Ideathon Ideas for Company: Explore Ideas, Evaluation Criteria & More

In today's competitive business landscape, companies must continuously innovate to stay ahead of the curve. Consequently, the importance of generating new ideas cannot be overstated. Ideathons play a crucial role in fostering creativity by providing participants with an avenue to express their thoughts freely without fear of judgment.

What are Ideathons?

An ideathon is an event or competition where participants come together to generate and pitch innovative ideas within a specific timeframe. It is a collaborative event that encourages creative thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork, with the goal of developing new and groundbreaking solutions to various challenges or problems.

Ideathons aren’t restricted to a company’s employees. They can be open to individuals outside the organization as well. Like Hero MotoCorp did with its Hero CoLabs design challenge.

The Hero CoLabs design challenge:

Hero CoLabs is a design challenge where Hero and Unstop collaborated to create a platform that could host multiple design challenges open to everyone - from working professionals to students. Participants worked on designing the two-wheeler (or other deliverable, as per the problem statement). Winners had a chance to see their designs actually go from the vision board to the store.

Such ideathons, where participants aren’t employees, can be a great tool to connect with the target audience, boost customer engagement, and enhance brand recall. Now that we’ve established how ideathons are tools of innovation, let’s take a look at the key considerations for planning one.

Key Considerations for Conducting Ideathons

Collaborative and Creative Environment

One of the key factors to consider before planning an ideathon is the opportunity it presents for employees to showcase their creativity and problem-solving skills. Open communication can help here, ensuring that all participants feel valued and heard.

By fostering a collaborative atmosphere, the event becomes a platform for innovators to come together and leverage each other's strengths toward a common goal. For example, teaming up individuals from different departments or with diverse skill sets can lead to fresh perspectives and well-rounded solutions.

Adequate Timelines

When organizing an ideathon, management should ensure that participants have ample time to brainstorm, collaborate, and refine their ideas before presenting them. Providing this time is crucial as it allows individuals not only to develop innovative solutions but also demonstrates their ability to think critically under pressure.

Define Objectives and Themes

Establishing clear objectives and themes helps participants focus their ideas on specific areas that align with the organization's goals. For example, if an organization values sustainability, then an ideathon focused on reducing environmental impact or minimizing waste could be highly beneficial.

Defining clear objectives and themes also allows companies to harness collective creativity in a way that directly contributes to their strategic priorities.

Set Guidelines

Establishing specific guidelines and criteria for idea submission ensures that all submitted ideas meet certain standards related to feasibility, relevance, originality, and potential impact.

Ideathon Ideas For Company

The most important factor for organizing any ideathon is that it aligns with the company’s overall objectives. Once the purpose is clear, it’s easier to brainstorm ideathon ideas for company and pick the one that’s both, feasible and serves the original purpose.

Here are some ideathon ideas that you can study to understand how these events function:

Inclusive Play

Theme: An ideathon that focuses on designing games and activities for diverse abilities and needs. This could include creating accessible gaming platforms, sensory-rich learning experiences, or inclusive outdoor spaces. Participants can be challenged to design braille-based board games, VR experiences for people with disabilities, or adaptable playgrounds for all ages and abilities.

Level Up Your Experience

Theme: This ideathon focuses on creating innovative ways to enhance customer engagement and loyalty. Organizations can launch a week-long online challenge where customers submit ideas for improving their experience via a dedicated platform. This could include surveys, open-ended questions, and even creative contests like video submissions.

Pay For The Future

Theme: The idea here is to develop innovative payment and commerce solutions with the potential to transform the future of payment experiences. Such ideathons can help organizations spur the development of new technologies and solutions that improve the payment experience for consumers and businesses. It can also help tap into emerging industry trends and adapt to evolving customer needs.

Real-life example! NCPI RuPay conducted a similar ideathon on Unstop, where college students from across India ideated and designed a completely new digital payment instrument. Find out more about the NCPI RuPay ON-THE-GO Designathon here.

Future-Proofing Your Content

Theme: An ideathon where participants navigate the evolving landscape of content creation in the age of AI, interactive media, and shifting audience preferences. Challenge participants to create a particular type of content (jingle for an ad, promotional song, video script, etc.) that can be adapted to new-age platforms and integrated with AI.

Real-life example! Recently, Unstop collaborated with Jio Creative Labs to host the Creative Hackathon, inviting participants to write a rap song or jingle for the Indian Premier League.

Multi-Track Ideathons

Another unique way to approach ideathons is to host multi-track ideathons. This enables organizations to focus on different ideas, as well as invite diverse participants. For example, an organization can conduct an ideathon on sustainability with a track each on environmental and social challenges. Alternatively, organizations can divide tracks on eligibility criteria, opening one for employees and the other for students.

Take for instance Tata Steel TomorrowLAB 2023, which was divided into two tracks:

Student Track - All students pursuing B.Tech, M.Tech and MBA irrespective of their specialization and year of study.
Employee Track - All Tata Steel Group Employees.

Evaluating Ideathons

When evaluating ideathons, there are several factors to keep in mind:

Quality: It is important to consider the quality of the ideas generated during the ideathon. Are they innovative and unique? Do they have the potential to solve the problem or address the challenge at hand?
Feasibility: Evaluating the feasibility of the ideas is also crucial. Are they practical and realistic? Can they be implemented within the given constraints?
Diversity: When assessing ideas, consider if there are a variety of perspectives and approaches represented. This can lead to more well-rounded and comprehensive solutions.
Collaborative approach: Another factor to consider is the level of collaboration and teamwork displayed during the ideathon. How well did participants work together and build upon each other's ideas?
Impact: Lastly, it is important to evaluate the overall impact and potential of the ideas. Will they create value and make a meaningful difference?

By considering these factors, one can effectively evaluate the success and potential of an ideathon.

When choosing ideathon ideas for company, start by considering the key factors, aligning your theme with the overall objective, and setting effective judging criteria. Refer to the ideathon ideas listed above to kickstart your journey and get innovating!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is an ideathon?

An ideathon is a collaborative event where employees come together to brainstorm and develop innovative ideas for the company within a specified timeframe.

2. How can organizations benefit from hosting an ideathon?

Organizations can benefit from hosting an ideathon by tapping into the collective creativity of their employees, fostering team collaboration, and generating fresh ideas to address business challenges or opportunities.

3. Who should participate in an ideathon?

Participation in an ideathon is typically open to all employees across different departments or teams within the organization. Encouraging diverse participation can lead to more varied and innovative ideas. Organizations may also host ideathons that are open to individuals outside of the workplace.

4. How long does an average ideathon last?

The duration of an average ideathon varies depending on the organization's preferences, but it often ranges from one day to a week. The timeline allows participants enough time for idea generation, refining concepts, and presentation preparation.

5. Are there specific criteria for evaluating ideas during an ideathon?

Yes, organizations often establish evaluation criteria based on factors such as feasibility, relevance to business objectives, potential impact on stakeholders or customers, scalability, and alignment with company values and mission.

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Srishti Magan

Sr. Content Editor

I’m a reader first and a writer second, constantly diving into the world of content. If I’m not writing or reading, I like watching movies and dreaming of a life by the beach.