1. PulsePoint Group
Building On Social Listening Centers:
Crowdsourcing New Product Ideas
A PulsePoint Group Study Conducted in Collaboration with The Economist Intelligence Unit (Wave I – 2012)
1

2. What is Social Innovation?
Leveraging the power, insight
and wisdom of crowds to
generate new ideas through
“networked brainpower” that
produces results AKA:
exponentially more valuable crowdsourcing, co-
creation, idea
than the sum of the individual engines, idea
mining
parts.
2
Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.

3. Did You Benefit This Morning?
Starbucks created an innovation platform, My Starbucks Idea, to generate ideas and
motivate employees to accelerate ideas already generated by the team. This led to the
development of solutions implemented throughout the word, like a splash stick to
Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.
prevent spills from cups. 3

4. “101 Reasons We Shouldn’t Do This…”
Perceived Issues Reality
Legal: IP issues that may lead IP issues handled in guidelines
to disputes and litigation
HR: Violating code of ethics Establish clear guidelines and
and employee rights expectations
Marketing: Capacity to assess Idea management process is
and respond to ideas critical
IT: Get in line Executive sponsors are critical
Everyone: Concern about the Community managers model
quality of ideas and their good behavior, clear guidelines
abusing an open channel and effective moderation.
4
Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.

5. THE FLAVORS
OF SOCIAL
INNOVATION
Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.

6. Types of Social Innovation
Focused:
Limit ideas to
specific
challenges
Open to All: By Invite Only:
Anyone can Selected
submit ideas members can
submit ideas
Wide Open:
Ability to Submit
Any Ideas Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.
6

7. Dell IdeaStorm: “Voice of
customer”
• Michael Dell wanted to inject the “voice of the customer” back into
the hallways at Dell.
• They quickly got stuck in the “we can’t do this” tornado until…
• Michael Dell championed the innovative platform and pushed for its
launch.
“A company this size is not going to be about a
couple of people coming up with ideas. It’s
going to be about millions of people and
harnessing the power of those ideas.”
– CEO Michael Dell
7
Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.

8. Dell: Embracing “Voice Of
Customer”
2005
– Register, create profile
– Submit ideas, promote or
demote ideas, comment on
ideas
2009
– Storm Sessions: Dell
employees can share an
opportunity that needs ideas
2012
– Extensions: Allows users to
expand a proposed idea
– Idea Partners: Identify Dell
employees to get involved with
ideas
– Gamification: Gaming
elements added to provide
added value
– Rock stars: Treat program Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.
8

9. IdeaStorm: The Numbers Speak For
Themselves
• Founded in 2007
• 60,000 registered users
• More than 17,000 ideas
(about 300 per month)
• About 1 million votes
• More than 500 ideas
implemented
• 50% of employees submit
ideas to EmployeeStorm,
Dell’s internal idea
platform
9
Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.

10. Dell’s Ubuntu (Linux) Laptop
• An early Idea Storm idea suggested
selling Ubuntu-equipped machines
alongside their Windows counterparts.
• The idea received more than 130,000
votes.
• Within one year of the product launch,
Dell sold 40,000 Ubuntu machines
without having to advertise.
10
Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.

11. Consulting Firm: Best Ideas to Best
Clients
• A leading global management and IT
consulting firm is creating a managed
service offering
• The offering: “Tap into” intellectual and
creative assets of their employees,
consultants and alumni to solve client
challenges
• Positions the firm as innovative
• Builds new relationships
• Generates incremental revenue
11

12. The Model
Evaluate,
Select the
Activate Package
Client and Deliver
Your Best and
Define the Value
Minds Present
Challenges
New Ideas
12

13. Early Results (For One Large Client)
• 800 target consultants (20% on vacation)
• 586 active participants (>50%)
• 286 new ideas
• 13,687 page views; 1,375 posts
• 33 new ideas received
• 27 new ideas presented to client
• Potential: $30 million in incremental
revenue
13
Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.

14. AT&T’s Innovation Pipeline:
World’s Largest Corporate Crowdsourcing Program
• Employee idea generation “At AT&T, we believe
and collaboration at scale
great ideas can come
and fosters a culture of
innovation from anywhere”
John Donovan
• 100,000 members in 40 Sr. Exec. Vice President,
countries AT&T
• More than 500 ideas per
month
• 30 executive challenges
generated more than 200
potential solutions each
14
Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.

15. AT&T’s Process Works
Tip Phase I: SOCIAL INNOVATION
Vote Submit, vote on, discuss and “invest in” ideas
Collaborate After three months, the top ideas are selected to “pitch”
Tip Phase II: PROTOTYPE
Pitch Founders develop business cases and pitch to “AT&T VC’s”
Tip Phase III: PRODUCTION
Develop Funded ideas are moved from prototype to production and deployment
Tip Phase IV: COMMERCIALIZATION
Launch A successful project could be adopted by an AT&T business unit or
spun off into an external company
15
Copyright © 2012 PulsePoint Group. All rights reserved.

16. Key Learnings
1. Ensure executive sponsor and real commitment to invest in new
ideas.
2. Agree on and win buy-in and commitment for an Idea Management
Process & Timing, from collection to assessment to decision and
response.
3. Provide “focus” for community members’ ideas based on priority
needs and opportunities.
4. Community manager and moderators need to be passionate,
empowered and enabled to engage community members in real-time.
5. Give employees the opportunity to submit ideas. They are a great
source of ideas and can be evangelists for the initiative.
16

17. Key Learnings
6. Have a plan to keep the program fresh and interesting –
brainstorms around specific topics, sharing progress, etc.
7. Recognize top contributors on the site and in other appropriate
forums – this is one of their top motivations.
8. Celebrate ideas that are implemented and make a big deal out of
their contributors.
9. Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and make sure the
team is assessing performance and taking steps to improve it.
Importantly, this also should be across the idea management process.
10. Ensure the selected software platform can’t be easily gamed,
supports the idea management process.
17

18. PulsePoint Group
Building On Social Listening Centers:
Crowdsourcing New Product Ideas
A PulsePoint Group Study Conducted in Collaboration with The Economist Intelligence Unit (Wave I – 2012)
18