Businesses should work with artists to drive innovation

Although it is not a fatal affliction, poverty is a serious condition that severely limits the capacity of artists and creatives to achieve full potential and positively impact both society and commerce.

Ironically, this is a problem that can be remedied if government agencies and private companies intentionally engaged artists to champion public campaigns, drive product innovation and increase customer engagement.

There is a danger of businesses and organisations limiting their understanding of innovation to only improving quality of core products. Yet, innovation ought to be omnipresent and an integral part of an organisation’s DNA.

This is the point that Isadore Sharp makes in his book, Four seasons: The story of a business philosophy.

Sharp, a hotelier, always challenges his designers to think like their target customers.

That way, they came up with designs and fittings that enhanced customer experience and loyalty.

He has adopted the same approach with landscapers, chefs, indeed all workers and this in large part explains why Four Seasons is a successful global brand.

Closer home, manufacturers such as Kenyan Originals have embraced the idea of working with artists, first to improve product presentation, and secondly to enhance customer engagement and user experience.

This start-up is creating buzz among youth simply by changing how simple products like iced tea and ciders are packaged by making them appealing to the eye through catchy designs.

This is a departure from the staid presentation that has become almost synonymous with manufactured goods from Kenya, and which conspires to deny local products the eye appeal they need to attract more consumers.

Given the lengths to which global brands go to gain and retain customer loyalty, it is imperative for more local companies to rethink their understanding of innovation and go beyond their walls to engage artists, not just musicians and celebrities, who can drive their innovation agenda.

Doing so will have two immediately benefits. The first, of course, is by being closer to the people — who also happen to be consumers by default — artists understand emerging social, cultural and consumption trends.

As such, they can align their messaging to create a connection between a product and its potential consumers.

Secondly, organisations will play a significant role in increasing artists’ visibility and reducing poverty.

For artists to enjoy this right and freedom as enshrined in the supreme law, it goes without saying they ought to make a reasonable living from their talent, competencies and capabilities.

One way to ensure this is through paid partnerships with businesses and government agencies.

The beauty with such collaborations is that businesses can claim goodwill as this could be part of their Corporate Social Responsibility, which, when examined critically will lead to a triple win for organisations, consumers and artists.

In other economies, particularly the US, businesses routinely patronise the arts, offering residences, commissioning installations and funding institutions that specialise in giving artists the time, space and money they need to excel in their fields.

This is not something that started the other day. Consider, for instance, that in 1508, the Catholic Church commissioned Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, making him the equivalent of a dollar million in his time.

Yet, in developing countries such as Kenya, poverty is the middle name for artists. Remember how, just last month, Reuben Kigame, a refined local musician, protested over poor returns from his music, yet organisations mandated to collect music royalties routinely fail to account for the money they receive from users.

The point is that commerce and industry is not just about production, transportation and sale of goods and services.

It is a social enterprise in the sense that it is meant to create a holistic ecosystem in which all players benefit from each other’s input, creativity and effort.

Art can be right at the centre of this engagement that unlocks value for all players in the marketplace. 

Businesses do not have to be conglomerates to make a contribution. If anything, because smaller organisations are nimble and more agile in embracing change and riding the wave of emerging trends, they ought to be in the vanguard of championing a movement that creates quality goods that are also appealing in how they are presented to consumers, whether on a supermarket shelf, hotel bed or motor vehicle showroom. — The writer is a Partner and Head of Content at House of Romford — Mbugua@bigbooks.co.ke