The itch of lead users in innovation: Thomas Troch at TEDxUHowest
Channel: TEDx Talks
Date: 2013-06-18

Who is Thomas Troch ?

With a background in industrial design and a passion to understand people, Thomas connects brands with their consumers through new techniques like online research communities. After managing research projects for global clients like Unilever, Philips, Heineken and Vodafone he's now focusing on the role of lead users in the innovation funnel. At InSites Consulting, Thomas develops solutions to shape consumer insights and translate them into relevant ideas and concepts. He specializes in co-creation and service design projects.

Thomas is a regular contributor to the research and design community -- speaking at conferences like ESOMAR Qualitative 2012 and Product Design + Innovation 2013, publishing in journals like the International Journal of Market Research and Touchpoint, The Journal of Service Design and lecturing in consumer-centric innovation at universities. He was awarded with Best Presentation at the 8th International Conference on Design and Emotion. As a board member of The Fringe Factory, Thomas is also aiming to attract talented graduates to the research industry.
 
What is this talk all about?

The itch of lead users in innovation

Making things is part of who we are. With the possibilities provided by digital media, we're in the middle of a shift from random acts of creativity by everyday people to organized initiatives like crowd funding and the sharing economy. Fascinated by this evolution, Thomas elaborates on the changing role of 'professional' innovators. In some industries user-created products are already outperforming the output of professional design teams. It's time to face the challenge and capture the talent of lead users while reshuffling existing innovation models.

About TED and TEDx

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)