MobiPet + SCAD: Creative Facilitation

MobiPET

速

CREATIVE FACILITATION

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PARTICIPANTS & PROJECT

CONTENTS

10

KEY TAKEAWAYS

16

KICKOFF MEETING

22

RESEARCH

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WORKSHOP

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PARTICIPANTS & PROJECT AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PARTICIPANTS OF THE WORKSHOP AND THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT.

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SHANNON VANDERHILL SHANNON HAILS FROM THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS. AS AN INNOVATION STRATEGIST, SHE LOVES CONDUCTING RESEARCH, ANALYZING DATA, FACILITATION, IDEATION, AND STORY TELLING.

SARA MARTIN SARA IS A BUSINESS DESIGN STRATEGIST FROM PHILADELPHIA, PA WHO IS CURRENTLY ENJOYING THE DYNAMIC LIFE OF A GRADUATE STUDENT.

MARCE MILLA MARCE IS A DESIGN MANAGER FROM EL SALVADOR, PASSIONATE FOR AND EXPERIENCED IN BRANDING, CREATIVE STRATEGY AND DESIGN THINKING.

MINT KAEWKOON MINT POSSESSES AN INSATIABLE APPETITE FOR CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING. SHE LOVES TO CONTRIBUTE TO A TEAM OF TALENTED, OPEN-MINDED, AND INTELLIGENT PEOPLE.

JIAYU ZHOU JIAYU IS AN INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER FROM CHINA. HE LIKES USING MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO FIND PATTERNS TO SOLVE PROBLEM AND INCREASE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES.

AKI HASHIMOTO AKI IS A DESIGN MANAGER FROM JAPAN WHO HAS EXPERIENCE OF WORKING IN ADVERTISING FIELD AS A CGI ARTIST / CAD DRAFTER IN NYC. CURRENTLY STUDYING AT SCAD.

YANG HE YANG TRANSITIONED FROM AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN TO USER EXPERIENCE, SEEKING A CAREER SHIFT THAT WOULD LEAD HER CLOSER TO HER IDEAL ROLE.

BRUCE CLAXTON BRUCE IS A PROFESSOR OF DESIGN MANAGEMENT AT THE SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN. HE SHARES HIS PASSION FOR CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING DAILY.

DAVE ROPES DAVE IS COFOUNDER AND CEO OF MOBIPET. HE IS LOOKING FOR IDEAS TO HELP MOBIPET REACH CRITICAL MASS AMONG USERS.

JODY QUINN JODY IS AN EXECUTIVE CREATIVE STRATEGIST AT EDELMAN. SHE IS A MEMBER OF THE MOBIPET ADVISOR BOARD.

JEFF FERRY JEFF IS A PUBLISHER AT CIRCUITNET AND PRESIDENT AT CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY CENTER. HE CURRENTLY PUBLISHES THE MOBIPET NEWSLETTER.

LIZ POSSEE LIZ IS AN INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER FOCUSING ON HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN. SHE ALSO OWNS A DOG THAT IS LIKE FAMILY TO HER.

PARTICIPANTS The participants for the workshop were selected based on their proximity to MobiPET and/or their ability to contribute as potential users of the service. Along with the team from SCAD and the owner of MobiPET, the participants included members of MobiPET’s advisory board and an external dog owner.

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PROJECT MobiPET is a startup company aimed at helping pet owners locate their pets when they get lost through image recognition software and a photo alert system. In order for MobiPET to maximize success, awareness needs to spread nationally so as to build up the user base and also the network of shelters, veterinarians and other pet related associations.

Increasing these networks will allow the system to become increasingly functional through an expanded volume of those reached when a pet 8

goes missing. The goal of this project was to conduct research in order to build out a workshop for the purpose of ideating around of the opportunity of awareness.

THE TEAM WORKING TO UNDERSTAND THE REALM OF LOST PETS.

NOTES FROM STARTUP LOUNGE, WHERE THE TEAM WAS FIRST INTRODUCED TO MOBIPET.

EXPLORING THE MOBIPET WEBSITE AND REGISTRATION PROCESS.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS A SUMMARY OF THE KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE WORKSHOP.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS This project went in depth into the issue of awareness for MobiPET guided by the opportunity statement below: The key takeaways from the research and subsequently the workshop were ideas that were formed around three main areas of opportunity that could solve the problem of awareness. The three areas that were explored were unexpected partnerships, media partners, and facebook.

a

UNEXPECTED PARTNERS Unexpected partners can have the effect of disrupting the conventional methods of diffusion in an industry.

In the pet industry, the potential consumers can be found in a variety of social groups irrespective of them being involved directly with the pet industry. Partnering with these unexpected or unusual sponsors/promoters/ partners, may enable MobiPET to cultivate awareness of the service to potential new customers, by leveraging their buying patterns in each of these diverse industries of interest.

Meanwhile this approach will also provide mutually beneficial value by leveraging brand reputation.

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MEDIA REACH Media reach is one of the most important characteristics of communication in networks today. Media reach should be considered when choosing communication platforms such as TV spots, magazines, blogs, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media. These can help MobiPET to make people more aware of their network, both for pet owners and volunteering pet finders. One of the approaches to leverage media reach for example could be partnering with famous pet YouTubers or bloggers who have 14

millions of followers to introduce MobiPET so that these followers may become aware. MobiPET can collaborate with these people who are influential to the masses and help the diffusion of MobiPET.

