who believes that “nomen est omen”—or a name is your destiny. Even though Google algorithm is unmatched in speed and intelligence, I wonder if Page and Brin would have been able to build an empire on a site known as BackRub, which was the original name for the search engine. Changing it to “Google” which, although a madeup word, sounds playful and abstract, was a smart idea.

I was reminded of something similar, when I saw that McDonald’s in Spain had decided to rename it’s free wifi networks. The brand started realizing that people in neighboring shops and restaurants were using McDonald’s free wifi. No problem for McDonald’s, but why not capitalize on this audience by renaming the networks. They changed the wifi name to reflect relevant messages like “Come in for a free Sunday with your McMeal” or “Have an afternoon snack at McCafé” to attract potential customers. This innovation doesn’t cost thousands in R&D, it just requires smart thinking and an understanding of communications.

Changing how we think

Indeed, when it comes down to it, we need to change the way we do business. Engineers need to think like comms people, and comms people need to think like engineers. This is why at TBWA\ they have invested in digital “Labs”. 15 years ago, it was unthinkable for an ad agency to hire in-house engineers, interface designers, or gamers. Today this isn’t the case. We know that our role is to help our clients innovate. Likewise, agencies in the TBWA\ group also organize daylong workshops that bring together all stakeholders from a business with experts from our agency. Called “disruption days” these workshops go beyond finding a good comms strategy, and often get to the heart of a business’s core identity and their possible innovations.

Of course, a brand needs to know what it believes, and this way it can behave and communicate in ways that are that much stronger. I look at an innovation like Jawbone and think it’s wonderful, but when I see the Nike plus fuel band, I know that Nike has an inherent advantage—not just due to its size, but because Nike knows who they are. Their brand belief of self-improvement and winning with panache has been expressed for years now. I see their advantage clearly. Communication is innovation is communication.