A Cello Business

(In)novation

Our thinking on (In)novation

Innovation is inherently ambiguous, containing two conflicting ideas: changing or altering things that already exist (from the latin, Innovare); and creating entirely new concepts (from the Latin, ‘novare’). We recognise this duality of meaning when we talk about (In)novation.

When we discuss innovation with our clients, our first question is “what sort of (In)novation does your brand need?”. Agreeing this from the outset defines the parameters for the overall process, as well as the insight gathering activities, the ideation techniques, the methodologies we employ for testing concepts and the approach we take to creating the business case for a new venture.

Ideas are not the problem

As anybody working in brand marketing knows, having ideas is rarely the problem … most businesses are awash with good, bad and downright ugly ideas! The real challenge is in getting the right ideas to market at the right time.

For us, (In)novation is about more than just great ideas: it’s about working with our clients to clarify the business and brand objectives driving their innovation agenda; knowing how and where to look for insights and how to generate and nurture the right ideas. Then it’s about ensuring that the right processes and skill-sets are in place within an organisation to ensure the strongest ideas achieve commercial success as well as consumer appeal.

Whole-brain (In)novation

We think of this as ‘whole brain’ (In)novation – blending rigour, process and strategy with fresh ideas, inspiration and Insight.

So, whether you’re looking for the next really big category-busting idea, driving an exciting renovation programme for an existing category, or aiming to pragmatically fast-track a concept to market, we’ve got the right brains (and the left brains) for you.

What makes us different?

  • A broad skill-set (from strategy to winning concepts to capabilities)
  • More than two decades of experience
  • Brand-led perspective on Innovation
  • Pragmatic and commercially-minded
  • Media neutral and independent from execution
  • A dedicated design studio to help convey the full power of new ideas

What our clients think

“I was really impressed with the way The Value Engineers threw themselves into learning about our market specifics, determined to gain the deep industry understanding necessary for successful innovation. Everyone we came into contact with during the project made fabulous impressions on us. It was great to have such a strong team for the project.”

Claire Sullivan, Category Marketing Director, UK & Ireland Unilever Foodsolutions

Strategy

"Learning Shouldn't Be boring or painful - and with The Value Engineers, it never is"

Richard Oldham

Director of Innovation

Richard Oldham

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What We're Really Good At

Capabilities Development for a successful innovation culture

Concepts to market - Concept Creation, Development, Optimisation and Selection

Innovation strategy

Needs Mapping

Review, Design and Management of Innovation Processes