FACEBOOK Facebook is a potential social media partner that, if approached correctly, can help MobiPET become the go-to pet service application. There is an opportunity to use Facebook’s existing tools and functions to build awareness for MobiPET. To do so, the team found that there were a couple of ways to approach this opportunity. One of them would be using Facebook to sync with the MobiPET app. In doing so, it would allow MobiPET users to send alerts for their lost dogs via Facebook and the

MobiPET network simultaneously. Additionally, leveraging Facebook’s existing tools like pages or games could help MobiPET reach audiences that would like to create a “PetBook,” or scrapbooking and memory logs for how their pets share moments with them through time. All in all, a partnership with Facebook would diffuse MobiPET to its network and create opportunities for MobiPET to expand its offering of services.

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KICKOFF MEETING INITIAL CLIENT MEETING THAT DEFINED THE DIRECTION OF OUR WORKSHOP.

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KICKOFF MEETING The first step that would lead to key takeaways was conducting a kickoff meeting in order create alignment on what obstacles MobiPET would most like to tackle. The team presented MobiPET with a four week long agenda that would be focused on a problem of their choice that most afflicted the current state of the business and the plans for success in the future.

During the meeting the following inquiries were covered to gain a deeper understanding of the service and opportunities that could be viable for this project.

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UNDERSTANDING MOBIPET:

UNDERSTANDING THE OPPORTUNITY:

What was your initial motivation in bringing MobiPET to life?

Who are you? Tell us about your company? What do you do?

What’s your vision? Where do you see MobiPET in the future?

Who are your competitors?

How do you differentiate yourselves?

What drives you to continue moving forward with MobiPET? How do you communicate with your customers?

What is the problem you are interested in tackling or what keeps you up at night?

Why is it a problem and why is it a problem for you?

What have you already thought of or tried?

What is your ideal fantasy solution?

What would you most like to get from this meeting/process? Are you interested in one final solution or several ideas or both?

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OUTCOME Two main opportunities that came up during the meeting were around awareness and also future applications of the image recognition technology that MobiPET currently owns. After a brief discussion around these two topics it was decided to move forward with the question around how to create awareness.

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The outcome of this kick off stage was the below opportunity statement which would be used to guide research and solutioning: How might we connect MobiPET with partners, users, and existing networks in order for the service to reach critical mass?

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RESEARCH THE RESEARCH PROCESS CONSISTED OF BROAD SECONDARY RESEARCH AND SYNTHESIS.

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Secondary Research & Synthesis SECONDARY RESEARCH HELPED THE TEAM BUILD A BROAD BASE OF FACTS AND KNOWLEDGE THAT WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE WORKSHOP SUCCESS.

PET INDUSTRY ECOSYSTEM Pet industry research is crucial to understanding the current market, target customers and opportunities for awareness for MobiPET. The overall pet business is on the rise. Pet products and services are pushing the industry revenue up by 3.4% annually. The main reason for this is the number of pet owners is increasing at a rate of 2.2%. In 2005, there were 51 million pet owners in the United States. By 2013, there were 82 million pet owners. Moreover, some analysis implies that the number of pet owners will keep increasing and will be roughly 92 million in 2018. New dogs and cats ownership is forecasted to expand at nearly 4% annually.

This rapid increase in pet ownership can be attributed to several causes.

First, attention is being drawn to the health and emotional benefits behind pet ownership. For example, pet ownership has been shown to lower the risk of heart disease. The baby boomers generation is a second reason for the increase. As their children leave home, “empty

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nest syndrome� motivates them to take on pets. Another rising trend with pet ownership is that more and more owners are treating their pets as members of the family and spending large amounts of money on pet services and products. These factors all contribute to a strong market for MobiPET and other businesses in pet services.

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RETAILERS Collaboration with retailers would be one of the fastest ways to grow awareness of MobiPET. Categorizing the current major retailers by type, location, distribution approaches and target users, built a foundational knowledge of purchase preferences and potential approaches for positioning. A key finding was a list of potential retailers to partner with that are pet friendly. Expected retailers such as Petco and PetSmart would be a great place for MobiPET to being placement. However, 26

unexpected retailers such as Home Depot, Outdoor World and Barnes and Noble are pet friendly and would spread awareness to unexpected users and pet finders. National grocery store and convenient store chains would be strong partners for spreading awareness due to the frequency of customer visits and the alignment with strong retailers people trust.

Another approach would be to tackle regional grocery store chains in key regions for MobiPET (the southeast) before expanding nationally.

SHELTERS/USERS Animal Shelters are MobiPET’s largest network of partners for their backend functionality since they are responsible for bringing in lost dogs every day and returning them to their owners. About 649,000 animals that come into animal shelters as “strays” are returned to their owners every year which means MobiPET’s reach through this partnership has great potential. It was important to analyze how animal shelters were communicating with pet owners as well as which activities they were

participating and/or promoting. This would provide a broader and deeper understanding of where MobiPET might find ways to leverage themselves and reach out to more possible customers. Most animal shelters have websites with basic features that help owners find their pets but nothing as thorough as MobiPET. Additionally, these pages usually have other sections like community events, how to make a donation and even advice and tips for pet care.

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PET LOVERS Understanding the community of pet lovers helps identify who to align MobiPET with for further diffusion of awareness.

The focus would be on what they call themselves, what groups they are apart of, and what kind of events they attend. Uncovering the various professions surrounding dogs such as veterinarians, pet sitters, pet groomers, dog walkers, dog trainers, breeder, chiropractors, shelter administrators, and handlers would help define this group.

We also looked into the organizations that dog lovers are often members of like The American Kennel Club and The Association of Professional Dog Trainers. This information aided us in creating the MobiPET User Matrix..

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MEDIA PARTNERS Building media partnerships will help Mobipet find new customers and expand their audience. MobiPET has an existing partnership with The Weather Channel but there is room for growth with a multitude of other media partners. Large news and national media sources like CNN, NBC, CBS, and ABC could be tapped for far reaching impact. Other pet related media could be used for more topical relationships like for example Animal Planet. Smaller related media sources like Pet Websites

and Pet blogs could also be leveraged. Some examples of websites include SoPets, Web Vets, and Bring Fido. Some examples of popular pet blogs include PawCurious, Keep the Tail Wagging, and Dog Tipper.

