A ‘FUTURE OF PLACE’ INNOVATION DAY FOR YOUR TEAM
by Professor Ibrahim Ibrahim
In partnership with The Across Academy, Portland have developed a process to deliver a bespoke ‘Innovation Day’ that helps leadership of shopping places to imagine how their future proposition can be ‘Future Ready’.
The day begins with a provocation, a ‘View from the Future’ keynote designed to shift perspectives and provoke new ideas. It covers key trends that will drive future audience expectations. And revealsthe 4 Pillars of ‘Future Readiness’, and how to develop human-centric ‘Placemaking’. The focus being on the question of;how to turn customers into fans? The keynote will be delivered by Professor Ibrahim Ibrahim, strategist, futurist, designer and author of ‘Future Ready Retail’, and Managing Director of Portland.
The second part of our Innovation Day focusses on future value of shopping places, exploring new value drivers, revenues and metrics. We will share our evidence driven strategic decision-making process that blends data, evidence, and foresight to shape place-based strategies.
This part of the day is facilitated by Paddy Gamble, Portland’s Head of Data & Analytics. Paddy has delivered data driven strategies for some of the leading real estate developers, owners, and investors across the UK, Europe, and globally. He uses analytics to turn data into clear, commercially actionable insights, guiding clients on investment, portfolio, destination and place making strategies.
Paddy will also reveal how we use AI powered data tools to unearth audience behaviours, preferences, sentiment and values. We map social media and on-line engagement in a specific geo-fenced area, and determine where people shop, eat and drink, what brands and influencers they follow, and most critically, what they think; their positive and negative sentiments. As a result, we can offer retailers and asset owners thousands of mystery shoppers, whilst also asking them specific questions about their experience.
“It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
Testimonial
The first two sessions of the day feed into the most critical part, our Innovation Workshop. This is an interactive and collaborative session that explores how might we innovate your proposition through the lens of futures thinking. The workshop is facilitated by Elisa Cecilli, Head of Strategic Foresight at Portland. Elisa is an experienced strategist, trend analyst and researcher, and has worked with business leaders across the globe to help craft compelling strategies driven by futures thinking.
The workshop sets out to anticipate shifts in audience expectations and uncover future needs. We will help map possible future scenarios, future propositions and ‘Future Value’ experience drivers. Finally, we will share ideas on the types of brands, offers, services and amenities that might become your future occupiers.
Of course, we know that such an Innovation Day must record the findings and map out the potential impact. To this end we issue an Innovation Report laying out the key trends and insights, the opportunity mapping, and global best practice benchmarks that resonate with cultures and communities, today and tomorrow.
“It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
Testimonial