WHAT YOUR BUSINESS CAN LEARN FROM A…

BigHeads founder, John Palumbo, is writing an ongoing article for American Express OPENforum.com (their online small business community) called “What Your Business Can Learn From A…”

In each article, he will provide solutions to a small business issue/hot button using insights, tools and techniques from individuals who might seem an ODD choice at first…but make a lot of sense once you give it some thought and consider the “connection.”

The takeaway - consider approaches and techniques from OUTSIDE industries to inspire innovations and solutions for your own.

ARTICLES POSTED BELOW:

May 7, 2013 - What Your Business Can Learn From…An Air Traffic Controller

April 17, 2013 - What Your Business Can Learn From…A Bounty Hunter

WHAT YOUR BUSINESS CAN LEARN FROM…AN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER! (by BigHeads founder, John Palumbo for American Express OPENforum.com).

The people managing our friendly skies obviously know how to juggle multiple flights…and their tools and techniques just might be able to help you more effectively juggle all those items on your to-do list. 

Read it HERE

What Your Business Can Learn from…a Bounty Hunter 

So…we will be contributing an ongoing article to American Express OPEN Forum (their online business community) entitled “WHAT YOUR BUSINESS CAN LEARN FROM A…” 

In each article, we will take a small business ISSUE/HOT BUTTON and provide ways to solve it using insights, tools and approaches from completely UNEXPECTED sources (BigHeads).

First up - helping small businesses FIND THE BEST EMPLOYEES/TALENT by using lessons, tools and techniques culled from someone who knows a thing or two about finding people…a BOUNTY HUNTER. 

ENJOY….and since we live in a world where all that matters are “shares” and “likes”, be sure to click those social media icons at the top of the piece and share away….

Read it HERE.

What Marketers Can Learn From Hollywood About Making BIG Ideas Happen (by John Palumbo)

I was speaking to one of our BigHeads who is a TV producer and he was telling me how out in Hollywood it’s NOT about who creates the BIG idea…it’s about making the idea happen.  He explained how in the entertainment industry people don’t get all that hung-up on who thought of the original idea, because everyone realizes that it will need to be tweaked, poked, twisted and ultimately changed by lots of other people in order for it to become a reality (a show or a movie or whatever). 

So, all the people who touched the idea (of which there are many) are content with receiving a “creator” or “producer” credit, which is why you see so many scrolling on the screen.

As I sat there listening to him tell me this I kept thinking, “Man, it would be so damn nice if people in the marketing industry acted that way.”

Let’s face it, in the marketing world, people get consumed with taking OWNERSHIP of an idea. And they absolutely hate when others (especially other agencies) take their idea and tweak it…or build on it.  In fact, they would almost rather an idea “die” than it be manipulated by others.

And when a marketing idea does get executed (in its original or tweaked state), marketers still feel the need to make sure everyone knows it was THEIR IDEA. 

Imagine how refreshing it would be if marketers would simply put their egos aside…stop worrying about getting credit…and truly work collaboratively with each other with one goal - to make the BIG idea happen.

Campaigns would probably be a hell of a lot better.

Companies probably wouldn’t get sick and tired of their agencies and want to replace them every six months.

Words like “partnership,” “collaboration” and “co-creation” would actually mean something (and not just be bullshit buzzwords tossed around by agencies).

Hey, maybe the marketing industry should adopt the “scrolling credits” approach from TV and movies and roll them after every campaign.  Maybe seeing their name in lights will appease the egos of marketers and make them more collaborative. 

Wishful thinking….

BigHeads “INSPIRATION FOR INNOVATION” Seminar

Our “Inspiration for Innovation” seminar is a 40-45 minute, high-energy talk given by BigHeads founder, John Palumbo. It is designed to inspire your organization and teams to GO BEYOND the sources they always use when the time comes to innovate and create new ideas.

Companies including P&G, Unilever, Motorola and Pepsi have used the seminar to KICK-OFF their planning and development “seasons”…and help their teams to start THINKING DIFFERENTLY!

Seminar highlights and benefits, include:

- Understand the power of OPEN INNOVATION

- Learn the BIG BENEFITS of collaborating with DIVERSE TEAMS

- See open innovation/collaboration CASES STUDIES

- Learn ways your company can EXECUTE open innovation initiative

- Learn how to avoid the common TRAPS others fall into when executing open innovation and crowdsourcing initiatives

- Have a spirited, straightforward Q&A with John Palumbo about using open innovation to meet YOUR specific goals and objectives

To schedule your “Inspiration for Innovation” seminar contact: Carlyn Kelly (EVP of Strategy and Innovation) at carlyn@bigheadsnetwork.com

BIGHEADSNETWORK.COM MAKEOVER

The BIGHEADS WEBSITE got a complete MAKEOVER. Head over and check it out…poke around…and enjoy the content. http://bigheadsnetwork.com/

A BIG thanks to our friends at BKW Studios for doing a great job pulling it together. You gotta call them if you need a website created or any design work. They were a pleasure to work with. We also wanted to thank our old pal, Ethan “eCal” Callender for providing the initial creative direction. He is a true master.

Executing a Pop-Up? Call-In the “Insta-Police”

Have you seen the latest pop-up from Adidas?  The store is designed to look like a SHOE BOX (check it out HERE)…which means a good percentage of the visitors will not only enjoy the experience itself, but they also will SNAP PHOTOS of the clever and unexpected approach and post them across sites such as Instagram and Facebook and Twitter extending the Brand’s reach and buzz for the store.

Consider this - when you’re creating the next experience around your brand…assign someone the role of INSTA-POLICE and make them solely responsible for creating the ideas and elements that are sure to get photographed and posted on sites like Instagram. 

BUCK THE CREATIVE STATUS QUO

Here’s an article from today’s Psychology Today about “bucking the status quo.”  Be sure to keep an eye out for the BIGHEADS mention….

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-main-ingredient/201302/buck-the-status-quo

OREO’S SUPER BOWL SLAM DUNK

While most brands sat idle during the SuperBowl blackout…someone at Oreo developed this image…and posted it across the web. 

There was no long, drawn-out brand approval process…and no over-thinking the concept. It was just a quick, smart reaction that paid off from a social media standpoint. 

What a perfect example of a BIG BRAND getting out of its own way…and making shit happen. Well done….

http://mashable.com/2013/02/03/oreo-super-bowl-twitter/