These smaller sources will be useful to start while drumming up some initial business when gaining national media partnerships will be more difficult. Leveraging the most impactful media partners will be critical for MobiPETs success on creating more awareness.

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DIGITAL PLATFORMS Digital platforms play a big part in helping Mobipet to reach out to the customers.

To understand the position of Mobipet in the internet search platform, Google is used as the search engine. Different terms such as ‘help lost dog’ and ‘find lost dog’ were tested out to record the search results.

MobiPET did not appear on the first page. The search algorithm results is produced by a search feature of Google called PageRank in which the information on the web page is ranked to be important and relevant to the search terms. In parallel, Google also supplies AdWords feature which allows web pages to seen at top of the search as advertisement.

Social networks are also relevant to help spread awareness. Thus, Facebook and Twitter have been studied due to their popularity. The geo targeting feature on both social networks can spread awareness. With this feature, businesses can target their audience according to their location, gender, age, and interests. As a result, the message will only be directed to specific audience, making the advertising more effective.

Digital resources are critical in today’s environment for getting the word out about new and lower budget startups.

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FACIAL RECOGNITION COMPETITORS Although MobiPET is currently working with image recognition software, it is still important to understand competitors in the lost pet arena that may be finding success with other technologies. The one that could threaten MobiPET the most is facial recognition software. Currently MobiPET incorporates pictures of lost pets into the system but does not utilize facial recognition software to match those images. The two main competitors that surfaced during this research were PIP Pet Finding and

Finding Rover. Both competitors are using a similar structure as MobiPET with the added benefit of facial recognition software. They are also reach utilizing a network of shelters, vets, and rescue agencies to find lost pets.

Finding Rover is especially well positioned and has received extensive media attention. Attention to these competitors is critical in order for MobiPET to differentiate themselves enough to gain an edge.

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NEXT DOOR NextDoor is a private social network aimed at connecting neighbors and communities. NextDoor has a large existing network of users that could prove to have a strong parallel to the target users for MobiPET. It is important to create an understanding on who NextDoor is and how they might help MobiPET through a potential partnership. NextDoor’s core values center around creating a strong sense of community through cooperation in the creation of strong and safer neighborhoods. They 32

have many reputable media and structurally relevant partnerships that contribute to the success of the application across 54,000 neighborhoods nationationally. They currently host a lost pet service that is lacking in thoroughness and could benefit hugely from the thought out services of MobiPET. A partnership would increase the awareness of MobiPET exponentially.

STARTUP MARKETING RESOURCES The research around startup marketing research would helped target tools that could have a large impact on spreading awareness of MobiPET at relatively lower costs. Tools that could prove to be useful are below:

• • •

• • •

A full list of existing resources to maximize these tools can be found at (https://blog.kissmetrics.com/ultimate-guide-startup-marketing/)

Content Marketing - blogs, articles, email subscribers, etc.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Advertising - google adwords, facebook ads, etc

Social Media - facebook, twitter, instagram, etc Conversion Rate Optimization Guerilla Marketing - events, brochures, coupons (Groupon, Living Social)

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USERS

PROFESSIONAL

The user matrix would serve to make sense of some of the user driven secondary research and would help uncover target user segments for spreading the word about MobiPET. Users were thought of in terms of whether or not they would have a high or low influence and whether they were engaged with the pet ecosystem from a professional standpoint or from a recreational point of view.

VETERINARIAN GROOMER KENNEL HANDLER

TRAINER

HELPERS

EXPERTS

WALKER

LOW INFLUENCE

BREEDER

PET GOODS SELLER

LOVERS

PROMOTERS EVENT ORGANIZER

PET OWNER

SHELTER VOLUNTEERS

RECREATIONAL

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HIGH INFLUENCE

SHELTER

Individual users were plotted throughout this matrix and led to four main groups. Pet Helpers hold some level of a professional position in the pet industry but had comparatively less influence. Some user types in this quadrant include pet groomers and pet handlers. Pet Lovers have an appreciation for pets but have very little influence on the pet industry ecosystem. They include pet owners and individual breeders.

The next quadrant Pet Promoters include users that deal with pet related or other promotional events. They would typically have more influence but may not be considered professional in the pet industry.

Finally, Pet Experts have a high influence and are professionals in the pet industry. They included users like veterinarians and trainers. Gaining clarity on these user segments provide direction when moving awareness forward.

COMPETITORS AND COMPLEMENTORS

BROAD REACH PETFINDER PETFINDER SOCIAL NETWORKS PET AMBER ALERT

CRAIGSLIST

FACIAL RECOGNITION PRODUCT PARTNERS

MEDIA PARTNERS

EVENT ORGANIZATION RETAILERS

PET GOODS RETAILER

SHELTERS NEIGHBORHOOD S/N

PET MICROCHIP

PET SERVICES VETS

LOCAL NEWS

PRO ASSOCIATIONS

LOCAL EVENT ORGANIZATIONS LOCAL BUSINESSES

MOBI PET

H.O.A.S

NARROW REACH

LOCAL KENNEL CLUBS

PET LOVER

PET NEUTRAL

NATIONAL KENNEL CLUBS

We plotted competitors and complementors for MobiPET along the scales of their reach (narrow to broad) and their association with pets (neutral or lover. MobiPet’s competitors are shown in navy and complementors are shown in white. Key competitors include pet microchips, facial recognition competitors, and a pet amber alert. Pet microchips and facial recognition competitors like Finding Rover are especially threatening to MobiPETs success due to their current position in the market as go to resources for tracking and finding pets. Complementors include neighborhood based social networks or homeowners associations, national kennel clubs, and pet goods retailers.

