Can-Do….
With a little
Innovation
& Creativity Exchange (ICE)
Any Canadian I asked knew
this picture was Canadian Tire as we
can easily identify them with the little, half red triangle. More than 52 random men and women were
questioned and each took less than 3 seconds to respond correctly. They also, because as a marketer I was
curious, said they would buy the battery and I would too, especially after this
last week of cold, blizzard-like weather!
This is more than marketing –
it’s innovation and for all who participated in order to make this happen can
only smile ear-to-ear when they read the
Toronto Star and watch the commercials.
But this took an innovation and creativity exchange – fitting the
acronym is ICE. Two companies who in
their own right are innovative and who needed a partner with
that can-do spirit.
Enter IceCulture, a little company located in Hensall, Ontario,
population 1,173 (2011 census), they made this truck and in order to achieve
perfection, they had to make 3. When an
creative company, like IceCulture, is approached with such a concept they “think, feel and engage”. In an earlier post, I referenced doing these
steps, regularly in order to establish a creative culture. What I find even more interesting and the
reason for the post is they started by stating: “We’ve never done this
before”. Oh sure, they had made
ice-trucks and just about anything you can think of has been given the
IceCulture touch, but they have never created
a functioning vehicle that would start up and drive away, until now.
Organizations like Canadian Tire and IceCulture – one big – one small –
are proof that creative cultures do exist.
Think differently
and leave a lasting impression.
Hello Readers.
ReplyDeleteI received the following from Julian Bayley, the Founder of IceCulture and I thought I would share it with you.
Good topic Rhonda – and certainly a fresh angle to a story that has made, and is still getting press and television coverage all over the world.
Can do – Did and Done! Creative cultures do exist and they work. But there is another important ingredient needed in the mix to bring everything together successfully – financial support.
Your example of creative cultures – the Canadian Tire campaign for selling vehicle batteries is a good one. The two companies involved, CT and Iceculture, worked together to produce a truly effective advertising commercial. But the budget was available for both parties to exercise their talents with minimal restrictions.
I am sure there are many creative cultures that don’t make the cut due to lack of money, but this particular commercial really clicked. And on top of it all, the campaign launch coincided with sub-zero temperatures, snow, wind and an international winter event that attracted an audience of millions – who could have set up that scenario better than Mother Nature? Promoting a battery that works well at minus 40 degrees C could not have been orchestrated more effectively.
Thank You,
Julian Bayley, Iceculture, Inc
Hello Julian,
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to respond and to point out the very important ingredient - Financial Support.
I could not agree more, and would like to add that financial commitment to creativity and innovation gave way to a decade or more of productivity gains and cost reduction. Creative companies are continually investing - trial and error.