Nokia Balances Experiential and Textual Learning

In recent post, I listed out 14 learning activities that Nokia performed to develop a concept for a new phone for the high-end market in North America. The project, which was conducted by Face for Nokia, demonstrated that to successfully develop a concept, the marketer should plan for many learning activities and include a wide range of activists. The characteristics of those learning activities is also important.

Generating knowledge assets is a process of converting knowledge between experience (tacit) and texts/visuals (explicit). So, the learning activities should include a balance of the two types of knowledge. Furthermore, in the innovation model the Concept stage sits in between the Needs stage and the Strategy stage, so the learning activities should also include a balance of learning on needs/values (the Need stage) and solutions/ products (the Strategy stage).

Nokia Uses Multiple Learning Stages to Develop Concept

The NeCSI innovation model has 4 main stages. Within each main stage, multiple sub-stages take place.   Take the case of Nokia. The co-creation consultancy Face worked with Nokia in 2009-10 on "Project Relevance" to develop concepts for a new phone to be put into development for launching in North America in 2012.

The case study of the project shows that within the Concept stage (to develop a concept from insight), Nokia conducted 14 activities to generate knowledge assets. Face's Nokia project included a range of activists from lead users to social network experts, and it included a range of  "ba" processes from mobile diaries to creative workshops. Multiple sub-stage were required to create multiple alternative concepts, consolidate concepts, refine and define concepts, and transform the knowledge between explicit concepts and experiences.

Utilizing Lead Users in Innovation Process

The first step in the innovation process is for the marketer to generate intuition about consumers' needs and market opportunities. This intuition comes from sharing experience with consumers. The variety and number of ways to share experience with consumers is innumerable. So, this first step is often the most difficult for an organization to perform reliably.

An important source of inspiration for intuition into consumers' needs is lead users. Lead users have a high level of knowledge about brands and products, and lead users understand their own needs very well. So, creative lead users are able to invent a solution to their needs on their own by customizing a product or re-combining a product with some other products.

Google Doodle Innovation Map

Mapping Google's Innovation to NeCSI Process

Last week, I looked at the high level of innovation Google creates with its brand identity. This week, I am mapping Google's innovation process to the NeCSI process. 

Google describes the history and process of the Google doodle brand identity on its "About Doodles" page. 

A World Without Google

Tacit Brand Identity Raising Priority

Consistency in brand identity is less important than it once was. In the days when consumers sifted through stacks of similar brands at the supermarket, searching for their familiar brand, a consistent brand identity was extremely important. The Coca-Cola brand logo has undergone only half a dozen minor changes in its 125 year history. However, modern brands are less strict about consistent brand identity. Google has promoted over 1,000 wildly different brand identities in just over 10 years!