It is important for MobiPET to align with existing networks of users so as not to waste time organically growing a user base.

Along with partnering with these types of organizations MobiPET could provide sharing capabilities for existing users to spread the word through their own large user networks such as email contacts, facebook and twitter. Aligning with large national organizations and businesses that have strong quality reputations in the pet industry ecosystem is another direction MobiPET should move towards in order to expand relevant awareness.

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CUSTOMER JOURNEY: DISCOVERY Our Discovery Customer Journey model was created after gathering information on how users can currently become aware of MobiPET and also around ideas for the future of awareness. The information was plotted onto a customer journey map dedicated to the service discovery phase. In the present section, the journey demonstrates how awareness is gathered through an internet search, MobiPET social media outlets, existing partners to date, word of mouth through gated communities, 36

and business in the pet industry currently aware of MobiPET. Future opportunities for user discovery of MobiPET are boundless however the research was focused on a few keys resources: internet advertising, media broadcast and print, pet associated local and national events, community events in general and expansion of pet industry business awareness.

UNRECOGNIZED PUNCTUATION MARK ON REFERRAL CODE

!

REGISTRATION VISIT MOBIPET.COM

REGISTER PET

HOMEPAGE OUR STORY

PARTNERS

FIND MY PET

NAME

E-MAIL

PET PHOTO

PASSWORD

CELL PHONE

PET NAME

ADDRESS

COMMUNITY

PET GENDER

RED STAR@RESCUE

VETERINARIAN / VET CLINIC INFO

FINISH REGISTRATION

SPECIES, BREEDS PET AGE COUNTY LICENSE

REFERRAL CODE

NAME

E-MAIL

RECEIVE A CONFIRMATION EMAIL

DOG & CAT

ONLY IN SC

SIGN IN

REFERRAL INFO

PET INFO

PRESENT

FAQ

SERVICE OFFERING

OWNER INFO

!

!

DISCOVERY LOCATIONS SHELTER RESCUE RED STAR® DISASTER AREAS

RED STAR RESCUE PAGE

SEND AN INSTANT PICTURE ALERT

PET OWNER

VISIT MOBIPET.COM

FIND MY PET

IN A CURRENTLY RED STAR® DEPLOYED DISASTER AREA

NOT IN A CURRENTLY RED STAR® DEPLOYED DISASTER AREA

WAIT FOR RESULT

FIND MY PET

CUSTOMER JOURNEY: USER EXPERIENCE This user experience journey map is mainly about the stages of registration and finding the pet through MobiPET‘s official website.

After a user has gained awareness about MobiPET through various channels, they begin the registration process. One paint point is around entering the tag number. The tag number field requires a specific entry of no dashes and no spaces. Without instruction or character limitation

this is deceptive since the physical tag includes dashes. A second pain point occurs around picking the neighborhood since the drop down list is very limited. Finally, there is opportunity to make this an inviting and informative exchange with the new user.

The find my pet journey is based on assumptions and the opportunity is to add a tracking system to keep the user informed during the process.

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PET PROMOTER After completing the user matrix the next step was to further develop the four main quadrants of users. In order to better understand these quadrants personas were equipped with empathy maps.

Additionally “dog-sonas� were added to each of the personas to more closely align with MobiPET. The Pet Promoter is a 28 year old named Ralph who owns a pet bakery in Savannah.

He is recently married and owns his own dog, Slinky.

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PET LOVER The Pet Lover is a 22 year old student, Shelia Thorne. She is currently in school and away from her family dog, Chewy.

She loves pets and wishes she could be around Chewy.

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PET EXPERT The Pet Expert, Brian, is a 41 year old veterinarian who owns two dogs, Darby and Luna.

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PET HELPER Finally, the Pet Helper is a 54 year old part time dog walker, Michele. Michele had her own dog Wakita who went missing.

Instead of getting a new dog she decided to become a dog walker. Creating dog-sonas proved to be very useful in defining who these potential MobiPET users are and how their pets are important to them.

Paired with these personas are empathy maps that help fill out the story of each user. This was executed by understanding what these kind of people might think, feel, hear, and do, and what are their pain and satisfaction points.

Moodboards with pictures of both the persona, dog-sona and activities around them were developed to understand them more deeply. Personas help develop empathy for potential users and refine business offerings to more strongly align with these needs and wants.

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WORKSHOP THE GOAL OF THE WORKSHOP WOULD BE TO PRODUCE A MULTITUDE OF IDEAS AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF CREATING AWARENESS. WE DOVE INTO WHAT WE ALREADY LEARNED ABOUT MOBIPET AND THE INDUSTRY TO HELP US UNCOVER SOLUTIONS.

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Setting the Scene WARM UP ACTIVITIES WERE CONDUCTED SO EVERYONE COULD GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER AND BECOME COMFORTABLE WITH ONE ANOTHER

With bagels and coffee on the table, and all the participants present the workshop was ready to begin. The workshop was kicked off with a brief introduction of Mobipet. After this users were encouraged to read and sign a failure pledge. The failure pledge was meant to promote an environment where everyone would feel free to share any idea they might come up with regardless of how realistic it might be.

Next the participants were asked to fill out their information for their nametags, including name, from, and their spirit dog. The activity we called ‘Fetch’ included have the participants pass a tennis ball to one another and whoever got the ball got to introduce themselves and to talk about their chosen spirit dogs. Different answers were chosen for this activity ranging from the participants’ pet dogs to cartoon character dogs. These warm up activity were conducted so everyone could get to know each other and become comfortable with one another.

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PARTICIPANTS WERE ASKED TO SIGN THE FAILURE PLEDGE TO BUILD AN ENVIRONMENT OF TRUST WHERE IDEAS COULD FLOW FREELY.

