The Innovator 25:

Ty Montague

Founder

co:collective

"Huge businesses are being built with almost no marketing spend at all. New game. New rules."

For championing the role of storydoing — or advancing a corporate narrative through doing rather than communicating. The emphasis, under this methodology, is on creating compelling and useful experiences drawing upon companies like Red Bull, Tory Burch and Warby Parker as examples. As Montague said in the Harvard Business Review, "When people encounter a storydoing company they often want to tell all their friends about it. Storydoing companies create fierce loyalty and evangelism in their customers. Their stories are told primarily via word of mouth, and are amplified by social media tools."

Describe what you do.
I lead a group of people (65 at last count) who are helping companies of all sizes re-invent themselves for a very different future.

Where are you from/hometown?
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Where are you based now?
New York City

In what area of marketing/PR do you see the most innovation?
Experience design - the best brands today are being built through innovation in the customer experience rather than through communication. Huge businesses are being built with almost no marketing spend at all. New game. New rules.

What is most important for the PR industry to do to foster more innovation?
New service offerings

How do you define innovation?
The creation of a new product, service or business model that grows both the business and the brand.

Most innovative PR/comms campaign you've seen in the last 12 months?
REI big day out

What brands and/or agencies are most innovative when it comes to marketing/PR?
Tesla, Uber, AirBnB, Amazon, Google, REI, Patagonia, Natura, RedBull, Chipotle

Describe a moment in your career that you would consider 'innovative.'
Leaving the advertising business to start co:collective

Something — not PR/marketing related — that is innovative.
Space X

Please give our readers an idea of something that can inspire innovation — this can be a book/movie/podcast/activity/article.
Book: Beyond the Idea. Basically this book points out that anybody can have an innovative idea. It is implementing that idea that separates the winners from the losers

Least favorite time of day?
4 PM (my bio-rythmic low)

Most innovative place in the world? This could be a city, a venue, a neighborhood, etc.
Beyond the usual suspects (DARPA, NASA, Stamford, et al) I think what is happening in Detroit is fascinating. It feels like a forest after a fire... green shoots appearing everywhere, becoming a magnet for interesting people and ideas.

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