PROBLEM Today’s game-changing innovations are no longer the result of a few great minds. These winning ideas require the collective minds of many. But bringing together an entire employee population to focus on strategic imperatives means astronomical travel costs, cumbersome video conferencing, or hundreds of conference calls.

SOLUTION IBM developed the “Jam”—a Web 2.0, time-limited event centered on business-critical issues. IBM has been Jamming since 2001, involving their 350,000+ worldwide employees in all kinds of problem solving. Through partnership with Euro RSCG Discovery, IBM offers customized Jams to their customers and clients, helping organizations large and small solve business problems through collective intelligence.

RESULTS Although Jams have proven hugely successful for IBM and their clients—including a large, well-known pharmaceutical company and an international capital/risk management firm—IBM isn’t resting on their laurels. Together we’re working on design enhancements to make the user interface more friendly, as well as functionality that will improve the Jam experience, such as multi-language capabilities and live chat. Most recently, in October of 2008, IBM hosted another Innovation Jam™ involving thousands of clients, focusing on the “Enterprise of the Future”—which has been lauded by BusinessWeek’s Globespotting column as “Fascinating.” And to meet increasing demand for faster turnarounds and smaller budgets, Euro RSCG Discovery recently helped with the design of IBM’s “mini” Innovation Jam™, an online event targeted for 20,000 participants or less.