Aric Zion

In our experience, simply documenting brand guidelines is not enough. For example, providing a definition of a particular brand personality trait doesn’t deeply indoctrinate a team member into how that trait came to be important for the organization, and a brand story usually doesn’t do the trick either. We had a global client that struggled to reflect one of their brand personality traits, ‘humility,’ in their assets. A traditional brand guides wasn’t enough. We had to introduce into their brand guide the rich backstory as to why ‘humility’ was crucial. By blending historical context with implementation strategies, the client’s content team could finally embody the true essence of ‘humility’ in every digital asset.

When choosing digital tools, avoid overspending on capabilities you won't fully use. Many overestimate their ability to leverage a tool, lured by success stories. Instead, assess how many organizations truly succeed with the tool and the time to success. Build a business case factoring in ROI, cost, resource needs, and potential revenue over time. And consider your organization's commitment to the deployment as well as management's patience—i.e. need for quick wins vs. long-term success. Choose wisely, focusing on actual needs and realistic outcomes.

Here’s my perspective as the CEO of an agency… In fostering digital innovation, agencies must assess whether to develop capabilities in-house or through partnerships. Key is a framework evaluating if in-house maintenance yields positive gross profit. If not, consider if the loss is offset by gains in agility and control. Additionally, project future needs: will demand for this capability grow over time, will employee turnover make the situation more difficult? I often use this as an initial strategic approach to balance financial practicality with foresight, guiding whether to build internally or collaborate externally for long-term success.

Here’s a case study about leveraging data and technology—specifically our agency’s work on Strategic IoT-driven Transformation for an Air Purifier Manufacturer. We worked with our client, an air purifier producer, to utilize IoT data from their products to enhance operations and customer satisfaction. By analyzing data in a profitability-tree-driven approach, we identified strategies to cut service costs and boost customer engagement and filter subscriptions. Our customer data platform use case used IoT data to prompt customers about air filter changes and provide product end-of-life data, improving maintenance and reducing service costs. This led to increased customer satisfaction and established the client as a data-driven market leader.

When building a digital ecosystem, it’s crucial to consider not just the selection of platforms, tools, and stakeholders, but also the bandwidth needed for mastering and integrating these elements. Many companies overlook this, leading to underutilized platforms and teams that fail to synergize, remaining merely the sum of their parts. Adequate resourcing is key to ensuring that the ecosystem evolves into a cohesive unit that effectively supports business goals and fosters innovation. 1+1 = 3 takes extra effort, but it is the key to a successful and differentiated digital ecosystem.

Great insights on selecting digital components. To build on this, consider platforms as the broader systems facilitating digital interactions, and tools as the specific functionalities within these platforms. Stakeholders, vital in driving the ecosystem, can be seen as internal champions of these tools and platforms. By aligning each component’s relevance to customer needs and its impact on our goals, we can create a cohesive digital ecosystem that effectively serves both business objectives and customer satisfaction. it’s also critical not to overlook the crucial role of processed development. You definitely need the right platforms and tools, and the right people, but you also need the right processes.