As you may know, TheEngine+ is IPG’s innovation and entrepreneurship competition. Built to foster creativity and innovation across Acxiom, Kinesso, and IPG as a whole, TheEngine+ enables talent from all levels to positively impact the future of our business. Through this platform, teams across the IPG ecosystem are formed and pitch their novel concepts to a panel of executive-level IPG judges.
We recently sat down with our top-rated team, ConsentMatrix, members, including Kyle Holloway, Dustin Raney, and Christiane De Carvalho to talk about their experiences in TheEngine+ competition thus far, the challenges they see looking ahead, and the promising future of their concept.
Tell us a little bit about your application experience and how you came to develop your idea as a team?
Kyle Holloway: “The application process was organic in that we saw internal communications, and we’ve seen previous Engine+ competition submissions and results. We definitely already had an understanding of the process and intended to submit once it came time. We got connected because we all work together—myself, Dustin, and Christiane, all work at Acxiom within kind of the identity space.”
Dustin Raney: “Yeah, we came to the point of feeling like TheEngine+ was the right avenue for getting this idea through the IPG enterprise. We knew it was going to be able to gain the exposure it deserved and give it the chance to be adopted by the organization. Given our backgrounds, it was a natural fit for us to innovate in this area. We see some common trends across the industry that we wanted to get out ahead of, and felt like, you know, this would be an incredible place to start, especially if it relates to media with IPG’s influence.”
Where do you see the biggest points of excitement over the next year as you work on your concept?
Christiane De Carvalho: “The industry is going to change a lot over the next year, as it always does. We have this product, and the solution we are creating has so many moving pieces. So, while one of the biggest challenges is going to be fitting into the ecosystem, it will also be an area of great excitement—building something that will support the industry at large in a meaningful way.”
Dustin Raney: “Turning our concept into a reality. From getting to work with engineers in areas that maybe we wouldn’t have had access to before, to building the user experience application layer, it’s all going to require a lot of steps in order to get to market. Then ultimately, I think it’s the ability to make an impact on the human experience and how we consume content. That’s always been a passion of ours, to bring something to the market that we want to experience ourselves.”
TheEngine+ process can feel very long—what has been the best part of the early stages for your group so far?
Dustin Raney: “The best part of the experience so far with TheEngine+ has been the exposure to different people that I otherwise wouldn’t have had the opportunity to work with and learn from. It’s amazing to meet just an incredible group of dynamic innovators from all across the organization ecosystem, and people who are as passionate as we are about transforming the industry. We’re used to working with mostly people from Acxiom a lot of times, so it really opened some doors for us.”
Kyle Holloway: “Yeah, I would certainly econd that! The opportunity of being provided mentors from different areas of the business, not just Acxiom but actually across IPG, was really critical. It allowed us an opportunity to validate our concept and also get valuable subject matter expertise.”
What is one piece of advice you would give to someone who is interested in entering TheEngine+ competition?
Christiane De Carvalho: “Just start! It may seem overwhelming, but taking that first step is the hardest.”
Kyle Holloway: “I think someone that wants to start with TheEngine+ needs to really look at their own circumstances, where they’re engaged in the business, and what they’re seeing within the marketplace, and look at where there’s an opportunity. Look for pain points or where you may see some open spaces between offerings and lean into that.”
TheEngine+ initiative enables employees from all seniority levels to participate in something truly special—the opportunity to make a difference. Excited to see what TheEngine+ team has in store for us? Stay tuned for more announcements later in the year, or learn more about TheEngine+ here.
