Advertisers must consider marketing “magic” as much as consumer needs in the digital media age, according to LinkedIn marketer Carole Zibi.

Speaking on a panel discussion about corporate innovation at yesterday’s Unbound Digital event in London, Zibi, LinkedIn’s head of strategic marketing EMEA, said brands must judge campaigns against new criteria.

“The agenda we have is [not only] where and how to innovate, but also what is the right innovation,” said Zibi. “There are two questions we need to ask: as traditional marketers, what is the consumer benefit, but also now where is the magic?”

The panel, featuring Uber’s UK, Ireland and Nordics general manager Jo Bertram, Microsoft Ventures UK CMO Diane Perlman and Unilever Ventures head Olivier Garel, discussed how large businesses can continue to innovate.

Microsoft’s Perlman said the brand is looking to support “great teams”, rather than just good ideas, while Unilever’s Garel told delegates the FMCG giant is seeking to invest in start-ups with the “potential to become global”.

“We’re looking for great teams; even if the idea is excellent we have to believe in the team,” said Perlman. “The idea has to be strong, and fundable, and teams than can be coachable.”

Uber’s Bertram added that the taxi app business attempts to maintain a culture of innovation through regular training and testing of values.

“Our job is constantly innovating on the product side,” she said. “We have a really decentralised structure, with a huge amount of autonomy, and also the culture where people have the autonomy to try something, fail and be rewarded for trying.

“We make sure there are clear, innovative values across the whole company, which people at every level gets tested on. We go fast on everything except hiring, as we need to ensure [recruits] have the same mindset.”