Connected by Design (PDF)

In a world of fierce global competition and rapid technological
change, traditional strategies for gaining market share and
achieving efficiencies no longer yield the returns they once did.
How can companies drive consumer preference and secure sustainable
growth in this digital, social, and mobile age?

The answer is through functional integration. Some of the
world's most highly valued companies--including Amazon, Apple
and Google--have harnessed this new business model to build
highly interactive ecosystems of interrelated products and digital
services, gaining new levels of customer engagement. Functional
integration offers forward-looking brands a unique competitive edge
by using transformative digital technologies to deliver high-value
customer experiences, generate repeat business, and unlock
lucrative new business-to-business revenue streams.

Connected By Design is the first book to show business
leaders and marketers exactly how to use functional integration to
achieve transformative growth within any type of company. Based on
R/GA's pioneering work with firms at the forefront of functional
integration, Barry Wacksman and Chris Stutzman identify seven
principles companies must follow in order to create and deliver new
value for customers and capture new revenues. Connected By
Design explains how functional integration drove the
transformation of market-leading companies as diverse as Nike,
General Motors, McCormick & Co., and Activision to establish
authentic brand relationships with their customers, enter new
categories, and develop new sources of income. With Connected by
Design, any company can leverage technological disruption to
redefine its mission and foster greater brand loyalty and
engagement.