Call for SPIKE AWARDS: Social Product Innovation Leaders

When the SPIKE Awards were launched in 2010, the goal was to highlight the best examples of companies using social media principles and technologies to enhance and extend their innovation and product development processes. Our research on Social Media and the Product Lifecycle told us that forward-thinking companies were experimenting; piloting programs like open innovation, crowdsourcing,  social product development, public collaboration forums and internal knowledge-sharing networks to create value across the product lifecycle.

We weren’t disappointed. The 2010 SPIKE Award winners were clear leaders in demonstrating the strategic, real-world value of using social media in the innovation process. During this early adoption phase of social product innovation, they achieved admirable benefits, demonstrating the potential for significant operational and financial results.

What made them winners?

1. Established Plan with a Cross-Functional Team – Defining an overall strategy and aligning it with existing innovation, new product development and business plans is critical. However, strategies built in silos are rarely effective. Our winners had defined strategies, developed and executed by cross-functional teams.
2. Clearly Defined Starting Points – SPIKE Award winners used their defined strategy to select a small, focused starting point based on business needs and focus on demonstrating added value.
3. Sustainable Strategy – It’s not enough to just have a strategy. Social product innovation must be considered evolutionary, not revolutionary. To be sustainable, it’s important not to overwhelm the organization. Our winners built incrementally by demonstrating a clear ROI for the selected starting point and hyping results.

Sound like something you’re doing?

The 2011 SPIKE Awards nomination period is open through September 9^th. Visit www.SpikeAwards.com to read the 2010 winners’ stories and nominate your company for an award. This year’s SPIKE Awards will be announced at the 2011 Social Product Innovation Summit on October 18^th.    This free, interactive virtual conference will bring together experts, users and peers to discuss the best uses of social product innovation across the product lifecycle.  Register today at www.SpikeSummit.com.

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Amy Kenly is director of Social Media and Analyst Relations at Kalypso. She has over 14 years professional experience in innovation, product development and PLM. Kenly, a regular speaker and blogger on social product innovation, has been selected by PDMA to author a chapter on “Social Media and New Product Development” for the upcoming third edition of the PDMA Handbook on New Product Development. Kenly leads Kalypso’s Social Product Innovation practice, which has recently published the white paper “Social Media and Product Development: Early Adopters Reaping Benefits amidst Challenge and Uncertainty.” To access the white paper and findings, visit https://kalypso.com/spike.