Download - ideas idea ideas: strategy talk with MAS
IDEAS IDEA IDEAS!how to fuel them, how to see them, how to make them awesomer
heidi hackemer @BBHNewYork / Strategic Director
@uberblond
First things first…
The story that planners must be able to define and tell (brilliantly)
Your people (With loads of emotional and behavioral insights)
The main insight The one truth your leveraging in your solution
The message What you want people to know
The creative platform The thought that holds it all together
Hero execution/s The executional/spiritual center of the idea
Engagement strategy The driving principle/s of the platform behavior
The ecosystem All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
The context The broader world that your product/brand lives in
WHEN THESE CATEGORIES ARE TIGHT, WHEN ONE THING FLOWS INTO THE OTHER, CONGRATS. YOU’VE BUILT THE PROVERBIAL STRATEGIC FORTRESS
Your people (With loads of emotional and behavioral insights)
The main insight The one truth your leveraging in your solution
The message What you want people to know
The creative platform The thought that holds it all together
Hero execution/s The executional/spiritual center of the idea
Engagement strategy The driving principle/s of the platform behavior
The ecosystem All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
The context The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
Seeing & defining
Awesoming
Our (general) role
fueling the ideas
Your people (With loads of emotional and behavioral insights)
The main insight The one truth your leveraging in your solution
The message What you want people to know
The creative platform The thought that holds it all together
Hero execution/s The executional/spiritual center of the idea
Engagement strategy The driving principle/s of the platform behavior
The ecosystem All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
The context The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
Seeing
Awesoming
Our (general) role
ADMITTINGLY, WE’RE GOING TO GO A BIT ROGUE HERE (TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT… SERIOUSLY)
STRA
TEGY
CREATIVE
ACCO
UNT
PRODUCT
ION
MED
IA
THE TRADITIONAL SYSTEM
hand off, hand off, hand off…
THIS PROCESS TENDS TO BE!INEFFICIENT!SLOW!FRUSTRATING!BUILDS WALLS BETWEEN INTERNAL TEAMS
ADDITIONALLY, THIS HISTORICAL, INDUSTRY PROCESS HAS GROWN AND FUELED THE MYTH OF THE ICONIC LONE WOLF STRATEGIST
THE GREAT STRATEGIC MYTH!THE STRATEGIST GOES AWAY!GETS ALL ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND RESEARCHICAL!PONDERS IN DARK ROOMS DEEP INTO THE NIGHT!EUREKA! THE ONE TRUE INSIGHT REVEALS ITSELF!!EUREKA! THE ONE TRUE THING FORMS!!WRITES THE EPIC BRIEF!PRESENTS IT TO THE TEAM ON A SHIMMERING GOLDEN PLATTER (CUE FAWNING ANGELS)!TEAM OOH’S AND AAH’S AT THE BRILLIANCE!CREATIVE EXCELLENCE ENSUES!
THIS IS CRAP.!
THE BEST TEAMS NATURALLY BREAK DOWN THIS PROCESS - MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, THE BEST TEAMS SHOOT THE SHIT, TALK A LOT, BOUNCE IDEAS, COLLABORATE!
THEY GET ALL NEW BUSINESS, EVERY DAY!
THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE DON’T HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES AND ALONE TIME, BUT GREAT TEAMS DON’T LOCK INDIVIDUALS AWAY FOR PROLONGED PERIODS OF TIME AND ASSUME THAT ONLY ONE PERSON CAN GET TO OR OWNS PRE-DETERMINED PARTS OF THE SOLUTION
PS: ISN’T IT IRONIC THAT WE BUILT AND IDOLIZED AN INDUSTRY ICON AROUND AN IDEA THAT DOESN’T REALLY EXIST IN NATURE? JUST SAYIN’
THE BETTER ANALOGY?
THE BETTER ANALOGY?
