Helping Scholl Generate an Innovation Pipeline by Walking in Their Consumers’ Shoes
The Scholl team were keen to explore the potential for expanding their quite functional, but well respected footcare brand into more contemporary therapy and beauty territories. They challenged us to help them explore the ‘proactive wellness’ space.
Agile, Consumer-Focused Process
We responded by crafting an intensive, high-energy programme that placed their consumers at the heart of the ideation process – and quite literally, encouraged them to ‘take a walk in their consumers’ shoes’.
#1: Insighting
Scholl’s team needed fresh, empathetic, actionable insights into their consumers’ unmet needs – to inspire their ideation.
We set-up consumer connects across the UK & Germany, then coached Scholl’s team on the best ways to identify their consumers’ ‘pain points’.
#2: Tech Scouting
The team also needed to be empowered with a vision of how emerging science might help them overcome their technical barriers.
We identified a number of pointer-markets which might inspire the team, then worked with our tech-scouting partners to pinpoint enabling science.
#3: Brainstorm
Armed with fresh insights & empowered by new science – they just needed the right tools to inspire creative ‘leaps’
We then structured & moderated an empowering, cross-disciplinary workshop that placed consumers’ unmet needs at the heart of the ideation process.
A Concept-Packed Innovation Pipeline
The two-day workshop, hosted in London, generated an impressive 138 fully-structured concepts across platforms exploring aid, care & support!
“Thank you both, and particularly your magnificent MC performance David. It really is an endurance event, and I can imagine that was quite tough for everyone to keep going all day. I certainly think we made some excellent progress, both in terms of volume of thought starters, concept ideas and also the positive, collaboration that was evident.”
Scholl’s NPD Manager
“Thanks for all your work getting us to this point. We’ve put the ideas through a quick testing process and we have narrowed down to a top 10 for the team to progress with. We’ve identified some strong winners that worked across key markets so definitely a promising foundation to build from!”
Scholl’s Global Insights Director
Activation
Just 18 months after the workshop, the first wave of concepts are beginning to hit the market.
#1: Clean, convenient foot-mask that repairs & moisturises.
#2: Intense nourishment & hydration for hard, dry skin.
#3: Foot-cushioning gel-inserts for both boots & trainers.
#4: Insoles designed to reduce pain from Plantar Fasciitis.
Unlocking Consumer Equity or Generating Growth Through Innovation?
Whether you are aiming to make your brand fitter, or build a healthy innovation pipeline – we’ve got the tools & skills you need:
- Analytics & Insighting: To identify drivers, barriers & white-space opportunities.
- Analysis & Strategy: To unlock your brand’s equity & growth potential.
- Brainstorming & Concepting: To disrupt expectations & turn fresh ideas into compelling concepts.
- Qual & Quant Co-Creation: To fine-tune thinking & optimise your propositions.