Case Studies: Bionics – Creating a Stand-Out Brand

Cosatto are a brilliantly innovative organisation that, in their own words, makes baby stuff with personality! However, they needed an injection of creativity to drive an innovative approach to bring their product stand out more, in a push-chair market that is hugely competitive.

Problem Owner: Brand Editor

Key Definition of Creativity:

Generation of ideas which are both novel and useful

Problem as Defined

How we make the patterns in their materials more focused in a competitive market?

Problem Redefinition Technique

Boundary Examination

Problem As Understood

In what way might I guarantee that every single person in the entire world recognises Cosatto patters as a representation of the leading pram brand?

Note: the redefinition massively raises the bar, above the mental blockages, demanding breakthrough thinking if we are to find a real solution

Idea Generation Technique

Bionics

Bionics is a beautifully elegant technique, based on the fact that (a) nature has been around for a long time, then (b) that it has solved a vast array of problems in a hugely refined manner, and so (c), whatever your organisational challenge might be, there will be an example in nature somewhere, where precisely that problem (in a more generic format!) has been solved in a manner which is tried, tested and near-infinitely refined.

 

First, represent this challenge as a generic system definition:

 

Now find systems in nature which have addressed this systems definition of the problem (animal, plant, or inorganic):

 

Choose the best fit and then explore how nature solves the problem in the generic system:

 

Budleia Flower

Attracts via:

  • Scent
  • Colour
  • Shape – collection of sub-flowers making collective whole visible

ie. Multisensory – combination makes it unique, pattern stands out in the crowd

Now Converge – capture the novel element and make it useful:

Multisensory – not just visual (what it looks like). So, how can the Cosatto patterns be multisensory? Use of audio – have an associated jingle? This could be used in advertising (would work with social media – promoting a jingle) but also on the product? So, they could make a very distinctive, memorable, appropriate sound – linked to/same as jingle?

Creativity Session held September 2017; Cosatto Woosh Stroller available with bell (and Magic Wand holder!) by Christmas 2017. See

https://www.mumii.co.uk/content/view/news/Sneak_preview_of_the_Cosatto_Woosh_Compact_Stroller_-_launching_January_2018