NAMETAGS WERE GIVEN OUT TO ALL PARTICIPANTS AS A STARTER TO THE WARM-UP ACTIVITIES.

A TENNIS BALL WAS USED TO PLAY A GAME WHERE PARTICIPANTS SHARED THEIR CHOSEN SPIRIT DOGS.

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Research Walkthrough THE SCAD TEAM SHARED THE INFORMATION THAT HAS DUG UP AND ANALYZED IN THE WEEKS PRIOR TO THE WORKSHOP

After sufficiently warming up the workshop moved into the research section. This section was dedicated to sharing the information that the SCAD team has dug up and analyzed in the weeks prior to the workshop.

This section began with the facilitator going into a bit more detail on who MobiPET is as a company and the floor was opened up to Dave Ropes to explain further and to provide an update on the current state of MobiPET. After this introduction, the workshop was moved into an explanation of the four main user personas. The facilitator went through Pet Lovers, Pet Helpers, Pet Promoters and Pet Experts by reviewing the personas, “dog-sonas�, and empathy maps.

The next topic of discussion was the user matrix. The first step here was to explain the attributes for the axis on the matrix and where the individual users sit on this matrix. We discussed how these individual users led us to create our four main categories of users.

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After explaining the matrix in detail the activity was shifted into an interactive activity where participants were able to discuss the placement of the current users and suggest some additional users of their own.

THE FACILITATOR PRESENTED THE PERSONAS OF MOBIPET’S USERS WHICH WERE DERIVED FROM RESEARCH.

THE FLOOR OPENED WITH THE FACILITATOR GIVING AN INTRODUCTION TO MOBIPET, GUIDING PARTICIPANTS TOWARD THE SUBJECT OF THE WORKSHOP.

THE FACILITATOR INTRODUCED THE USER MATRIX WHICH PARTICIPANTS WERE LATER ASKED TO CONTRIBUTE TO AND EXPAND ON THE CONTENT OF THE MAP.

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DIFFUSION CURVE ACTIVITY After the completion of the user matrix activity the facilitator moved the group into the diffusion curve activity. The diffusion curve is a bell curve that is representative of how customers adopt new products, services, or ideas. It can be a useful tool when identifying innovators, early adopters and early majority users. The group plotted the user groups from the matrix onto the diffusion curve together. Identifying some of the early users on the diffusion curve can provide a clear cut strategy of who to 52

approach first when trying to create an expansion of awareness. Pet good sellers fell far on the left side of the diffusion curve and should therefore be approached as early as possible since they could help spread awareness and would provide reputable partners that would elevate MobiPET’s reputation. Trainers and Vets also fell far to the left and should be approached as early as possible as MobiPET begins to build partnerships and relationships with users in the pet industry ecosystem.

COMPETITORS AND COMPLEMENTORS MATRIX Once finished with the diffusion curve activity the facilitator led the group through the competitors and complementors matrix. This matrix highlighted businesses and organizations that could provide an impact on MobiPET. This diagram is described in more depth in the research section.

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EDITED MODELS With the help of our workshop guests, the team gained new insight into the models we built from our research. The images to the right show the additions and corrections made during the course of the workshop.

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ADDITIONS TO THE USERS MODEL.

USERS PLOTTED ON A DIFFUSION CURVE.

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ADDITIONS TO THE COMPETITORS & COMPLEMENTORS MODEL.

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PARTICIPANTS WERE ENCOURANGED TO INTERACT WITH THE BUZZWORDS ACTIVITY BY WRITING THEIR IDEAS DOWN AND PLOTTING THEM ON TO THE MAP.

THE PROBLEM STATEMENT, HOW MIGHT WE CONNECT MOBIPET WITH PARTNERS, USERS, AND EXISTING NETWORKS IN ORDER FOR THE SERVICE TO REACH CRITICAL MASS, THAT WOULD GUIDE THE WORKSHOP WAS LATER REVEALED TO THE PARTICIPANTS AFTER THE BUZZWORDS ACTIVITY.

BUZZWORDS ACTIVITY After completing the diffusion curve activity the group worked through one final activity called BuzzWords. This activity highlighted key words from the soon to be revealed opportunity statement. The objective of this activity is that it would allow the participants to start forming their own personal understanding on these key words that would make up the statement and lead us into the ideation phase of the workshop. The keywords that were selected were partners, users, existing networks, critical 58

mass, and connect. It was a successful exercise in that participation was high and individuals had some varied understanding of what each word meant to this. This worked as a strong primer for moving into ideation.

After this activity the opportunity statement below was revealed to the participants and the group moved into a short break before the next section.

USER JOURNEY MAP DISCUSSION During break there was some discussion around the user discovery journey map and user experience journey map. These models were not directly incorporated into the workshop but were brought in to be discussed more casually during break periods. They are discussed in more detail in the research section.

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MIND MAP: LOST THINGS After a short break, a warm up activity was facilitated to increase creative thinking energy before moving into the bulk of the ideation. A mind-map was used to brainstorm on the subject of lost things (pets excluded).

Ideas were exchanged and built between the participants allowing us to create an ecosystem on the subject. This activity was meant to get the dynamic of the group going by collaborating and building on each other ideas. It would simultaneously serve to get the group back into the 60

mindset of thinking about MobiPET’s service through a tangential topic on how we lose and find different things in our lives.

GOALS AND WISHES The next section of the workshop would comprise the bulk of the brainstorming or solutioning around our task at hand. The opportunity statement below was reviewed and participants were encouraged to think of solutions by framing them as ‘I wish’ statements. Framing solutions this way encourages participants to become a bit more free with their suggested solutions.

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How might we connect MobiPET with partners, users, and existing networks in order for the service to reach critical mass?

