Implementation
During the Implementation phase of Creative Business Transformation, a curated idea goes from a concept to an operational product, service or solution.
Creative Business Transformation leaders can be active in driving this process by directing the cross-functional teams necessary to build ideas or this role can be delegated to another collaborator who shares the same Creative Business Transformation vision.
Irrespective of the specifics of the roles, there are important processes the Creative Business Transformation leader can employ to encourage successful cross-functional implementation:
1.
Connecting disparate functions in a common language to build ideas into solutions
2.
Determining mutually agreed-upon KPIs to ensure shared accountability across the organisation
Take the example of Oatly in the accompanying case study.
Chief Creative Officer, John Schoolcraft, made his case to Oatly’s then CEO and board of directors that emphasised creating a more personal connection between Oatly and its customers. With senior leadership fully bought-in, Schoolcraft led the implementation of Oatly’s Creative Business Transformation by aligning the entire organisation behind a unifying objective to become part of people’s lives. And by having the creative talent closest to the customer on hand for every strategic company meeting and decision, Schoolcraft was able to bring its distinctive voice to every aspect of Oatly and, subsequently during the Adoption phase of the Creative Business Transformation, externally with its audience, ultimately catapulting the company from a small Swedish brand into an international phenomenon. 14
Implementation to Adoption
Harnessing exponential growth
During the transition from Implementation to Adoption a Creative Business Transformation leader turns their focus outwards to acknowledge the customer as the most important decision-maker. This transition consists of far more than a standard go-to-market strategy and customer outreach. It includes setting the stage for how an organisation encourages customers to engage with the brand, think about the brand, and talk about the brand without the company having complete control over any of those behaviours.
This often entails a creative leader embracing more holistic and nuanced decision-making processes for a decentralised and informed market. Consider the following approaches to stimulating this transition:
1. Expand the definition of “customer”
Surabhi Varshney, VP of Global Corporate Strategy of Celanese, leans on her marketing background for more effectively communicating creative solutions to all internal and external parties.
“Communication is a big part of any strategic transformation, and we have to carefully choose the way we communicate with different stakeholders. Marketing is directed to customers, but the same tools are available when communicating with investors, suppliers, and other functions.”
Surabhi Varshney
VP of Global Corporate Strategy | Celanese
For Varshney, this not only provides a consistent voice to build support internally, but also gives a frame of reference for those outside the organisation to reflect this tone when moved to do so.
2. Don’t just create demand: meet demand.
For Ann Mukherjee, former CEO of Pernod Ricard North America, every function should play a role in how customers process messaging and interact with a brand.
“We have a term that I’ve introduced to everyone in the organisation called ‘media to shelf’. It starts with stimulating demand in a way that gives us the right to win. Now the rest of the organisation has to align to connect that all the way to the shelf, so we capture the purchase. Because if you create demand and don't do media to shelf, you've created demand for your competitors and if they're on the shelf, they win.”
According to Mukherjee, this also allows each function to identify and take ownership of its role in what becomes a shared and unifying objective for the organisation.