As I’ve explored on the Now Go Create podcast recently, the SCAMPER technique is a brilliant way to shake up thinking, break conventions, and push brands beyond the expected.
I have retrofitted these award-winning case studies from McDonald’s, Xbox, Sol Cement and the Koushi Chemical Industry Co to show how the 7 different principles from SCAMPER ‘could’ have been applied to generate these kind of impactful ideas.
It’s always much easier in hindsight I think to see how something could have been put together and kudos to all the teams behind these ideas.
I hope they encourage you to start deconstructing and analysing creative work to understand where it *might* have come from and the kinds of thinking that might take you somewhere fresh.
Xbox’s ‘The Everyday Tactician’: turning gamers into real football analysts
What they did: Xbox turned the dream of every Football Manager fanatic into reality—by giving one of them a real job at underdog club Bromley FC. A game became a career, and a fan became part of the team.
SCAMPER in action (imagined by me):
- Substitute: Replaced traditional hiring processes with an in-game challenge to prove tactical expertise.
- Combine: Blended gaming culture + real-world sports + a compelling human story.
- Adapt: Shifted the perception of gaming from entertainment to a legitimate career-building tool.
- Modify: Gave Football Manager a new role—as a scouting and hiring mechanism.
- Put to another use: Used a video game as a real-world hiring platform.
- Eliminate: Cut out the need for traditional coaching qualifications.
- Reverse: Took someone from a virtual football world and placed them in an actual football club.
The impact:
- 190% increase in Xbox players for FM24 vs. FM23.
- 1.5 billion impressions.
- Most played Football Manager game ever.
Cemento Sol – Sightwalks: making cities more navigable for the visually Impaired
What they did: Cement Sol, a cement company in Peru reimagined sidewalks to help blind and visually impaired people navigate cities independently. A new tactile system allowed them to identify businesses by counting grooves in the pavement with their cane.
SCAMPER in action (imagined):
- Substitute: An option to replace verbal and physical assistance with an independent navigation system. Substituting regular paving stones with those with the new design.
- Combine: Merged urban planning, accessibility, and inclusive design.
- Adapt: Enhanced the universal tactile paving system with a new, smart layer of information.
- Modify: Transformed sidewalks from simple walkways into real-time guidance tools.
- Put to Another Use: Used sidewalks as a low-tech mapping system for the visually impaired.
- Eliminate: Removed reliance on others for navigation.
- Reverse: Flipping narratives about b2b comms being dry or dull. I love this campaign so much!
The impact:
- 500,000+ visually impaired individuals gained greater independence.
- Plans to scale the project to cities worldwide.
- Cement brand positioned itself as an innovator in inclusive urban planning.
- Won design awards for innovation across the world.
Koushi Chemical Industry Co SHELLMET: Turning discarded scallop shells into protective helmets
What they did: A small fishing village in Japan had a massive problem—piles of discarded scallop shells. The solution? A first-of-its-kind helmet made from recycled shells, designed to protect both fishermen and the planet.
SCAMPER in action (imagined):
- Substitute: Replaced wasteful disposal methods with a sustainable reuse strategy.
- Combine: Integrated biomimicry design + sustainability + safety.
- Adapt: Used natural shell strength to improve helmet durability.
- Modify: Boosted helmet strength by 133% using scallop shell material.
- Put to Another Use: Gave discarded shells a second life as essential protective gear – this is obviously the key principle used here and what I love about this campaign is that the work aligns with some of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as below.
- Eliminate: Reduced CO2 emissions by 36% vs. traditional helmets.
- Reverse: Transformed an environmental problem into an economic and safety innovation.
Alignment with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
- Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production): SHELLMET turned waste into a resource, reducing landfill waste and promoting sustainable material use.
- Goal 13 (Climate Action): By lowering CO2 emissions, the project actively contributes to climate change mitigation.
- Goal 14 (Life Below Water): Reducing shell waste helps prevent environmental contamination in coastal areas.
- Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure): The biomimicry approach showcases how sustainable materials can be integrated into safety gear and infrastructure projects.
The impact:
- 887 media placements in 34 countries.
- 1,397% over initial sales target.
- Adopted as an official helmet for the Osaka Expo 2025.
What I also love about this campaign is that it is an example of biomimicry in action – a topic I’m going to explore on the podcast soon.
McDonald’s ‘The Meal’: Removing the smile to start a bigger conversation
What they did: Sometimes, taking something away is more powerful than adding more. One of my favourite (and highly awarded) integrated campaigns from last year was McDonald’s ‘The Meal’ Campaign, where the burger chain removed the iconic Happy Meal smile from the packaging.
Why? To spark a nationwide conversation about mental health and challenge the pressure on kids to feel happy all the time. It was a bold move that used the elimination of one of their most distinctive brand assets, during Mental Health Awareness Week, to drive meaningful conversations.
SCAMPER in action (imagined):
- Substitute: the PR agency founder’s 13-year-old raised a thought over dinner about Happy Meals that you can’t be happy all the time, which inspired and informed the campaign development. So substituting corporate and adult perspectives for those of the target audience.
- Put to another use: Turned the packaging into a conversation starter, not just a container.
- Eliminate: Removed the smile and the ‘happiness’ narrative.
Once you know the SCAMPER principles you’ll see them everywhere in the wild!
Take a listen to the Now Go Create Podcast episode 6 if you want to apply it yourself.