For the Creation of Innovation and Ideas

STEP 1: Let's Get Excited Together to Enhance Corporate Value

Part 3: For Generating Innovative Ideas

 

"Power Sessions" that deliver Dentsu Inc.'s very own idea generation process

 

To holistically rebuild business management and marketing, generating innovative ideas is essential. This is where Dentsu Inc.'s right-brain thinking—its very DNA—comes into play.

Many may believe that original, breakthrough ideas are the exclusive domain of a select few geniuses. However, great ideas can emerge from anyone. What matters are the "tricks" and "process" of ideation.

When creating advertising, the creators at Dentsu Inc. envision the future of the company, the future of the business, and even the future of people, building ideas from diverse perspectives. While this process itself remains a personal skill of the craftsman and is not visualized, by making the creative process cultivated on the front lines "visible," we can generate ideas that lead to business innovation.

As Keisuke Konishi from the Consulting Office states in his book, previous branding methods were "adjective branding" – adding perceived value to products to attract customers. Moving forward, "verb branding" is essential. This centers on the customer community (people) and involves co-creating value together to achieve shared goals. Presenting value that resonates with customers, enabling them to experience it, and having their satisfaction spread through social media elevates brand value.

The larger the customer community grows, the more essential it becomes to spark excitement through the interaction between hypotheses logically constructed by the left brain and right-brain-style ideas. This is where Dentsu Inc.'s "Circular Thinking" method comes into focus. Led by specialized facilitators, this technique involves cycling through four processes—"Feel → Scatter → Discover → Refine"—using both right and left brain thinking to refine ideas through group work. Applying this method to consulting reveals pathways to solving diverse challenges.

Of the four processes, "Scatter" is the most challenging. While "Feel" comes naturally, "Scatter" is difficult. Once "Scatter" is achieved, the subsequent "Discover" and "Polish" phases flow relatively smoothly.

For example, consider a mission to "decribe a company's brand vision for five years from now." Relying solely on logical, left-brain thinking often leads to stagnation. However, preparing these four processes can reveal a breakthrough. The challenge lies in how to execute the "scatter" step. One effective approach is to include individuals from completely different fields in the group, fostering chemical reactions.

When members with unique backgrounds—like a game company creator, a highland vegetable farmer, or a space development engineer—join the discussion, perspectives and ways of thinking that aren't extensions of conventional business are introduced, leading to lively clashes of ideas. Creating such a space is what leads to "scattering."

 

Leveraging Diversity to Generate Cutting-Edge Ideas

 

Dentsu Inc. has developed its own unique method, "Power Session," incorporating and evolving the methodology of SRI International, one of the world's largest independent advanced research institutions (explained in detail in STEP 3). This is a technique for guiding innovation and ideas, structured in three steps: "Management," "Team," and "Process." The chemical reaction mentioned earlier, using people from different fields as catalysts, is part of the "Team" initiative. Japanese companies often form homogeneous, tightly-knit teams when executing projects, making it difficult to achieve this "scattering" effect. Deliberately gathering individuals with diverse talents holds significant meaning.

When conducting a "Power Session," the key is to form a cross-functional task force team within the client company, selecting members from various departments: strategic planning, advertising, sales, accounting... First, everyone must be on the same page: they should hear the top management's vision, gather user feedback, and absorb broad information about their own brand. From there, they repeatedly engage in the "Guruguru" process to generate innovative ideas.

Everyone possesses a wellspring of ideas. The challenge lies in creating an environment where these can be tapped. Unfortunately, in most cases, they remain buried—a truly wasteful situation. Using the Dentsu Inc. method increases the probability of striking gold. Furthermore, this approach is effective not only for branding but also for solving various business challenges, such as developing new products or proposing innovative sales strategies.