POWER DOTS After 40 minutes of working on the “Goals and Wishes” portion of the workshop, a total of nine flipboard pages were filled with possible ideas to work around for MobiPET and the awareness topic. The facilitator then proceeded to guide the group through voting or “power dotting” on the ideas they felt more inclined to keep working on during the rest of the workshop. Each person received four stickers to select their prefered ideas, and were able to use all their stickers in one idea or in four

different ones. By the end of the voting process, the facilitator started to identify cluster areas where similar or related wishes could be grouped into bigger ideas or possible concepts to tackle in the solidifying section.

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1

2

3

• I wish I had more media partners.

• I wish my neighbors knew about MobiPET. • I wish awareness could happen quickly.

• I wish all shelters would be in one network.

• I wish schools were notified about MobiPET. • I wish there was strong product placement for MobiPET. • I wish my dog came with MobiPET. • I wish a celebrity endorsed MobiPET. • I wish pet finders knew about MobiPET. • I wish MobiPET was the standard.

• I wish MobiPET could go viral.

• I wish there was an e-shop.

• I wish I didn’t need MobiPET. • I wish MobiPET had more functions.

• I wish MobiPET’s Ads could be on every pet food packaging.

• I wish MobiPET could help me find more things.

• I wish MobiPET connected me to vets.

• I wish MobiPET recommended services.

• I wish MobiPET provided me with a pet community.

• I wish MobiPET was on bill boards.

• I wish white house dogs had MobiPET. • I wish MobiPET was mandatory/law.

• I wish MobiPET was a part of licensing.

• I wish MobiPET became a national database of pets.

• I wish I could monetize my database.

• I wish landlords required MobiPET. • I wish hotels provided MobiPET. • I wish I could partner with an airline.

• I wish there was an insurance discount.

• I wish my pet collar came with MobiPET. • I wish there were MobiPET ‘glamour shots.’

• I wish MobiPET would record memories of my dog pictures.

• I wish MobiPET created a scrapbook of my dog.

• I wish we partnered with pet photography.

• I wish the tag numbers were customizable like vanity plates.

• I wish MobiPET was a gift or promotion.

• I wish MobiPET came as a postcard.

• I wish MobiPET had special occasion packaging for holidays.

• I wish we could pay it forward with MobiPET. • I wish MobiPET was featured on puppy bowl.

• I wish MobiPET had car partnership.

• I wish MobiPET came with pet loss prevention items.

• I wish MobiPET educated me/assured me.

• I wish MobiPET found every missing pet.

• I wish MobiPET had a disaster toolkit.

• I wish MobiPET would be offered by breeders.

• I wish MobiPET was offered by communities (service dog.)

• I wish MobiPET was given as a corporate gift (pet friendly companies).

• I wish I knew the head of Human Resources.

• I wish MobiPET would replace microchips.

• I wish MobiPET weekly newsletter reached 1 million people.

• I wish MobiPET could track and report negligence from their owners • I wish MobiPET offered training

4 • I wish I could discuss MobiPET informally.

• I wish MobiPET was a meme.

• I wish MobiPET was a present at dog events.

• I wish there was an ‘egg hunt’ for MobiPET. • I wish MobiPET was attrac tive to dog finders.

• I wish MobiPET had a tracing feature.

• I wish MobiPET had photo/ video galleries.

• I wish MobiPET rewarded me for finding/returning a dog.

• I wish MobiPET taught me how to not lose my dog.

• I wish MobiPET gifted finders with free registration.

• I wish MobiPET allowed me to post rewards.

• I wish MobiPET had sponsors to fund rewards.

• I wish MobiPET partnered with invisible firms.

• I wish MobiPET had a brick and mortar location.

• I wish MobiPET partnered with a ubiquitous brands (starbucks, grocery, gas

stations).

• I wish MobiPET partnered with individual finders • I wish MobiPET partnered with airbnb.

• I wish MobiPET partnered with uber (Uber Woof).

• MobiPET inspired Uber.

• I wish MobiPET partnered with mall carriers and delivery services.

5 • I wish MobiPET was in sky mall.

• I wish MobiPET partner with airlines to transport lost pets.

• I wish MobiPET had a fleet of small planes to find pets during disasters .

• I wish MobiPET had a dog training service and it was hosted in an exotic location.

• I wish I knew how far away my lost pet was.

• I wish I had a finder app on my phone with a direction arrow and distance.

• I wish MobiPET had a navy seal who would shoot anyone who attempted to steal a pet protected with MobiPET. • I wish MobiPET could find all lost animals.

• I wish users had to register with MobiPET at check-in, then check out triggered upsell opportunities.

• I wish MobiPET offers were included at check-out.

• I wish MobiPET sponsored ‘Barking Lots’ (play and relief areas).

• I wish my phone could show my pet’s location.

• I wish MobiPET let me check on my dog at work.

• I wish MobiPET can flag the location of where my dog is.

• I wish MobiPET will deliver my lost dog by airmail (express).

6 • I wish MobiPET can reach some rural areas to help pets.

• I wish MobiPET would partner with toy manufacturers.

• I wish MobiPET came with my car wash.

• I wish MobiPET sent me holiday coupons through their app to buy products or services with a discount.

• I wish there were a ‘MobiPET kids.’

• I wish MobiPET had a huge presence in coastal communities.

• I wish MobiPET had a dog suit.

• I wish MobiPET could star trace dogs.

• I wish kids received a note from MobiPET saying “We’re on it.”

• I wish MobiPET had a way for me to list my dog’s interests (like swimming) so people would be more likely to find them.

• I wish MobiPET felt like a beacon of hope (like the lighthouse).

• I wish MobiPET was connected to the coastguard.

• I wish there was a global universe of a MobiPET community.

