Making innovation credible means showing what you can do
Showcasing innovation involves making capabilities visible to audiences whose understanding of a business may lag behind its work. An established reputation can obscure newer capabilities, while an unfamiliar innovation centre needs to explain both its purpose and its practical value. Start by understanding what your audiences already believe and the challenges they need to solve. Then put projects, applications and examples at the centre of the experience. The format should help people understand what happens, how it relates to their needs and what the organisation can deliver.
For Maersk, The Frameworks addressed a gap between its reputation for shipping and its technology-enabled supply chain capabilities. Stakeholder interviews confirmed that the Innovation Center had little exposure. Audience research and user experience mapping shaped a website centred on current projects, case studies and examples. A supporting identity worked within Maersk's existing brand, while an interactive landing page introduced five innovation areas. This gave audiences specific capabilities to explore rather than relying on a general claim of innovation.
For IBM Garage, The Frameworks made the collaboration space itself central to an account-based marketing campaign. An interactive physical book and browser-based virtual reality experiences introduced prospective clients to the Garage environment. Here, showing innovation meant giving people a way into the setting where collaboration and change could happen, rather than describing the offer only in abstract terms.
Sources: IBM Garage: Account-Based Marketing Campaign, Maersk Innovation Center: A Vision of Innovation