Building A Nimble Innovation Pipeline

The Challenge

Transforming the company wide approach of a driven, iconic spirits brand to inform its future innovation process and pipeline.

In the face of past struggles to sustainably and filling a global innovation pipeline with fresh, genuinely breakthrough ideas, the leadership team from an iconic spirits company enlisted us to help them transform their company-wide approach. More specifically, we were tasked with setting a strategic, inspiring approach to innovation — and then to fill that pipeline with big, revolutionary, brand-catapulting ideas.

The Approach

To identify key cultural shifts that could inspire long-term innovation, we looked for inspiration at the nexus of people, culture and category macro trends. As such, we conducted secondary research, looking at the visual codes and cues in the category … and talked to experts in this space (e.g. star bartenders, master distillers and writers in the beverage industry). From there, we develop what we call “dig sites” – macro platforms that are the springboard for a lively day-long Ideation Sprint. Together with the client team, we then built out ideas and identified which ones had the most energy — which The Sound then optimizes and scrappily pressure tested.

The Impact

Having such a nimble, iterative approach to innovation leads to ideas that can quickly proceed to creative and product development briefing. Additionally, including a multi-functional team in our Ideation Sprints ensures that the ideas have buy-in … and are based in reality. Along with a slew of inspiring concepts, a new strategic process emerged — one that sets a foundation for the future of innovation at the company that all employees can rally around.