Given the staggering pace of technological advancement, brands are spoilt for choice when it comes to exercising their aspirations for innovation. But to innovate is to live, partially, in the future - anticipating trends in a game of strategy and dare. This game is made more complex by the ever-changing media mix, and indeed the wider context of consumer habits and economic and social challenges.

Innovation should, of course, be linked to a brand's DNA. But this shape-shifting situation presents diverse and problematic challenges. Brands, therefore, need to be agile in their ongoing digital transformations.

As 2023 gets into full swing, we are seeing digital advancements across a broad spectrum of areas. Web3 remains a daily topic of conversation, while AR and VR are well and truly embedded into digital strategies and sustainability is, rightly, at the forefront of every clear-thinking CEO’s agenda. So innovation takes many forms. 

In an attempt to keep things (relatively) simple, let’s explore a few different factors brands should consider when creating innovative digital experiences: 

Culture - and attitude - is king

The composer Hans Zimmer has said that “the more playful we get, the more we can get rid of the rules”. For some, it requires courage to be playful, so lets for the moment consider playfulness as a proxy dial on the innovation spectrum. Brands should seek to free up the dial towards playfulness: once they start to play with ideas in an open forum, innovation tends to follow, along with fresh ideas, in an organic manner.

Global brands, in particular, have the capacity to lead the way in amplifying innovative digital solutions in line with their large-scale and often highly sophisticated activity, leading to scaled return on investment. With the right attitude, brands can benefit by applying innovation in the broadest possible sense across their activities. 

But the most powerful innovation and creativity is born from a deep understanding of a problem. As teams grow, problem-solve and learn together, they can become a brewing ground for innovative ideas. But it takes the right attitude to foster innovation and take ideas forward. Culture is a key part of this.

Don’t forget the power of partnerships

Some brands are fortunate enough to have teams dedicated to digital innovation. They might have access to test groups and internal labs with user research focused on their products and services. What they may not have access to is the time to get digital innovations off the ground with the lightning speed a start-up partnership can offer. So, try something new: trust that start-up with a test to demonstrate the value they can deliver. Such an approach can demonstrate a brand's ability to be agile in responding to pressing needs. This is ‘active’ innovation -  not just another  aspirational slogan on an office wall. 

In this way, brands can be seen as versatile, innovative early adopters; setting their own standards and not compromising on their goals. Getting in early with start-ups often means more favourable commercial deals, too, and with easy ‘plug and play’ technology, brands can use adaptive streaming technology to deliver their content or see their digital product seamlessly placed into the latest Netflix series.  What’s more, this can be achieved without development costs or long-standing commitments from internal teams. 

The importance of focus

In an era in which brands have many diverse goals on the agenda, it pays to laser-focus on digital technologies that directly address these aims. Perhaps the goal is the sustainability of the brand’s production operations or the lowering of carbon footprint.   Whatever the target, it’s important to consider the less obvious areas that may be ripe for development, too.

For instance, while it is of great importance to reduce carbon footprint in the most obviously polluting stages of the production cycle, let's not ignore the contribution digital activities make to CO2 emissions. To innovate truly actively is to ask hard questions without looking away. Consumers pay attention to a brand’s transparency and its commitments. With 85% of consumers becoming more sustainable in their purchases, it’s time to focus on this area. One agenda topic at a time with true depth and transparency. 

So, whatever your area of focus, let’s clean up our attitude, and remain playful, whilst focusing and being open to new partnerships. Only those who get involved stand a chance of winning. Let’s embrace this still relatively new year knowing we are putting our playful selves forward, open to try something new - something that may supercharge the brand on its path to deliver a ‘made to measure’ innovative experiences.