Press Release:
DANA POINT, Calif. (June 15, 2011) – On Tuesday, June 14, more than 25 surf manufacturing companies reported for duty at Product Innovation Boot Camp, presented by the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA). The room at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, Calif., was filled with surf industry designers, marketing teams, and sales executives who were engaged in seminars that offered lessons on how to encourage, foster and utilize creative innovation.
“This Boot Camp was something our members have been asking for and was so well received by those in attendance due to the creative nature of our industry,” said Sean Smith, SIMA Executive Director. “Innovation has been a hallmark of the surf industry since it started, and in today’s economy, creativity and innovation are critical to capturing the eye – and dollars – of the consumer.”
The morning kicked off with a presentation by Brendan Boyle / Partner, IDEO, titled “Brilliant and Ridiculous: The Role of Play In Innovation.” To warm up the crowd, Boyle instructed each attendee to draw a portrait of the person sitting next to them, which caused the room to erupt in laughter when the portraits were revealed to one another.
Encouraging fun as a part of the creative process, Boyle engaged the audience in several participation activities. Boyle then took the audience through the three principles of innovation: “role-play” which creates inspiration, “encourage ridiculous” which results in ideation and “think with your hands” which fosters implementation. The audience was inspired by Boyle’s presentation and gained creativity techniques to take back to their office.
After Boyle’s presentation, Peter Falt, Director of Strategic Partnering / Designworks USA, BMW, took the stage to present several case studies on innovative projects from BMW and other Designworks clients.
Working for a client such as BMW that demands innovation every day, Falt boiled down how to take many ideas and make them into usable pieces in a concise and linear way. Using principle drivers Boyle detailed how to take the promise of an idea to the end delivery stage. Falt stressed the importance of design agility as the new normal for companies today.
To stay agile with design, Falt recommends creating flexibility using context streams, choosing empathy over statistics, using visual stories to make sense of complexity, building deep networks for fluid constellations and to learn, make, share and constantly iterate. Drawing on such examples as Gina, the revolutionary BMW car with a fabric exterior, Falt encouraged attendees to create for the future by looking at sustainability and flexibility for design innovation.
“Brendan and Peter’s presentations were very different, yet both were spot on for our group,” says Smith. “The practical take-aways on how to foster a creative and innovative work environment to step-by-step practices for a business taking product ideas from conception to a final deliverable product were invaluable.”
In its fourth year, SIMA Boot Camps are educational and intimate seminars that aim to provide valuable business tips and tools to help SIMA member companies improve a variety of daily business operations. The Boot Camp seminar topics change from Boot Camp-to-Boot Camp with the goal of reaching a variety of employees and departments within SIMA member companies. All levels of employees from any department who would benefit from the educational seminars and industry networking time are encouraged to attend. Future Boot Camps include New Advertising Boot Camp on July 13 and Retail Relations and Marketing Boot Camp on September 28. All Boot Camps will be held at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, Calif. Industry Boot Camp will be held in October 2011 and a venue will be announced prior to the event. Visit www.sima.com for more information on upcoming 2011 Boot Camps and registration materials as they become available.
To view photos of Product Innovation Boot Camp, please visit www.sima.com/events/sima-boot-camp/boot-camp-gallery.aspx. To receive information on future Boot Camps, please contact mandy@sima.com.
The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) is the official working trade association of more than 300 surf industry suppliers. Founded in 1989, SIMA is a non-profit organization that serves to promote awareness of the surf industry and participation in the sport of surfing through public relations efforts and a variety of services, educational programs and research. In addition, SIMA actively supports oceanic environmental efforts through its 501(c)(3) charitable environmental foundation, the SIMA Environmental Fund. In the past 21 years, SIMA’s Environmental Fund has raised more than $5.4 million for environmental groups seeking to protect the world’s oceans, beaches and waves. The SIMA Humanitarian Fund, also a 501(c)(3) charitable foundation, was established in 2006 to award grants to various surf or boardsport related social and humanitarian non-profit organizations whose efforts are focused on improving the quality of life, health and/or welfare of people. For more information on SIMA, please visitwww.sima.com. Follow us at Twitter.com/SIMA_SURF.