• I wish MobiPET had an ‘at home button.’

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• I wish MobiPET created a passport for my dog’s global travel.

• I wish MobiPET tracked my dog’s ‘travel’ history.

• I wish MobiPET had a park.

• I wish MobiPET had an interactive game.

• I wish MobiPET prompted me to take new photos and upload updates.

• I wish MobiPET connected me with people who own the same breed.

• I wish MobiPET gave me advice/tips.

• I wish MobiPET would rank my dog’s loss likelihood.

• I wish MobiPET would partner with breed associations.

• I wish MobiPET became my pet’s Facebook.

• I wish MobiPET gave a free trial.

• I wish I knew what to do when I lose my dog.

• I wish MobiPET had a photo booth at events.

• I wish there was a mobile MobiPET. • I wish MobiPET partnered with a service booth.

• I wish that MobiPET was a part of registration at events.

• I wish MobiPET provided a marketing tool.

• I wish MobiPET provided toolkit for marketing.

• I wish bloggers would giveaway MobiPET. • I wish there was MobiPET hide and seek.

• I wish bloggers would write topical content that discreetly promoted MobiPET. • I wish there was a MobiPET pet blog.

• I wish MobiPET had a positive function.

• I wish MobiPET had a pet blogger database.

• I wish MobiPET partnered with pet insurance.

• I wish we could monetize frequent losers.

• I wish Cesar Milan endorsed and sponsored MobiPET. • I wish MobiPET had money to get sponsors and endorsements.

• I wish MobiPET had celebrities in their network.

• I wish MobiPET could work with AHA to certify celebrities.

• I wish MobiPET was in Sharktank.

• I wish MobiPET had television exposure.

• I wish MobiPET had an upcoming string of celebrity reviewers (daytime talk shows).

• I wish MobiPET was on HSN/QVC. • I wish MobiPET had an infomercial.

• I wish MobiPET partnered with dog tv.

• I wish MobiPET sponsored the puppy bowl.

• I wish MobiPET partnered with Animal Planet.

• I wish MobiPET partnered with sport teams.

• I wish MobiPET partnered with youtubers.

• I wish MobiPET leveraged dog shamers.

IDEATION GAME In order to bring the workshop’s participants’ energy level up from such prolonged brainstorming, an additional activity was conducted by one of the team members for a brief 15 minutes. The facilitator gave the group a deck of cards, each card with a different photograph of random activities, places, objects and people. Each person would then pick one card and “force fit” a wish around that image related to MobiPET and then share with the group. The result was very refreshing, developing ideas that were out of the ordinary and centered around the ongoing theme of awareness.

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Idea Framing WE MOVED INTO SOLIDIFYING THE IDEAS INTO CONCEPT STATE. BY RECOGNIZING THE BENEFITS AND ANTICIPATING THE CHALLENGES OF IDEAS WE GOT A BETTER SENSE OF WHAT COULD BE.

After the group had voted and cluster areas were identified, these were checked upon back and forth with the participants to make sure everyone agreed to move forward with the selected groupings.

Afterwards, the facilitator assisted in helping the group name each of the cluster areas under a broader title that could summarize all the wishes it held.

Additionally, the client was asked to identify three ideas he would feel more comfortable in pursuing and one idea he would want to dig deeper into during the last portion of the workshop.

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SOLIDIFYING All the groups are listed in the below: Creating memories Gift More function Educate FACEBOOK UNEXPECTED PARTNERS Mobil for events or parks MEDIA REACH The three topics selected by the client are presented in bold.

The concept that was pushed forward and worked on afterwards is shown in both bold and italics.

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UNEXPECTED PARTNERS The client decided to move forward with the “Unexpected Partners” category, which was mainly focused on reaching partners and sponsors that the usual pet owner wouldn’t expect to be related with pets in the first place.

In order to start working with this concept, the facilitator assited in paraphrasing wishes into more solid opportunity statements or 72

“How might we” statements. The facilitator then conducted a session where the participants would identify advantages and concerns of this approach in order to overcome the concerns by turning them into opportunities as shown to the right:

How might we leverage established off category partners to reach critical mass and increase sales?

Advantages

Overcoming Concerns

•

Picking the right partners

• • • • • • • • • • •

Reaching pet finders (not only pet owners) Leverage network Leverage reach Leverage reputation Leverage assets and database Leverage connections Leverage sponsorship Giving them added value Mutually beneficial Brand positioning and therefore, become leader of pet amber alert Differentiation Building trust

• • • • •

Hold workshop for potentials Buying patterns Researc h for large networks Consumers’ connections Looking at frequency for reach

Making connections • • • • • • • • • •

Take founders’ dogs (just kidding) Leveraging existing connections Emotional reach for pitch Customizing approach with customers Professional conferences Humanizing brand How can we add value to their customers and brand Something they care about Board members Figure out where they market in person

Will it make sense to consumers and/or give conflicting messages • •

Studying buying patterns Align and look for pet culture for potential partners • Agency side to support for direct and indirect branch out Offer enough value to partners • • •

Premium value at discount to partnership Structures of offers Increase goodwill value

How is the idea packaged and/ or delivered • • • • •

RIght package with right idea with right partner Storytelling Easy to execute Keep leveraging Twitter and blogs

Too indirect • •

Storytelling Making and explaining connections 73

How might we maximize facebook’s existing tools, network, and information to make MobiPET the go to service for lost pets?

