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ONE OF MY BIGGEST STRUGGLES?
IT'S THIS SIMPLE QUESTION:
,,LARS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT GRANNY&SMITH?"
BECAUSE I SIMPLY CAN'T EXPLAIN!
EVEN IF IT'S HARD TO ADMIT...
SOMETIMES I DON'T EVEN KNOW IT BY MYSELF;-)
,,LARS, WHAT DO YOU MEAN??"
A TEXTER CAN SHOW HEADLINES AND COPYS
A DESIGNER CAN SHOW INTERFACES AND BRANDS
A DEVELOPER CAN SHOW SOFTWARE AND APPS
WE CAN'T SHOW THIS SINGLE PIECES OF WORK
,,BUT, WHAT IS AN INNOVATOR DOIND THEN?"
LET ME EXPLAIN IT THIS WAY...
IF I KNEW IT UPFRONT IT'S VERY LIKELY NO INNOVATION, RIGHT?
,,YEAH SURE, BUT I STILL DON'T GET IT, LARS!?"
OK. MAYBE I SHOW YOU SOME ,,OLD" PROJECTS THEN...
,,THAT'LL MAKE IT MUCH EASIER FOR ME!"
THE PROBLEM IS - WHEN AN INNOVATION IS ALREADY ON THE MARKET
AND ACCEPTED. THEN MOST OF THE PEOPLE DON'T SEE THE INNOVATION ANYMORE.
,,DO YOU HAVE AN EXAMPLE?!"
SURE
THIS IS AN AD FROM LAST WEEK
THE MOST POPULAR CAR MAGAZINE IN GERMANY
IT'S AN AD FROMA GERMAN PREMIUM CAR BRAND
,,SO WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THAT?"
VERY VERY MUCH.
BECAUSE IT'S NOT SO LONG AGO THAT AN EXPERT FROM ANOTHER VERY FAMOUS CAR BRAND TOLD ME...
THERE WILL NEVER BE A COMPUTER IN A CAR!
IN FACT, OUR PROTOTYPE WE BUILD BACK IN THE DAYS, LOOKED PRETTY SIMILAR TO THIS AD.
AND THIS IS ALMOST 10 YEARS AGO!
,,BUT WHERE IS THE INNOVATION?"
It's not so long ago that a car radio looked like this:
Naaa - I can't believe that
You are just experiencing it on your own:
we are already aware f a fully digitized car interface
it has become totally normal to us
Lars, I wouldn't even buy a car without that!
EXACTLY!
Back in the days - This expert said:
Cars are bought because of the image...
Because of the performance
Because of the joys of driving it
People simply don't want to put a computer in a car
Lars, I don't want to have a computerin the car either, but an easy system to control my needs while driving
exactly.
but how did you know this fact?
Interconnectivity has moved up to second place in the purchasing decision argument
No i did not expect that
fun fact - this is already known for years now
but the automobile industry has reacted "A little later"
so you predicted that already a decade ago!
We are not smarter, more beautiful or better than the others!
But we changed the development process of innovation completely.
what do you mean?!
if we are not sure, if this is an innovation in front of us, we stop guessing and start building a prototype to test it on the market.
Lars, you mean nobody knows that it's an innovation?
Exactly. Also we can't tell you upfront.
Anyone who says he can is lying.
I'm beginning to understand why you can't say what you do exactly!
Turn an idea into something tangible that we cannot imagine today and test it on the market as quickly as possible.
and the idea can be an innovation or sometimes even complete nonsense!
exactly!
can you imagine me explaining to someone, we build something we don't even know if it works and test it with methods we don't even know in advance what they are.
and then we also expect substantial payment for it
I think customer believe you are crazy
but exactly the opposite is the case!
Lars, Sorry I can't follow you?!
We help companies to find out if ideas have a chance on the market.
And instead of spending millions of dollars on research or building the product just to find out that the market doesn't want it..
That's really crazy in my opinion!
Lars, so you take the craziness out of the process?!
Exactly. But have you ever tried to tell a customer that he's crazy?
Very likely, not the best idea, right?!
nope.
Therefore we only say - We are an innovation agency.
ok
but
ahm
You still want to understand what we are doing right?
yes
Then you should probably experience it on your own
What you can innovate in a week
How do i have to apply?
Send us your press release from the future
So what impact do you want your innovation to have in 5 years?
that's it?
Not quite, only ig you really convince us. You might have a chance to get a slot for an innoweek.
So you do not need detailed project descriptions?
Our experience has shown that we need a vision, a clear goal, a capable team and some healthy time pressure.
in this way we achieve the best results.
ok sounds legit, let me do the homework and come back on you...
exactly. Now we are talking!
You finally understood what we are doing at Granny&Smith!