Innovation Strategy

Innovation Strategy

83% of companies rank innovation as a top-three priority. Just 3% are set up to deliver on it*

That gap isn’t about ideas or investment. It’s about what happens between strategy and delivery. Your strategy, design and engineering teams all innovate, but for anything beyond the core business, too much gets lost in translation between consulting reports, internal silos and final specifications.

We help close that gap, working across innovation strategy, design and engineering so that what gets built reflects what was actually intended.

*BCG “Innovation Systems Need a Reboot”

Achieve sustainable growth

We are aiding companies in achieving sustainable growth through strategic innovation, marketing, technology, and design. Combining robust technical expertise with advanced innovation strategies, we tailor our approach to meet specific business challenges.

We collaborate with global industry leaders to transform strategic challenges into opportunities, creating successful solutions without being confined to fixed methodologies. Discover more about how we can co-create your future successes at Ignite Exponential.

Our considerable cross-industry strategic innovation expertise enables us to explore customer needs and growth opportunities in new markets with a fresh and independent perspective. And our integrated, multidisciplinary team helps understand potential disruptions (whether customer, market or technological) and systematically explore the potential of new technologies and business models.

Where should we focus innovation to grow?

Where should we focus

Two central questions are key to an innovation strategy

Where do we focus?

  • Which markets, categories, geographies, channels, customers, and jobs to be done (JTBD) 

How do we win?

  • Which organisational choices, technologies and new business model will give us a unique competitive advantage in the markets we invest in. 

The understanding, systematic exploration and definition of consistent strategic choices in these questions, unencumbered by limiting internal and industry assumptions (as the future will not be the same as the past), is the key to development of a sustainable competitive advantage.  

Activities

Market and user research

We study customers’ unmet needs. By looking at how new trends, actions, or technology affect these, we can offer strategic guidance. We team up with our clients to run hands-on sessions, using early tests to lower the risks before investing in new ideas.

Creating a strategic innovation framework

We employ tailored and systematic frameworks to refine the innovation portfolio, leading to a powerful framework for strategic innovation.

Delivering outcomes

Our comprehensive approach leads to strategic alignment on objectives, a competitive landscape overview, targeted technical and customer research, and the subsequent creation of a coherent innovation pipeline or technology roadmap tailored to your brand and business.

Case study: Vetoquinol

Lifecycle Planning in Veterinary Pharmaceuticals. Vetoquinol launched a breakthrough antiparasitic product into the global market. Fifteen months post-launch, a compelling life cycle management (LCM) plan was required to maintain the brand’s market share, keep the product fresh in the minds of veterinarians and support further growth.

Ignite Exponential facilitated the preparation and delivery of a one-day workshop, bringing together global stakeholders associated with the brand. In preparation for the event, a creative brainstorming session was hosted online to immerse stakeholders in the brand’s challenges. Engaging tools and innovation frameworks developed by Ignite facilitated a structured exploration during the workshop.

Ignite Exponential’s structured and collaborative approach resulted in a comprehensive LCM plan for the brand with a clear set of next steps across the functions. This impactful process of LCM planning set a precedent in Vetoquinol and has gone on to be applied to support future growth of other brands.

Strategic Alignment for Global Veterinary Brand, Vetoquinol

Case study: AgSpace

How can we drive adoption of digital tools in farming? Our client is an international supplier of seeds and fertilisers. Its digital platform provides satellite mapping, weather and forecasting data that can dramatically reduce farmers’ costs and improve yields. It asked us to help it to find ways to drive adoption of its digital tools by sceptical farmers!

Using a systematic framework, we mapped the farmers’ journey and identified the key barriers in their engagement with the platform. Our multi-functional team (strategy, design, marketing, product management) drew on examples of successful interventions in other markets and we were able to identify new options for our client. Together we created and built confidence in a series of tangible next steps to drive product adoption.

Within a week of the workshop the first ideas had been fast-tracked into the platform’s development pipeline with a series of longer-term interventions to come.

drive adoption of digital tools in farming

Case study: US electronic component manufacturer

Identifying growth opportunities. We helped a US electronic component manufacturer with spare production capacity to explore new opportunities for growth. From both market and technical analysis, we identified a specific product line which would be the most promising target for this growth and helped to upskill its team and develop the technology for the successful launch of the new product line.

Profiting From Spare Capacity

The client’s perspective

Ignite Exponential are our partner of choice for strategic brand planning and life cycle management. Their structured approach helps us navigate complex landscapes and build strong alignment with our colleagues. The processes they implemented has set a new standard for our global LCM planning.

Global Brand Manager

Vetoquinol

This team should be your number one innovation partner. The session confirmed some things we already knew but also introduced completely new concepts from outside of our industry. We were impressed with the research conducted by Ignite which meant the innovation process was tailored specifically to our business.

Commercial Leader

AgSpace

Digital Transformation

Transforming strategic challenges into opportunities.

Most companies treat digital transformation as the goal. But digitising an existing process just makes it faster, not better. It can cut costs, but it rarely drives new revenue. The real opportunities come from combining innovation with digital: a new way of doing something, enabled by a new tool for doing it.

We work with established businesses to find those combinations, bringing together innovation strategy, technology, product design and engineering to turn them into products and business models that actually grow the top line.

Key skills

Strategic innovation expertise

  • Using industry insights and strategic foresight to create actionable innovation strategies that drive growth and competitive advantage.

Technology and market disruption analysis

  • Identifying and analysing emerging technologies and market trends to pinpoint opportunities and threats, enabling proactive adaptation and innovation.

Evidence-based strategy formulation

  • Harnessing data and proven methodologies to establish strategies that are grounded in factual insights and promising practices.

Multidisciplinary team collaboration

  • Facilitating collaboration across different functional areas, bringing together diverse skill sets to innovate and solve complex problems efficiently.

 

Innovation roadmapping and strategy execution

  • Creating detailed innovation roadmaps to guide the development and implementation of new products, services, and business models, ensuring alignment with long-term strategic goals.

Stakeholder engagement and workshop facilitation

  • Engaging with internal and external stakeholders through workshops and meetings to gather insights, foster buy-in and collaboratively explore innovation opportunities.

Concept development and prototyping

  • Transforming initial ideas into tangible concepts through rapid prototyping, allowing for quick iteration and feedback in the early stages of the innovation process.
Key results
    • Strategic alignment on innovation scope and criteria.
    • Independent customer research and analysis, identifying prioritised innovation needs.
    • Market and technology landscaping beyond your own industry to reveal trends, technologies and a toolbox of innovation enablers inspired by your specific challenges.
    • Broad portfolio of ideas brought to life with sketches, visuals, pretotypes or videos.
    • Development of an innovation pipeline and technology development roadmap.
    • A clear pathway for the next steps, ensuring effective delivery of the innovation pipeline.
    • Ongoing strategic and technical support, as required.

Your strategic partner in innovation

Ignite Exponential is more than just a consultancy; we are your strategic partner in innovation, ready to navigate the complexities of new market entries and technological advancements together.

For further insight into how we can assist your innovation journey, get in touch: