Newell Rubbermaid Gets A Fresh Perspective
As part of an ongoing effort to better understand the “next generation,” Newell Rubbermaid partnered with The Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce at Philadelphia University to sponsor the University’s 11th annual Innovation Sprint.On January 22, 2013, more than 150 industrial design students embarked on a one-week intensive challenge to test their design and collaborative skills with a project for the Paper Mate and Rubbermaid brands.
“The main focus is to get us out of our comfort zone and look at our categories in a different light,” says Ian Cunningham, director of industrial design, Newell Rubbermaid. “Who better to do that than 150 students with a completely different perspective?”
Freshmen through graduate students were tasked to create market-ready concepts and provide creative marketing ideas by focusing on products people need and use on a daily basis. Each design team was asked to create a short video featuring the benefits of a current product design. Then, students came up with ideas ranging from inkless writing implements that electronically transmit information to modular storage units that hold the items people want to put down as they enter their homes.
While the challenge produced new product ideas, the main goal was to give the company a glimpse into how these 20-somethings would take their product to market.
“We love how differently they think about solving common problems,” says Cunningham. “The breadth of concepts delivered suggests that this next generation of consumers is not going to be satisfied with the status quo. In order to keep pace we need to continue to find new ways to connect and stay on trend. The PhilaU Innovation Sprint was a pretty good start.”
FAST FACTS
Words of Wisdom
“Working with the students actually encourages our own internal design teams to free up their thought process and inspires new ideas.”
— Ian Cunningham, Director of Industrial Design, Newell Rubbermaid
Learning from One Another
Ian Cunningham, director of Industrial Design for Newell Rubbermaid, works with Philadelphia University students on their storage concepts. ^ Big Company on CampusGretchen Hickman, global director of Marketing and Brand Management for Paper Mate, speaks at the launch of Philadelphia University’s 11th annual Innovation Sprint.
Millennial-to-Millennial Marketing
Newell Rubbermaid brand teams get a glimpse into how Millennials would develop and market products.