Zilver Reflection. An innovation strategy for an innovation consultancy

Abstract

In spring 2010, Zilver Innovation initiated a project called “Design The New Business” . The aim of this project was to investigate how designers and business people are working together in new ways to solve the complex problems that businesses are facing today. The outcome of the project was a documentary that included interviews from design consultancies, education experts and business that have incorporated design as a part of their core approach. Throughout the project, I observed with detail the consultancies interviewed and started to feel curious what was the reason that Zilver was so different. What is so unique about Zilver? Which is Zilver considerably smaller than other consultancies? With those questions in mind and aiming to understand the uniqueness of Zilver, this graduation project was born. Zilver is a creative consultancy located in Rotterdam. Founded in 2006 by Erik Roscam Abbing, who is also the motor, brain and heart of the company. Zilver specializes in “Brand Driven Innovation” for turning vision into value. This approach is based on the understanding that in order to innovate, organizations need a deep and shared vision of themselves and their customers. This shared vision then drives the process of innovation, helping understand what will bring value to the customer and value to the company. After six years in the market, with a diverse portfolio of successful projects, Zilver is positioned as an industry leader for the topics of branding, design, management, innovation and strategy. “Zilver Reflection” analyses the company using the “Brand Driven Innovation” methodology and recommends steps that should be taken to achieve growth and to trace the roadmap to the year 2018. The project deconstructs Zilver and summarizes the findings through five themes: Brand, Culture, Stakeholders (Internal – External), Tools and Processes. The solution to achieve growth will be rooted in these themes and how they form a structure for Zilver as an organization. The project builds up Zilver from the core to its outside, articulating the themes into a coherent plan that can be approached and understood by all the stakeholders. This clear understanding of the company by the stakeholders will allow Erik to collaborate and communicate with them, and will help ensure they follow the same goals and vision with their clients and their projects. The solution is presented as a Booklet and a Canvas. The booklet (Zilver Manual) will be a boundary object between Erik and any other party involved with Zilver. It defines the Zilver brand, its structure, the ideal stakeholders (internal and external), the process for projects inside and outside Zilver and codifies it into understandable themes. The canvas is a visual aid to be used during a project in order to keep a clear perspective of the tasks that need to be taken during each stage and to plan the activities for the next one.