Here at Hello Innovation, we thrive on the passion and energy of our team.

From breakout sessions over sushi, to discussing deliverables while laying the smackdown on our state-of-the-art ping-pong table, we like to take traditional business concepts, and turn them on their head…

In short, we think different. And then we execute.

That’s why we’re super excited to let you in on a topic that’s been buzzing throughout our office the past few weeks… our countdown of the most insanely interesting “Think Different” moments of 2013.

We’re sure that when you’ve gone through this list, you’ll see the world in a different light… and hey, it might even help you stay hungry and stay foolish.

Let’s dive in…

 

CEO of Snapchat Turns Down $3 Billion Valuation

The tech world was shocked when rumors surfaced that Facebook wanted to buy mobile picture-and-video app, Snapchat, for $3 billion dollars. It basically exploded when the 23-year-old CEO, Evan Spiegel, turned it down. Let’s also keep in mind that during the valuation, Snapchat had zero revenue stream. You could call it lunacy... or pure brilliance. Only time will tell. Either way,  there’s no question that Spiegel was walking to the beat of his own drum with this decision.

 

Beyonce Releases New Video Album with Zero Marketing

We all know that Beyonce is one of the biggest superstars on the planet… and she happens to think different, too. Earlier this week, Beyonce released a new album. No big deal, right? After all, music stars release albums all the time… except Beyonce released the album with zero fanfare, zero press, and zero marketing. Not even a single on the radio. Just… the album. Along with a music video for every song. Surely such a rebellious approach wouldn’t work? Except the album broke the iTunes sales record, with over 800,000 copies sold in the first three days. We’re not recommending this approach for everyone, but it’s a heck of a way to put “thinking different” in action. Here’s to you, Queen B.

New York City Bans Soda Pop And Gets Denied

Manhattanites and Brooklynites were in an uproar when then-mayor billionaire Michael Bloomberg announced that there would be a ban on sugary soft drinks in New York City. Thousands started to prepare with prohibition-style stores of Coke and Pepsi in underground bunkers… until a Manhattan Supreme Court Judge ruled that the city was not allowed to enforce the regulation. Bloomberg created the ban because he was worried about New Yorkers gaining weight from soft drinks, causing a burden to the health system… and even if it didn’t work in the end, he definitely brought an unusual approach to try to solve the problem.

 

Bitcoin Rises from $13.50 to $1,000 at Its Height

I don’t know what’s crazier, starting a new currency from scratch, or seeing that made-up currency absolutely skyrocket in value. On January 1st, Bitcoins were trading for $13.50 per coin… and then launched into the stratosphere with a valuation as high as $1,200 in early December. It’s now trading between $700 and $800 per coin… there’s so much different thinking here that even Einstein would scratch his head and say… “Huh?!”

 

Edward Snowden Exposes Secret NSA Program

It’s no news that the super-secretive National Security Agency, commonly known as the NSA, has the best hackers in the world. But when one hacker went rogue, the NSA – and the world – was caught unprepared. Edward Snowden “blew the whistle” on a secret program called PRISM that tapped into the cell phone records of American citizens. Love him or hate him, it takes thinking different to break the mold and reveal government secrets… only history will know if what he did was in the right.

 

Oreo Superbowl Tweet

Where were you when the lights went out? I was watching the game with a bunch of friends when the power went out in the Superdome stadium… players stopped playing, coaches stopped coaching, and the whole world sat back and watched… that is, except for the creative marketing team at Oreo. Within minutes, Oreo’s team released this picture (below) which swept the Twitter-sphere into a craze, resulting in millions of eyes on their ad – something that would have cost upwards of $3,000,000 for a commercial. Thanks to Oreo, you can think different and enjoy some chocolaty deliciousness… even when the power goes out.

Amazon Announces Drone Delivery Door-to-Door

In this example, Amazon gets double “think different” points. First of all, they announced that they would eventually be releasing a drone delivery service to ship books and products to its customers… calling it Amazon Prime Air. The idea is different thinking at its finest, but it was also a incredibly successful advertising stunt. You see, they happened to release the news right before Black Friday, ensuring that the news cycle would be continuously talking about Amazon during the heaviest online shopping days of the year. Brilliant? Yes. Thinking different? Absolutely.

 

In Movie Marketing Stunt, Will Ferrell Hosts the News

Hollywood is known for its spectacular stunts to promote new movies, but this particular move gets the prize for most creative… and funniest. Our favorite comedian, Will Ferrell, is starring in the sequel to Anchorman, where he is San Diego’s classiest news anchor. To promote the film, he actually hosted the news in a small town in North Dakota… and the results were hilarious. Not to mention, it generated a lot of free press… like this mention right here. Nice going, Ron Burgundy.

 

Breaking Bad Ended… Gloriously

In a world of monotonous television sitcoms, the writers of the TV series Breaking Bad took their work to another level, with the final series of one of television’s most highly proclaimed shows. Completely unpredictable at every turn, the TV show ended in a blaze of glory. No spoilers here, but there’s a reason that the final episodes had nearly unanimously positive reviews… the exceptional ability of the writing staff, combined with great acting, had America trying to figure out the ending until the very end… and the payoff was well worth it. That’s thinking different in our book.

 

General Motors Selects First Female CEO

Finally, we can’t help but talk about a ground-breaking example of “thinking different” right here in our backyard… Detroit, Michigan. We’ve been cheering for the auto industry ever since our founder, Joey Joachim, started Hello Innovation back in 2001. Now that GM is back to profitability, we can’t help but feel proud of our home-town hero for selecting Mary Barra as the next CEO of the company, immediately making her one of the most powerful executives in the United States.

 

How Will You Think Different In 2014?

It’s been quite a year for us here at Hello Innovation. We’re growing by leaps and bounds, adding 60 new employees to our Detroit and Brazil offices. We’re rolling out new products, expanding into new markets, and every decision we make reflects our core values of creativity, fresh ideas, and getting shit done. Want to be a part of our success? Click here to see our job openings.

 

Here’s to an awesome 2014 for you, for Detroit, for Hello Innovation, and for the world.