Innovation & Collaboration in the Tech Field

As a tech executive in the marketing field, bridging constant innovations with strong collaboration is critical to the success of your business. As a student in Medill’s IMC program, I’ve found that thinking outside the box is very important in successful marketing. There are two important things to keep in mind as we consider how to best collaborate in the tech field. 

Collaborate Differently
The tech field often involves leveraging existing relationships and technologies in new ways. Rahim Kanani recently described one great example of this type of out-of-the-box thinking in tech.  Take British Airways’ UnGrounded Innovation Lab in the Sky, a partnership between the airline and several global tech companies. In his Forbes article, Kanani discusses how British Airways, by bringing together 100 important industry players to collaborate and come up with creative ideas to pitch at last year's G8 conference, was able to innovate in new ways. UnGrounded opened a wide array of opportunities for participants and stakeholders alike. The initiative serves as a fun and creative template for further tech collaboration for everyone from startups to big companies like Google.

Source: GFK Insights Blog

Leverage Efficiency and Creativity with Apps
Advances in digital can help you instantaneously collaborate, organize, and save time at the touch of a button. Ted Greenwald, in his MIT Technology Review article, discusses one great example of an app, Quip, that can help you boost productivity and collaboration. Quip is a groundbreaking gathering place for collaborative documents and communications that you can use both online and offline. 

As a result of studying these two articles and as a student in Medill’s IMC program, there are three recommendations I would make. By taking these three action items, you’ll put your organization in a much better position to leverage for innovation.  

Action Items

• Develop Unlikely Innovation Labs - Develop innovation labs in unlikely spaces to foster creativity. “Mobile” innovation labs, either digital or in person, could be a good idea.

• Build Relationships Across Industries - Build bridges between tech companies and unlikely industries to increase innovation and customer centricity. It’s all about surprise and delight.

• Consider Using an App for Collaboration and Efficiency - Use cloud technology in new ways to help foster more office collaboration and efficiency into your projects. 
  
  

Overall, now is an exciting time in for new technologies. Remember as you launch a new product or roll out a new campaign to think big: collaborate in new ways and leverage app technology to put your firm at an advantage in the marketplace.

Davi Griffin is Editorial Director of Vitamin IMC. She is currently completing her Master's in Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University’s Medill School, concentrating in Brand Strategy. 

Follow her on Twitter: @davigriffin
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