The Vroom & Dreesmann paradox.

The Vroom & Dreesmann paradox is my way to describe the apparent limitations of Addictlab - not being able to make big money on a short period of time.

V&D approached Addictlab last year, attracted to the level of innovation we showed at the resent 100% Design fair in Rotterdam.
V&D is a supermarket chain in Holland, that apparently lost their innovative way of doing things over the last 120 year.

The concept / briefing was brave. Let's define and produce 120 new products to celebrate this anniversary, and put V&D on the map again as a proactive, caring, and innovative brand. V&D wanted to lead again, in stead of keep on tracking behind.

So far so good. In all honesty, I am convinced that with our addictlab-system we can deliver.
Timing was an issue, complete madness, actually, but speed is one of our assets, so I attracted more labresearchers at Addictlab Brussels to start working on this. We do have a huge database of people and concepts.

For me, however, there were some extra points I wanted to add.

First: the selection of ideas and concepts. My personal view on things is that we should think about the social relevance of our actions. Better not just think about the product we create itself, but also about the surrounding that changes because you create.
With a selection of 120 products, we really could make a difference.
One of the concepts I wanted to push was a USB stick with the housing cut out in wood in a West African country.
The Portugese designer Pedro Alegrià wanted to make a point with this design creating a bridge between western society needing new tools like USB sticks, and production facilities in Sao Tomé. (see also Ad!dict inspiration book on GAMING)
Obviously , you could not start sourcing this in China.

Brings me to another important point in collaborations between Ad!dict Creative Lab and companies like V&D: The importance of honouring the designer/creative and the link to the addictlab-system.
This seems so logic: you attract consumers by showing them innovative products, bring authentic (!) stories, explain the reason why, who did it, why, and make a link to the creative mind or group of creatives who are behind it. All should benefit from that. The consumer, the creator, the facilitator (addictlab) and the brand V&D

Now, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't convince the V&D management on those two points.
We had a couple of meetings - one meeting took me 3 hours on the road from Brussels to Amsterdam and exactly 20 minutes for the meeting and then 3 hours back - and it was clear that from their side, they were struggling with the briefing, the sourcing, the concept. Where as the initial briefing was that we'd go as far as possible.

You had the difficult discussion on the 'owner' of the concepts, or at least the communication of the people behind the concepts.
And you had the budget discussions. They wanted to earn money on every of the 120 products. Making it a mere commercial project. Whereas it was and still is my conviction we should add some products that might not sell too well, but create rumour and proof of V&D's clear will to innovate. in that case, the production of those products is an investment, on a branding level, not an income. On the long run, it would generate more business, in stead of short turn income.
Then you see that those big companies are not structured to have a coherence in their actions: each department works on its own. This was clearly a project that was not running through the whole company as a branding opportunity. A pity, it is.

The project didn't take off. With us, anyway. I believe they even saw me as a threat, as someone wanting to put my own brand on 'their' products. Of course, I would have loved to have this addictlab-shop in the shop concept, where you'd go in your supermarket and find products by Addictlab members. I still do, and it's on my wish list ever since. But it would have gone further then just my ego: it would have given 120 creatives a unique platform, it would have given the press 120 reasons and stories to write about the V&D, and a lot of consumers inspiration, humour and a positive vibe

V&D didn't even wanted to have the names of the designers, their companies, or our link. As 'they had too much subbrands' already. Thinking about it now, I'm quite sure I had to stick with our mission, bringing innovation via our system of labmembers. But I see it as a mistake from my end that I couldn't convince them. And of course, I missed a lot of business.
Hence the Vroom & Dreesmann paradox.

Comes a time, comes a place.
Our ADDICTLAB testshop prooves it could work. We just need to find people with the same vision.