THE MOTHER EFFIN’ WOLF PACK TEAMS INTELLIGENTLY BOUNCING IN AND OUT OF A COLLABORATIVE GROUP ENVIRONMENT, ALL WORKING TOGETHER TO SLAY THE PROBLEM
STRA
TEGY
CREATIVE
ACCO
UNT
PRODUCT
ION
MED
IA
SO INSTEAD OF THIS…
hand off, hand off, hand off…
STRATEGY
CREATIVE
ACCOUNT
PRODUCTION
MEDIA
CLIENTS
THE MODEL STARTS TO LOOK LIKE THIS…
THIS PROCESS TENDS TO BE!EFFICIENT!FAST!INCLUSIVE!TEAM MAXIMIZING ONE ANOTHER
NOTE: IT’S NOT ABOUT BLOWING UP WHAT WE DO AND OUR SKILL SETS; IT’S ABOUT WORKING IT DIFFERENTLY
STRATEGIST START THE PROCESS!THEY SET THE TONE!YOU HAVE A LOT OF POWER OVER TEAM DYNAMIC!FOSTER AN ENVIRONMENT OF EXPOSURE!
HOW TO FUEL THE WOLF PACK TO ULTIMATELY GET TO GREAT IDEAS…
ONE TOOL > KICK-OFF SESSIONS!STRATEGISTS RUN THESE!BEST WHEN TEAM IS FUELED A DAY OR SO BEFORE!EVERYONE IN ROOM TOGETHER (STRAT, CREATIVE, MEDIA IF NOT MORE)!SPIRIT: HOW DO WE FIX THIS PROBLEM? !SOLUTION-FOCUSED
STRATEGIST WALKS IN WITH!WHERE WE WANT THE TARGET TO GET TO (THE OBJECTIVE) AND WHY THEY’RE NOT THERE YET (THE BARRIER/PROBLEM) !LOTS OF INSIGHTS ABOUT THE TARGET AND POTENTIAL PATHS TO GET TO THE SOLUTION!BUT NOT THE INSIGHT OR THE BRIEF!
CULTURE OF RIFF AND BUILD
WALKING OUT…!CREATIVE TEAM HAS A JUMP START TO THEIR THINKING, OFTEN THE SOLUTION!TEAM IS THINKING OF SOLUTIONS FROM MANY DIFFERENT ANGLES (SOLUTIONS AREN’T ALWAYS COMMS)!STRATEGISTS CAN MAKE MORE INFORMED DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT THE BEST PLACE IS TO STEER THE MAIN INSIGHT, BRIEF AND TEAMS
WATCH-OUTS!CASTING IS IMPORTANT (SOME PEOPLE SUCK AT THIS)!STRATEGISTS HAVE TO MEGA-PREP FOR THESE TO BE SUCCESSFUL (THE MORE SMART FUEL, THE BETTER)!STRATEGISTS HAVE TO MODERATE THESE WELL
TWO MORE THINGS!GET A WALL!USE GOOGLE DOCS!
IT’S ALL ABOUT EXPOSURE
Your people (With loads of emotional and behavioral insights)
The main insight The one truth your leveraging in your solution
The message What you want people to know
The creative platform The thought that holds it all together
Hero execution/s The executional/spiritual center of the idea
Engagement strategy The driving principle/s of the platform behavior
The ecosystem All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
The context The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
Seeing & Defining
Awesoming
Our (general) role
so we got some fuel going, ideas are starting to roll
how do you see and define a great idea?
Your people (With loads of emotional and behavioral insights)
The main insight The one truth your leveraging in your solution
The message What you want people to know
The creative platform The thought that holds it all together
Hero execution/s The executional/spiritual center of the idea
Engagement strategy The driving principle/s of the platform behavior
The ecosystem All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
The context The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
Seeing & Defining
Awesoming
Our (general) role
WHAT IS A GREAT IDEA IN TODAY’S LANDSCAPE?!AIM FOR PLATFORMS!AIM FOR BRILLIANT ONE-OFF TACTICS !DON’T SETTLE FOR JUST A CAMPAIGN!
