Messe München, a German organiser of trade shows under the label of ISPO has unveiled ISPO Open Innovation, under which, users will help identify industry trends by completing regular surveys. These consumer insights to be collated by Innolytics GmbH, will allow trends to be identified much faster than with traditional market research methods. Users contribute their ideas to the development of new products, thereby helping to establish successful innovations in to the industry market. Innolytics GmbH specialises in conducting future market research and developing digital community platforms, which has already completed the first project, with market research being conducted on the demand and need for travel and outdoor equipment. ISPO Open Innovation started out as a Messe München pilot project in December 2013, with the aim of directly involving customers in companies’ development processes, in which, consumer experts have been testing and evaluating new products from manufacturers in the sports industry ever since. “Open innovation platforms like ISPO’s are revolutionising the relationship between company and customer,” Dr. Jens-Uwe Meyer, CEO of Innolytics GmbH said. “This is a huge competitive advantage, particularly in these times of increasingly tough competition and digitisation.”
