Vanilla Ice Cream and Cultural Toppings In search of global trends and unique cultural insights

Transcription

1 Vanilla Ice Cream and Cultural Toppings In search of global trends and unique cultural insights Anne Kirah Senior Design Anthropologist Customer Design Centre MSN-Microsoft Corporation Paris, France -1-

2 People Centric Approach Innovation begins when we take off our blinders in our business and think of aspirations and motivations of people in their everyday and not so everyday lives We must speak the same language and culture of the people we are innovating for Innovation comes when this is taken to heart before concept ideation Innovation comes when this is internalized within company culture as well -2-

3 Path to Microsoft: What do I? Take skill set of a cultural anthropologist and apply it to: Innovation Bridging research to the design and development of products, features and services both for Microsoft and our partners/customers Media Industry Cosmetic Industry Insurance Industry Banking Industry Automobile Industry Product Industries Service Industries The strategy and vision of my company Changing company culture from a technology to people centric approach Long term understanding of global trends and impact on strategy -3-

4 What do I? Global Ethnography: Observe people doing activities that they define themselves and are meaningful to them Understanding real people in their everyday lives: their aspirations and their motivations, what is most important to them. Looking at the entire ecosystem -4-

5 Exploratory Research: We study life stages and life events Net generation in school (age 10-20) Net generation in the work force (single and couples without children) (20 somethings) People with young children (30 somethings) People with teenage children (40 somethings) People with children living out of the home (working and retired: 50 +) -5-

6 What does Microsoft have in common with Tibet? Discovering company culture Microsoft-centric behavior Learning through failure and humility Introducing a new kind of team work Real People, Real Data: Research throughout product Cycle -6-

7 Why the whole and not the part? -7-

8 Seattle, WA Chicago, IL Amsterdam, NL Seoul, Korea Tokyo, Japan Madrid, Spain Milan, Italy Around the World in Participatory Design in search of new ideas with real people in real places -8-

9 Street Ethnography -9-

10 Workshop: Collages -10-

11 Workshop: Collages Sam Kike Esmee -11-

12 Workshop: Main Project Madrid: Kike, Winnie the Pooh, Power Glasses and Super Glue -12-

13 One Theme Breaking Barriers beyond culture, language, emotions and location Telepathy SuperGlue -13- Teletransportation

14 Introduction to Themes Tension: Technology and Culture Technology plays a role in transforming culture Culture plays a role in transforming technology -14-

15 Case Study: Broadband Adoption and the Impact on Culture -15-

16 Case Study Findings Broadband and Mobile Adoption Rates in Countries often determine product development, usage and desire Similarities in products develop in countries with similar levels of Broadband adoption Korea and Netherlands more similar than Netherlands and Germany in broadband products and usage -16-

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20 Findings from Cultures with high Broadband Adoption know what I know, see what I see, feel what I feel, hear what I hear. when I want you to Need for a hierarchy and multiple representations of self in everyday life Blogging resolves the issue of needing to communicate to a larger group Impact of voyeurism still to be understood People hunger for emotional connection Blur between the Virtual and The Real Contextual Advertising -20-

21 The Case of Messenger and Japan -21-

22 Cultural Insight # 1 Etiquette and consideration for others permeates Japanese Culture -22-

23 Cultural Insight # 1 Manners and the Mobile Phone Asynchronous texting = the least intrusive method of communication -23-

24 Cultural Insight # 2: Keyboarding and texting Keyboarding is difficult Fax popular in Japan for long messages Pictograms in mobile texting is easier than texting characters -24-

25 Cultural Insight # 3: The Long Commute Need to show manners during commute Need for entertainment, message capability on the go, dead time Schedules and ability to download/snap photos important -25-

26 Cultural Insight # 4: Social Obligations and Small Living Spaces -26-

27 Design and Marketing Success Strategies for Japan: Culture matters and designing with culture in mind brings success Maintain asynchronous communication and presence (politeness factor) Visual cues (easier than texting) Fully integrated mobile and PC solution (long commutes, shared living spaces, social obligations) Next Question: Are these generalisable to other cultures? YES, but maybe for other reasons! -27-

28 Global themes from field research -28-

29 Two major evolutions interlinked Consumers are more in power than ever before Savvy and cynical with the world at their fingertips Causing a desire to be part of the design process Consumers are buying the experience and not the product Causing them to have high expectations of what is acceptable and what is not -29-

30 People are experiencing chaos Information Overload Causes: Fear Anxiety Tension Sense of Loss of control and order

31 People are experiencing chaos and desiring order People Yearn For: Simplicity Peaceful Place Calm Safety Escape Hearth -31-

32 Dealing with Information Overload Time/content shifting the use of technology to manage time, engagements and content Television and DVDs CDs DVDs Television blogging Newspapers online offline I m a time-constrained technophile using delayed satisfaction to shift activities into available timeslots. I want to use my time the way I want to, do not direct me or tell me when I have to be online, watch tv, take phone calls, work, play, do my daily sudoku Re-prioritizing time demands: Back to Basics Hopping off traditional road to success Dropping off the digital map: computers are quality time leaches People have forgotten what is important. They have a time for work, a time for the gym, a time to spend with friends, a time to relax. They even have a mechanical understanding self we re hooked in to it. -32-

33 Values from the heart that enter the mind Innovation comes from chaos and discomfort and learning to see things through new lenses: Observing everyday people and their everyday lives A willingness to build with these people Allowing values of the heart within your company to be embraced Being humble and practicing humility Taking Risks! -33-

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35 Values from the heart that enter the mind Embrace Chaos: Because it is the life we live today Embrace Change: Because despite the discomfort it reflects the rapid pace of the world we live in Embrace Global: Immerse yourself in the discomfort of something foreign and learn to see value in it from the heart Embrace Diversity: Not because it is politically correct to have --- but because you believe it in your heart Like barn leker best, men lærer ingenting -35-

36 YOUR JOURNEY STARTS in a village in South Africa. Master Practitioner Program 9 modules Executive Program (for industry leaders) 3 modules Insight Program Tailor-made workshops for small and medium sized companies Vi er et praksisorienteret akademi i brugerdreven innovation, Vi uddanner konceptmagere som er i stand til at udvikle, designe og omsætte radikale forretningskoncepter

37 Food for thought What is the modern day fred og ro in your company? Where is the chaos? What is your vision for order? Where is the inspiration for play? What are you doing to avoid people or even yourself from hopping off? How do you manage discomfort with the unknown? THANK YOU!!! -37-