Design Thinking Training
Designing a bespoke design thinking workshop and toolkit for the internal innovation team at Life Fitness, then ‘training the trainer’ to enable them to conduct the sessions globally
The Life Fitness marketing department were suffering from the same demands on their time that we all battle with.
They were delivering the marketing essentials brilliantly, but struggling to achieve cut through and amplification for their efforts. This was because all their time was being consumed by ‘hygiene’ activities.
Talented and driven marketeers were growing increasingly frustrated that they were not able to leverage the competitive advantage that Life Fitness can offer, because they simply had too much on their plates.
We worked with Life Fitness to create a global marketing innovation programme that would harvest forward thinking initiatives, and in turn amplify the Life Fitness brand.
We called this programme ‘Hygiene to HALO’.
The premise? Keep doing the ‘Hygiene’ marketing essentials brilliantly, but introduce ‘Halo’ activity that amplifies the brand in critical areas and drives forward our competitive advantage.
Design thinking to drive change
The programme consisted of a series of design thinking workshops to help the team to think differently and surface new ideas. The format was designed to steer participants through a path of divergent and convergent thinking, arriving at unexpected opportunities for ‘Halo’ activity.
We created two canvases that encouraged participants to focus on an audience type, combined with a specific target sector, and then explore opportunities for innovation within that relationship.
The canvases then prompted discussion around desirability, feasibility, and viability within the business, and in turn ownership of the winning idea, to ensure proactivity beyond the workshop itself.
Training the trainer
The design of this type of workshop demands careful consideration and planning. The tools must help lead the participants, but also encourage freedom for conversation to take unexpected turns. This fluidity is integral to the design thinking process.
For this reason we prototyped and iterated the tools with the client to ensure we’d got the balance right. Then we trained Life Fitness team to run the sessions themselves, arming them with facilitation tips and tricks to get the best out of each workshop.
Since then, the programme at Life Fitness is well under way, and there have been whisperings of great ideas being born with each session.
Launching the ‘Halo’ design thinking workshops at Life Fitness has revolutionised the way our marketing department approach innovation. The interactive sessions that Pancentric designed have unlocked some truly exciting ideas and opportunities that we would not have been exploring otherwise.
Heather Sieker, EMEA Marketing Solutions Manager
We look forward to seeing them brought to life, and the Life Fitness brand benefiting globally.