design mind or Every Company is a Media Company

For a company like frog, which prides itself on combining emerging technologies and cutting-edge designs and does a lot of work in the digital space, launching a print magazine (design mind) seems to be an odd, nostalgic choice at first sight. Why talk about the future in a medium of the past?

We believe there are a few good reasons for it: Print indicates lasting value; it is a tangible, vibrant expression of our brand and a valuable give-away for clients (so effective that it replaces all other print collateral at frog); and research suggests that executives prefer print over online media. Plus, the magazine looks beautiful and smells good.

But there's a larger rationale at play here: Every company is a media company, as Clay Shirky points out, arguing that every company, no matter what industry, is essentially tasked with gathering and distributing information, both to employees and external audiences. With this paradigm gaining traction, we're witnessing an ironic swap of roles: As traditional media companies move towards becoming software companies (just look at the NY Times' strategy), non-media companies become media companies. Content goes technology, and technology goes content, if you will. The shift is one of strategy but also one of format. Newspapers discover interactive, rich media, while corporate print publications blossom.

Our new print magazine is part of the broader effort to foster us as a media company. We are investing in a host of proprietary media channels -- our design mind platform -- as an effective means to produce and disseminate our own content, illustrating our stories and showcasing our thought leadership. We do this because we sell intellectual capital, culture, and expertise more than anything else. Like our namesake, the jumpy animal, we are as agile as elusive -- the only constant thing at frog is change. This kind of dynamic business requires dynamic content and containers. For our clients we "transform by doing," and in our media channels we "show by telling." And not just one frog story -- many different, ever-changing stories, from multiple perspectives and authors. If you want to have a true conversation, you've got to change the message. Otherwise, you're just monologizing. That's why the voice of frog is the voices of frog. And that's why they don't talk about frog, really; rather, they articulate what they see, feel, and think, their values instead of our value. It is an invitation to write, co-create, and invigorate our brand.

The design mind platform is also a powerful tool for spurring internal innovation. As our employees contribute, they learn, connect, and share. Design mind provides an incentive to acquire and externalize knowledge in a constant dialogue with our industry. It will keep us on our toes, and our minds open.