Welcome to the Summer ’11 edition of ‘News from the Fronteer’, our more-or-less regular newsletter.
This issue contains updates on our latest writing, new tool, last funky project, cool plans for 2012, new online presence, current roadshow and interesting surroundings.
Enjoy the read!
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OUR LATEST "GREEN" PAPER
Just in time for your holiday pool-side reading comes our latest whitepaper, written by Nicole van de Velde in co-creation with GreenInc
. Many of our clients share the dilemma of wanting to develop an inspiring and actionable sustainability strategy, but don’t know where to start, nor how. The whitepaper describes a 5-step approach, using co-creation with expert stakeholders and ‘The Green Canvas’ to link corporate vision to short-, mid- and longer term action. The paper includes a number of inspiring best practices from across industries, as well as ‘9 imperatives’ that we learnt from our own clients’ projects. Sharing is caring, so in good tradition this whitepaper shares the highlights of what we’ve learned so far.
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ONLINE ‘APP’ CO-CREATION
Apps. Don’t you just love ‘m?
Many companies certainly seem to these days, so online & interactive design agencies around us are churning them out like clockwork. Echoing the goldrush to ‘Get a Website’ (remember that, kids?) though, more and more clients are realising that it takes something really fun, interesting or useful to make it through the sea of sameness that’s already swelling in the appstore. Some are ‘even’ evaluating how their investments ‘live on’ in terms of downloads, use, customer touch-points and other useful feedback.
To support the development of customer-centric, value adding, interesting applications, Fronteer now offers an online version of our ‘Elevator’ co-creation & validation tool. Designed in close conjunction with leading developers IceMobile and INDG, Elevator fits snugly into heavily time-pressured app development cycles. The methodology involves the rapid identification, selection and face-to-face involvement of lead users across key markets. Using a 3-level process, lead users co-create with the design & development team to validate & enrich concepts and prototypes.
Forget research, take the Elevator.
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DUTCH DENIM DINER
Part of the fun of going (to trade events) abroad is the change of scenery. The 'couleur locale', the food, the restaurants, all that jazz, right?
The Dutch, however, are notorious for taking their own food (peanut butter and tinned beans, traditionally) with them on holiday. Taking this habit to the ultimate level, this summer saw the Dutch denim scene take their own ‘clubhouse’ with them towards the industry’s biggest European event: Bread & Butter in Berlin.
A unique coalition of Modint (the industry association), DDFA (an institute that promotes Dutch design and architecture), HTNK (Holland’s premier consulting & recruiting agency), Premsela (Dutch arts council), ...,Staat
(probably the best design agency in NL right now), Bugaboo (the quirky stroller/mobility brand), local ‘Steak-Frites-eria’ Cafe George and Fronteer Strategy
mobilised their respective networks to realise a ‘pop-up consulate’ for all the (Dutch) denim and creative industry types hanging around the German capital, as well as for their local clients and counterparts. ‘Der Georg’, the Dutch Denim Diner - as it was baptised - will possibly go on a tour of the world, accompanying cultural & trade missions next year. Stay tuned for news on where to book your stylish business lunch.
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OFFICINA MILANESE
Staying on the topic of ‘trips abroad’; we’re proud to announce plans for a pop-up Fronteer Strategy office in ‘Design City’ Milano during Salone del Mobile next season. The ‘Salone’ has evolved to become the world’s epicentre of design during the annual event during second half of April.
To capture, discuss and share the inspiration of the world’s best designers, we will be setting up a temporary field office together with Dutch Design initiative Tuttobene. Insider perspective, curated visits to the hottest new names and top exhibits (such as Heineken’s spectacular new ‘Light up the Night’ open design platform space) and leading brands are on the menu, as well as, undoubtably, some great food and fun.
It’s our ambition to co-create the trip with clients, partners and locals - so if you’re interested to join our coalition, please contact martijn@fronteerstrategy.com
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NEW WEBSITE
At Fronteer, we enjoy ‘eating our own dogfood’ now and then, so in the spirit of customer-centric brand development, we asked friend & foe what they thought of our website. “Too many words”, “What exactly are you selling ?”,“I was expecting something cooler” and “Nice blue door, though” were some of the reactions (although our mums were a tad more positive).
We took on board the constructive criticism and have upgraded our online presence accordingly. We hope this version (developed by EZDG) is a better match with expectations. Feel free to keep ‘knocking’ it though. What’s the saying again: “Badmouthing is the sincerest form of flattery...?”
Speaking of online activity, we now also offer the possibility of ‘Liking’ or following our work on Facebook. In fact there’s no avoiding us in social media; follow our team or @fronteerstrat to know what’s going on at Fs.
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GOSPEL
We have been ‘evangelists’ of Co-creation since the founding of Fronteer (and before). Nevertheless, we find many of our clients and connections are still in the dark about why it might be the way forward, how it can be of benefit to their business, or even what the word means...
Since we are always in pursuit of clarity & inspiration, we decided to translate all of our recent learnings into a single, 60 minute presentation for them. This Summer and Fall, we will be on the road to spread the ‘gospel’.
Interested to hear our ideas, illustrated by best practices from around the world and across industries? Drop a line to Hein@fronteerstrategy.com, because as Bill Joy cleverly once said: “No matter who you are, most of the smartest people always seem to work somewhere else”
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NxNW - NORTH by NORTHWEST
As Snoopy said to Charlie Brown: “It’s nice to have a home where strangers feel welcome”. Our new Headquarters boasts an in-house co-creation/brainstorm/meeting space called NxNW (North by North-West). As well as the venue for our own meetings and client projects, it is for rent, with or without Fronteer consultants as moderators. More and more companies are enjoying the space, view, facilities and local/organic lunches and snacks it has to offer.
All information can be found on www.nxnw.nl
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SUMMER @ NDSM
Always on the look-out for interesting ‘stuff that surrounds us’, we’re happy to report a lot of cool things going on at the NDSM docklands area where Fronteer is based. This summer, our office will be surrounded by a number of amazing festivals including Valtifest, a collaboration between MTV and party-meisters Meubelstukken and Picnic
, the cross-medial innovation & creativity festival. With MTV, Red Bull and a skatepark as neighbours, we get our share of extreme sports action too. A recent addition to our ‘hood’ is a skateboarding ‘pool’ designed and realised by local art duo Miktor and Molf.
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Hang Loose, everybody, and have a great summer. Don't hesitate to call or drop by though, we are open!
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