Sense Worldwide is a London-based
co-creation Co-creation, in the context of a business, refers to a product or service design process in which input from consumers plays a central role from beginning to end. Less specifically, the term is also used for any way in which a business allows consu ...
consultancy. In 1999 it started the Sense Network, described as ‘one of the earliest web-based communities’. It was one of the first commercial practitioners of co-creation
and Extreme User Research.
It has influenced the development of
Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
Sportswear and
Habbo Hotel among many others. It has received funding from
NESTA
Nesta (formerly NESTA, National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) is an innovation foundation based in the UK.
The organisation acts through a combination of programmes, investment, policy and research, and the formation of part ...
. Nesta named Sense Worldwide alongside
Lego and
Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
as one of the 'Open 100' companies that pioneered
open innovation
Open innovation is a term used to promote an information age mindset toward innovation that runs counter to the secrecy and silo mentality of traditional corporate research labs. The benefits and driving forces behind increased openness have bee ...
.
The Sense Network
The Sense Network has 5,000+ members in over 1,000 cities. Membership attracts radical thinkers, extreme users, creative outliers, misfits, rebels and the crazy ones.
Chief spin-doctor and strategist for
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
,
Alastair Campbell
Alastair John Campbell (born 25 May 1957) is a British journalist, author, strategist, broadcaster and activist known for his roles during Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party. Campbell worked as Blair's spokesman and campaign director ...
wrote in ''Winners: And How They Succeed'' about Sense Worldwide saying “their approach to innovation is to bring in ‘oddballs, freaks, kids, the marginalised, to find out how they’re thinking”.
Sense Worldwide’s innovative approach and how to make a creative leap from analytical thinking to breakthrough thinking was covered in the book ''Dream Teams'' by Shane Snow.
Professor Patrick Reinmoeller of Cranfield University and Alessandro Giudici of Cass have written two academic papers about the scientific validity of this approach, titled 'Transforming the Rules of Innovation (A) & (B).
Co-creation
Sense Worldwide has used co-creation in its work from its inception.
Its work in this area has caused it to be listed as one of the NESTA Open 100.
It has also pioneered the commercial use of extreme user research, building on the Lead User ideas of
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
's
Eric von Hippel
Eric von Hippel (born August 27, 1941) is an American economist and a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, specializing in the nature and economics of distributed and open innovation. He is best known for his work in developing the ...
Sense Worldwide introduced co-creation techniques to Nike and continues to work with Nike’s running, sportswear and football businesses. It authored the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
report into the lives of young men in Europe,
[“Market Research Agency of the Year” Marketing Magazine (9 Dec 2009) P23] and it contributes to the
Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, ...
's reports and the
Harvard Business Review
''Harvard Business Review'' (''HBR'') is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. ''HBR'' is published six times a year and is headquartered in Brighton, Massach ...
Sense Worldwide’s recent rebranding of the
Young Vic
The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth.
The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...
Theatre in London resulted in the abandonment of its sit-anywhere policy and its new strapline, “It’s a big world in here”
In partnership with Sense Worldwide The Sense Network has worked on over 500 projects for large multi-national brands. One example is the creation of General Electric’s Opal Nugget Ice Maker, in which water sommeliers and expert cocktail makers were enlisted to co-create concepts. The
Indiegogo campaign raised more than $2.7M making it the 9th most backed project on the platform in 2015.
Sense Worldwide in popular culture
No Wax
In London in 2003 Sense Worldwide launched the first iPod
DJ night with NoWax. There was no DJ. Instead dancers took turns to play floor-filling music in the night club. Resources for the event were open sourced, and NoWax nights have been staged in cities from Derby to Singapore and Tokyo.
I Heart My Chair
In 2007 the Sense Network was asked to photograph and write about their favourite place to sit. The resulting book, I Heart my Chair, was widely distributed.
I Heart MyT-Shirt
Building on the success of its I Heart My Chair initiative the Sense Network launched a campaign to find people’s favourite T-shirts.
Notes
{{Reflist
* July 2002, Richard Donkin "Give your creativity a chance to run free", ''The Financial Times'', London
External links
Sense WorldwideThe Sense NetworkSense Worldwide BlogNESTA Open 100
Companies based in the City of Westminster
International management consulting firms
Branding companies of the United Kingdom
Public opinion research companies
Market research companies of the United Kingdom