Ashley Knight: Purpose-Driven Innovation: Breaking Barriers and Igniting Emotions

Dec 10

Written By sara .

How can a DJ living with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) reclaim the spotlight and electrify a crowd with his favourite tracks? How can we ensure that athletes feel the uplifting warmth of an audience in an empty stadium during the Tokyo Paralympic Games? These are the thought-provoking challenges that Dentsu Lab has been addressing for over a decade. Founded in Tokyo and now operating in Amsterdam, London, and Warsaw, this creative R&D studio seamlessly integrates design and technology to create exceptional human-centric products, experiences and solutions.

Dentsu Lab seeks to drive meaningful innovations that enhance people's lives while transcending cultural and geographical boundaries. Ashley Knight, Head of Strategy and a member of the leadership team focused on global expansion and market strategy, articulates this objective, emphasising the studio's commitment to extending its impact worldwide.

Growing up in the United Kingdom within a family of buyers, Knight developed a keen commercial eye from an early age. Combined with her passion for storytelling, this perspective led her to delve into the creative aspects of business and marketing. “I fell in love with the idea of storytelling around brands. I used to write my own little adverts and taglines”, she recalls when describing her childhood.

Knight’s creativity, coupled with her curiosity about the role brands play in society, drew her into the agency world. In recent years, she has led teams at international agencies such as Monks, JAM3, and AKQA, specialising in brand experience.

“I think the reason I loved getting into the world of brand experience was because you're designing for something that is much more aligned with human needs and behaviours. It's something that is more emotionally or sensory driven. And I think that became particularly critical coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Suddenly, there was a need to create human connection, entertainment, or just escapism when everything was awful”, she notes.

Brand experience has the power of transporting people to a new space, even if it's just for a minute, Knight affirms. It involves crafting the right narrative, achieving the perfect level of immersion, and using technology to draw consumers out of their comfort zones.

As brands adapt to this evolving landscape, Knight believes the significance of these experiences—empowered by innovative technologies and an amplified need for connection—will only increase, sharpening their purpose in today’s world.

In discussing how Dentsu Lab uses technology to innovate, Knight emphasises that technology should be viewed as a means to an end. “We never start with technology at Dentsu Lab. The technology is always part of the exploration for the solution. "We begin with the human need, alongside a business challenge, considering how we address both whilst also making a positive impact in society".

She insists on the need to conduct research and understand the challenge before exploring different solutions—technology is not always required. “Many people, perhaps due to pressure to innovate in this rapidly changing world, leap onto the latest technology bandwagon. ‘How do I do AI? Do I enter the metaverse? Should I invest in Web3?’ These sweeping questions can lead brands to misplace their investments, thinking they must be involved just because it's trendy”, she affirms.

If appropriate to solve the challenge, technology can create “empathy, proximity, and sensations that may not otherwise exist. It serves as a great equaliser, translating my experience into yours, or a brand's experience into my individual reality”, she adds.

How, then, can technology foster empathy and connection? Knight highlights the emerging potential of augmented reality (AR) lenses. “Imagine a conversation where we could communicate in different languages, with real-time translation bridging gaps—that would forge a connection that might otherwise be hindered by language barriers”.

An outstanding example from Dentsu Lab Tokyo team is Project Humanity. The project aims to create a solution that enables individuals with ALS to interact and communicate with others. Providing them with a renewed sense of autonomy. This initiative employs electromyography to detect muscle twitches in ALS patients who have lost their motor function. In partnership with NTT and DJ Masa, the team focused on finding a way to allow Masa to perform and interact with his audience again the way he wanted. Through muscle signals, the DJ could control a reactive avatar to power his performance for an audience of spectators. Here, technology is harnessed not just for its functionality but also for its capacity to dismantle barriers, entertain and cultivate emotional connections.

Knight underscores the importance of viewing technology as a catalyst for empathy, and connection. “Technology can create proximity and sensations beyond our immediate experiences; it is vital for translating both personal and brand experiences".

Yet, the journey of weaving together form, function, utility, and emotion is full of challenges. "There's always a challenge in balancing these elements," she observes. Understanding the intricate interplay among them is essential in crafting meaningful experiences.

The innovation process drives her team towards rapid prototyping and concept proofing. “Everything's a bad idea until you can prove it otherwise". When you can test an idea with people, in context, in the world, then you are able to quickly determine its value, how it should be designed, what its potential could be, she adds, highlighting the iterative nature that fuels innovation.

As companies increasingly seek meaningful ways to leverage technology amidst a swiftly changing landscape, Knight observes a transformative shift in consumer sentiment. “There's a widening gap between consumer expectations and the current state of brands,” she notes. Many clients are recognising that the path to sustainability and relevance demands immediate, actionable efforts rather than ambitious goals set in the distant future.

Looking ahead, Knight remains optimistic about the ability of brands to adopt meaningful innovation. “The future is about thoughtful and intentional innovation. We must be very deliberate with the solutions we introduce to the world”, she asserts. She is also eager to witness how Dentsu Lab continues to contribute towards the Dentsu proposition of Innovating to Impact, and how the solutions they design intersect across the broader Dentsu network.

She reflects on the potential impact of innovation if companies were to ask themselves a fundamental question each time they launch a new product, service, or experience: "How is this helping people to live a simpler, better, or more meaningful life?". She emphasises that it doesn't always need to be a revolutionary solution; often, it just needs to make someone's day a little easier, highlighting the importance of incremental improvements in the pursuit of meaningful change.

Ashley recommends:

Book: “Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men”, by Caroline Criado Pérez

How can companies be part of the solution?

Embrace Human-Centered Design: Always prioritise human needs when crafting brand experiences. Consider how your products or services can enhance emotional connections and provide meaningful experiences.
Leverage Technology for Empathy: Explore innovative technologies as tools to create empathy and proximity. Reflect on how technology can facilitate deeper human connections rather than simply serve as a functional upgrade.
Iterate and Innovate: Adopt an iterative mindset in your creative processes. Understand that every idea may need refinement, and embrace experimentation as a pathway to successful innovation.
Prioritise Social Impact: Strive for solutions that not only meet business objectives but also contribute positively to society and culture. Think about how your brand can make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.
Cultivate Thoughtful Innovation: Approach your projects with intentionality and thoughtfulness, considering the broader implications of the innovations you introduce. Focus on enhancing the overall well-being and experiences of your customers.