Advantages

Overcoming Concerns Complexity

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Popularity Large network Existing user base Simple / useful / complete tools Communication between users Instant foods / fast spreading Cheap Data on users Targeting tools Centralized information Diffusion International

• • • •

Select the right tools Simple implementation Clarity Clear communication

Purposeful • •

Thoughtful info sharing Collaboration with other pages

Consistent management • •

Designated staff Social media plan

Info overload • • •

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Target specific audience Geotargeting Simplicity

Too informal • Articles / news • Designate purpose • Clear communication • Set tone Misuse • • • • •

Follow up with users → admin Enforce correct use Anticipate liability Clear communication Set tone

How might we target & win media partnerships & celeb endorsements that create trusted awareness for the mobipet brand?

Advantages

Overcoming Concerns Expensive

• • • • • • • •

Exposure Trust Popularity Critical -> mass → snowball effect Reputation Unexpected users -> pet finders Increase growth & sales Subtle messaging

• • • •

et investors G Find people that don’t cost $$ Volunteer Philanthropy

Time consuming/Human resources • • •

Effective and Efficient Communication Planning

Reputation/Consistent/ Association/Picking the right • • •

Vetting Researching BG check

Timing • Solid Business plan with external feedback before approaching anyone

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Conclusion BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE OUTCOMES AND BENEFITS OF OUR WORK.

The research and subsequent workshop proved to be hugely successful and provided the participants with a plethora of solutions and potential direction for opportunities around the problem of creating awareness for MobiPET. Overall the participants expressed appreciation for the outcome.

The hope is that this effort can be utilized going forward for solutions but also as a blueprint for potential opportunity finding efforts for MobiPET around other topics that need to be addressed as they grow.

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References A LIST OF THE SOURCES FROM WHICH WE GATHERED DATA TO SUPPORT OUR RESEARCH MODELS AND IDEATION.

8 Major Retail Stores That Allow Dogs. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://iheartdogs.com/8-major-retail-stores-that-allow-dogs/

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Brough, C (n.d.). Pet businesses will prosper: Industry trends for 2014 and beyond. retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www.multibriefs.com/ briefs/exclusive/pet_businesses_will_prosper.html#.VkPlj1UrKUk

American Kennel Club. (n.d.).Cannie Good Citizen. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www.akc.org/dog-owners/training/canine-good-citizen/

Crimereports Official Website. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from https:// www.crimereports.com/

The Association of Professional Dog Trainers. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2015, from https://apdt.com/

The debate clock: Which issues got the most time. (2015, November 11).

Retrieved November 12, 2015, from http://www.npr.org/

Born Free USA. Ten Fast Facts about Pet Shops. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?more=1&p=447.

Fédération Cynologique Internationale. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www.fci.be/en/

Finding Rover. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www. findingrover.com/ FranChise Help (n.d.). Pet Care Industry Analysis 2015 Cost & Trends.

Retrieved October 21, 2015, from https://www.franchisehelp.com/ industry-reports/pet-care-industry-report/

Mobipet. (n.d.). MobiPET in the Press and News. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from https://mobipet.me/Press-and-News# Package Facts, (Jan 29, 2015) Packaged Facts: Key Trends Shaping the U.S. Pet Industry. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/packaged-facts-keytrends-shaping-the-us-pet-industry-300028033.html

Google. (n.d.). Google AdWords Express. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from https://www.google.com/adwords/express/ Google. (n.d.). See a page’s importance using PageRank. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from https://support.google.com/toolbar/ answer/79837?hl=en HSUS. (n.d.) Pets by the Numbers. Retreived October 21, 2015 from http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/pet_overpopulation/facts/ pet_ownership_statistics.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Pet Care Industry Analysis 2015 - Cost & Trends. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2015, from https://www.franchisehelp.com/industry-reports/petcare-industry-report/ Pet Industry Market Size & Ownership Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_ industrytrends.asp The Pet Recognition App. (2013, July 30). Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www.petrecognition.com/

Hutchinson, P. (2014, February 19). How to Use Geo-Targeting through Social to Find Your Audience. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http:// blogs.constantcontact.com/target-audience-social-media/ IBISWorld (2015). IBISWorld Industry Report 45391 Pet Stores in the US, IBISWorld Inc. Jack Onofrio Dog Shows. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http:// www.onofrio.com/ Kusek, K. (2014, October 11). 5 Ways Facebook Geo-Targeting Will Change Your Life. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/ sites/kathleenkusek/2014/10/11/5-ways-facebook-geo-targeting-willchange-your-life/ Missouri-Kansas. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www. outfrontmedia.com/pages/default.aspx

Programs. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www. americanpublicmedia.org/programs/ Qwilr - Paid Advertising Calculator. (n.d.). Retrieved November 12, 2015, from http://ad-spend-calculator.qwilr.com/ SPCA. (2012) Shelter Intake and Surrender. Retrieved October 21, 2015 from https://www.aspca.org/animal-homelessness/shelter-intake-andsurrender/pet-statistics Sullivan, D. (2007, April 25). What Is Google PageRank? A Guide For Searchers & Webmasters. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http:// searchengineland.com/what-is-google-pagerank-a-guide-forsearchers-webmasters-11068

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Thompson, S. (2015, March 14). Bluffton startup pushes pet ‘Amber Alert’ system. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www.blufftontoday. com/bluffton-news/2015-03-15/bluffton-startup-pushes-pet-amberalert-system#.VkOQBPmrSUk Top 100 Retailers. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2015, from https://nrf. com/resources/annual-retailer-lists/top-100-retailers TuneIn: Listen to online radio, music and talk stations. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://tunein.com/ United States Kennel Club. (n.d.). USKC facebook page.

Retrieved October 21, 2015, from https://www.facebook.com/ unitedstateskennelclub The Villages Homeowner Association. (2015, June 1). Mobipet. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from http://www.thevha.net/mobipet/ Warren, R. (n.d.). The Ultimate Guide to Startup Marketing. Retrieved October 21, 2015, from https://blog.kissmetrics.com/ultimate-guidestartup-marketing/

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THANKS!

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