INNOVATION

We help organisations make future-facing decisions with confidence by identifying early cultural signals that point to major shifts ahead, unlocking new behaviours, new category formations and, ultimately, societal change. By combining decades of Innovator network building with a proprietary model of innovation diffusion, we can collapse the front end of your innovation process.

Our proposition is that enlisting individuals for whom the future has already happened can cut the speed to market and alleviate risks associated with future planning.

When the objective is discovering future possibilities, surveying representative consumers are often the wrong starting point, even when looking for “pain points”. Emerging behaviours are usually visible, first, among people experimenting ahead of the mainstream.

The distinction matters. We focus on the individuals and communities driving those shifts at source, not those merely consuming new ‘trends’ once they start spreading. The result is earlier visibility of emerging needs; new consumption behaviours; category disruption and cultural shifts with commercial potential.

The value isn't statistical representation. It's cultural signal.

Such individuals are Innovators from our Trailblazer Web. An Innovator isn't just someone we think is interesting. It's someone identified through our rigorous bespoke framework, as having particular predictive value for emerging change. Bringing Innovators on board (instead of ‘recruiting consumer’ from panels) enables us to pin-point the signals of tomorrow before they become the behaviours of today, thus increasing the probability that an opportunity is aligned with emerging cultural trajectories (rather than today's mainstream).

We design projects based on challenges, skilled in all qualitative approaches off line and online, across geographies and bringing findings and recommendations to life in formats ranging from conventional deck to magazine style publications, film and even events.

EXPLORE

Growth: identifying opportunities through RETROSPECTIVE VALIDATION, TFTK’s compressed futures exploration methodology to de-risk larger future decisions

Trailblazer Exploration Sprint

concentrated programme involving carefully curated participants from the Trailblazer Web for early exploration or scoping larger projects

Rapid but rigorous way of finding strategically valuable possibilities before they're obvious. We mine their lifestyle, not their ideas. Because we observe and interrogate what they're already doing, we're looking for evidence of behaviours that may subsequently diffuse into the mainstream. Our strategic acumen combined with our cultural connections, kudos and framework enables us to translate the chasm between people ahead-of-the-curve and the mainstream, thus unlocking the future normal on the basis of which we can design viable opportunity platforms (innovation; positioning, white spaces).

Opinion Former Elicitation

same principle, even faster with less people for internal sense checking or quick feedback

A future-facing alternative to the traditional expert think tank, drawing on a deliberately selected group of highly influential individuals whose opinion on the cultural currency trade-mart matters the most, to challenge and expand emerging possibilities. When data is, by definition, limited, drawing on voices with disproportionate influence shaping what’s next is a safer bet.

Pulse-keeping

fast-actionable feedback through on-going access to Trailblazers

We can convene your own, ongoing community of Trailblazers selected for your needs, providing you with an ongoing sounding board to ask questions and sense-check decisions in real time - on a pre-agreed basis and frequency.

DEVELOP

Innovation: Agile ideation workshops for innovation brand managers and/or communication planners and strategists, who do not need any more new ideas (and for those who do)

for risk-managed incremental innovation - with concepts for new products as output

High energy workshops mixing TED-ex style talks and hands-on activities, (with option to throw in safaris); bringing together cross-functional client teams with curated Trailblazers to generate new ideas or refine/repurpose existing ideas. AI assisted, for faster, iterative working.

Creative territories

for new campaign development that align with emerging values and tastes - with territories for creative briefs as output

High energy workshops mixing TED-ex style talks and hands-on activities, (with option to throw in safaris); bringing together creative and strategy teams with curated Trailblazers to generate new ideas or refine/repurpose existing ideas. AI assisted, for faster, iterative working.

DECODE

Insight: The First-to-Know™

Lead, inspire and build capacity by driving a culture of curiosity and learning across your team

fast track to the future

A taster of the mechanics of the-first-to-know ™ innovation diffusion model, at your office, with a small team, over a relaxed lunchtime session or afternoon tea. (Milk, no sugar).

Informal presentation by TFTK founder Dr Lida Hujić, followed by a short Q and A, to see the world through 'the first to know' lens.

For Mainstream Brands & Businesses

Understand emerging shifts earlier, identify commercially attractive spaces for growth by stepping into the future normal, asking questions you haven’t thought of asking before and reduce the uncertainty surrounding innovation and strategic decision-making.

For Cultural Institutions, Forward-Thinking Marcomms Agencies and Directional Brands

Understand the cultural forces shaping influence and relevance, in order to create programmes, partnerships and experiences that generate genuine word-of-relevant-mouth and earned attention.

If you'd like a little bit more information to help you consider how this might work for your Brand or Business, click here to get in touch.

EXPLORE: RETROSPECTIVE VALIDATION case study

DEVELOP: NPD workshop case study