If you’re looking for examples of successful open innovation cases, you’ve come to the right place. Open innovation is effective when an organization adapts it as a way to operate. Making open innovation a strong part of your company culture and strategy is the quickest route to finding success.
It’s time to talk about open innovation success cases from organizations you definitely know. It’s time to talk about open innovation success cases from organizations you know. We’ll do it in detail so you can properly grasp how much this strategy can (and will) contribute to your organization.
LEGO
This well-known and highly recognized company has spaces that motivate its users to stay active; Create and Share and Lego Ideas. Create and Share allows members of the Lego community to share their Lego images and designs, whilst Lego Ideas focuses on new product launches.
As an example, the Lego Mini-Big Bang Theory set is a community product that was innovated in Lego Ideas. When they reach 10k followers, Lego then evaluates the design and that same design can be put in stores under Lego’s name. The Mini-Big Bang Theory set was proposed over 2 years ago and then took more than 10 months to get from Lego Ideas to production.
When the idea generated in Lego Ideas is approved for production, original members within the community who came up with the idea also receive payment for their ideas. As we previously mentioned, the Mini-Big Bang Theory set is simply an example. More recent products created in Lego Ideas, that are yet to be released to the public, include an Adventure Time set and the Yellow Submarine – The Beatles set.
The community provides thousands of ideas to Lego annually, which means that Lego has constant traffic of free ideas that people are already waiting to buy. It is said that the focus and success of open innovation during the design phase are integral to Lego’s success.
NIVEA
This personal care brand is highly competitive and evolves quickly, and their product’s lifespan runs for about 4 years. With shorter product lifespans, companies can no longer give themselves the luxury of depending solely on internal ideas to achieve innovation.
To increase commercialization timeframes and maintain costs at a reasonable and affordable price, NIVEA has turned to open innovation as a resource that continually generates ideas, as well as, for product development.
The Black & White deodorant is a clear example of how to activate users during new product development, from the idea standpoint up to implementation. The company opted to find new ideas and identify the weaknesses found by consumers by using open innovation. Thanks to this process, NIVEA was able to draw conclusions and realize that many consumers were worried about sweat stains getting on their clothes. The company responded by designing products and testing them out with real consumers to receive feedback. This is when NIVEA created an association with Evonik, a company that focuses on products with chemicals, in order to create an anti-stain technology as a team. The result? The most successfully sold deodorant in the history of the company.
By working in collaboration with the end consumer, NIVEA was able to create a disruptive product, improve commercialization speed times, and reduce internal costs.
“When it comes to creativity, we recognize the great ideas that can come from anywhere. This is why we’re going above and beyond our regular focus when it comes to creative development and we’re including the same communities that are actually using our products to tell us what we should be doing.” – Matt Marlow
CLOROX
Clorox’s open innovation strategy has adapted through the years and it involves users, providers, and collaborators. When it comes to successful open innovation, they use it within their own company in the program Innovent, since 2011. It’s a contest that allows Clorox employees in each job and location to send commercialization ideas for products.
This initiative is used as a way to potentialize employees by offering a space where creativity can flow in a sustainable and responsible environment. Although initially, Innovent wanted innovative proposals from employees, it didn’t meet the requirements for commercial strategies already in place. This is when Clorox then decided that successful open innovation was the way to go, and they’ve been able to receive ideas with knowledge that’s more in depth and provided by qualified personnel with the needed resources.
By using an online collaboration platform, all employees are welcome to propose ideas and resolve company’s issues. The best ideas are evaluated in three stages and the team has more and more resources to bring their ideas to fruition through each stage.
Remember, know your goals whenever you embark on a new project to use open successful open innovation effectively! At Tripple Up we’re always ready to start. Solve any obstacles you may be facing or generate the next big idea with our community!
Together, we can generate ideas that achieve positive results.
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