ChristinaLee
From Innovationclass
My Organization
My organization of 25 people is for a small advertising agency. To make this advertising agency as innovative as possible they must be innovative in not only what they produce, but in the ways they choose to ponder these innovations. With that in mind, ever work day will have an hour of time for the individual to just sit and relax and think about whatever it is they need to in silence. This will hopefully provide inspiration, great ideas, happiness, alone time, etc. Also, all communication will occur with face to face discussion, with 2he exception of the occasional phone communication if absolutely needed. This is to encourage comradiere between workers and to take time out of busy days to kinda show that we are working for and with humans, not just technology. Hopefully that would produce innovative concepts because seeing and hearing someone's tone, gestures, ad whatever, adds a human emotion to whatever is being produced. Also, this is no 9 to 5 job, the job will be done when it is done, so whether that takes 10 minutes of 10 hours doesn't matter. Also, the company will have a required internal assessment annually to hopefully pin down the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the organization. This will help with the growth of the company as well as give the employees a chance to comment on any grievances about the workplace. Also, this SWAT is our way of staying innovative. Also, there will be as few department heads as possible just to keep somewhat of a structure to the organization but at the same time have a freedom in somewhat letting everyone have a say in every part of the organization, not just a small slice of it. The physical organization itself will be based around a staff of physically active people. The structure will have a track, excercize classes, rock climbing walls, a pool, etc. These things would provide an escape for employees to blow off steam or may even inspire some of their thoughts for work. Everyone may have they own individual offices that thy may decorate how they please. There will be lots of open space too, so that people don't feel like they are cornered or on top of one another in their offices. The building will be full of natural light and have many windows. Also, there will be a few rooms that people could stay in over night if needed for their work. Basically, this organization will be very work oriented, but in a laid back manner. I guess the value of it is not just getting something done on time, but to get the job done right by thinking it out thoroughly and will the most effort.
Innovative Ad Agencies
Aside from the agencies discussed in class, St. Luke's and Wexley's School for Girls, I found five agencies on the web that blew my mind:
1. Taxi Group - a huge international group that "tell stories across all mediums." Great work with Mini, Jergens, and Viagra
2. Big Spaceship - has done a lot of work with mobile advertising
3. Marsteller group - inovaative in the sense where they seem to want a complete grasp of their client and the cleints mission before any work begins, and to understand the target audience
4. the Barbarian Group - worked with huge clients such as Volkswagen, Burger King, Saturn, Axe Body Spray, etc. Does a lot of web and interactive work
5. The Campfire Group
3 Specific Organizations to Pull Ideas for Structure and Practices
The three organizations that I discovered to be the most intriguing in terms of pulling ideas for our organization from are Strawberry Frog, St. Lukes, and Anamoly.
St. Lukes
The website says the philosophy that I think is incredibe and our organization should adopt. It says, "Work, when you're working well together, stops feeling like work. It becomes a series of great conversations. We don't like the selling dynamic that can exist between agencies and clients. So, rather than show you a creative proposal and try to push it through, we'll share a broad range of ideas, exploring route after route, using creative work to deepen our understanding of your audience and how different ideas measure against your objectives." St. Lukes also says that your audience will only love you and show support to you if you love them, which I think is an under-emphasized important point.
Strawberry Frog
The opening page of the website says, "one frog can make a difference." It is this way of thinking which really contributes to the success of the agency that I think our organization should adopt. That is the belief that one person can make huge contributions, so always consider all ideas from every person, or don't give up on your beliefs. In general, the company also list their "frogisms," which give great insights that our organization should adopt. These insights include:
Being results focused, smart, and agile
Believing you CAN outwit the dinosaurs
Effortlessly hopping from one part of your world to another
Using your ingenuity to solve problems not your size
Making the most of your strengths with efficiency and control
Creating perpetual motion, one step at a time
Engaging the world from a shared perspective from the ground up
In a world of dinosaurs, it's good to be a frog
Anomaly
Just the name itself means a deviation or departure from the norm. This attitude automatically seems to give the impression that this organization is ahead of the game. It also pushes the concept of establishing an "intellectual property for itself and its clients." It emphasizes that old ad agencies are broken. I think these are important concepts that we should adopt, as well as Anomaly's great attention to detail.