WHAT A PLATFORM IS, WHAT IT ISN’T!IT’S NOT A TV CAMPAIGN WITH SOME MATCHING LUGGAGE DIGITAL BITS TACKED ON!
IT’S A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO YOUR PEOPLE (THAT IS, IF THEY WANT IT)!IT’S SOMETHING THAT CAN LIVE ON AND HOLD A LOT OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITY
SOME PRETTY GREAT MODERN PLATFORMS!BEING GIRL!NIKE+!CHROME FAST!DATING BRIAN!PEPSI REFRESH!GREAT AMERICAN APPAREL DIET!THE MAN YOUR MAN COULD BE, AKA OLD SPICE GUY!
SOME PRETTY GREAT MODERN TACTICS!T-MOBILE DANCE IN LIVERPOOL STATION!GOOGLE YOUTUBE SYMPHONY!GOOGLE YOUTUBE PLAY!CHROME ARCADE FIRE!AXE UNDIE RUN
HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE A GREAT PLATFORM OR TACTIC?!THERE IS NO MAGIC ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION, BUT SOME QUESTIONS YOU’LL WANT TO ASK YOURSELF (AND HONESTLY ANSWER)…
HAS IT BEEN DONE BEFORE?!WILL PEOPLE LOVE IT AND BENEFIT FROM IT AS MUCH AS THE BRAND MANAGERS?!DOES IT LEVERAGE A KILLER INSIGHT?!IS IT JUST SO DAMN SMART?!IS IT WILDLY ENTERTAINING, AWESOMELY FUNCTIONAL AND/OR EMOTIONALLY USEFUL?!IS IT SIMPLE (ELEVATOR PITCH)?!IS IT TRUE TO THE BRAND?!IF IT’S A PLATFORM, CAN THE THOUGHT HOLD MANY DIFFERENT EXECUTIONAL ITERATIONS?!IF IT’S A TACTIC, CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW IT WOULD BE RE-BOOTED/BUILT UPON IN THE FUTURE?!CAN I BUILD AN ECO-SYSTEM AROUND IT?!DO YOU GET SHIVERS?
WHEN YOUR TEAM GETS TO AN IDEA OR THOUGHT WHERE THERE’S A LOT OF YES’ES TO THAT LIST, THEN START TO ARTICULATE YOUR CORE INSIGHT, POSITIONING, CREATIVE IDEA AND THINK WHAT THE HERO EXECUTION IS (MORE ON THAT IN A BIT)
GRANTED, THIS IS KINDA A “GUT” PHASE OF THE PROCESS!BUT HERE’S A CONSTRUCT THAT MIGHT HELP
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF YOUR PEOPLE, DOES YOUR IDEA FALL INTO ONE OF THESE AREAS?
Nike +
Pepsi Refresh
Being Girl Chrome Fast
The Great American Apparel Diet
The Man Your Man Could Be
Dating Brian
Google YouTube Tactics
Chrome Arcade Fire
Axe Undie Run
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
WHERE IT STARTS!REALLY THINKING ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE WANT AND WHAT THE BRAND CAN AUTHENTICALLY DO FOR THEM
Nike +
Pepsi Refresh
Being Girl Chrome Fast
The Great American Apparel Diet
The Man Your Man Could Be
Dating Brian
Google YouTube Tactics
Chrome Arcade Fire
Axe Undie Run
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
Micro-goals are hella motivational
Runners are anal people that love data
People genuinely struggle with their
consumption relationship with
clothing and want to figure it out.
Nike +
Pepsi Refresh
Being Girl Chrome Fast
The Great American Apparel Diet
The Man Your Man Could Be
Dating Brian
Google YouTube Tactics
Chrome Arcade Fire
Axe Undie Run
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
WHAT DEFINES GREAT PLATFORMS!GENEROSITY!MULTIFACETEDNESS !RESPONSIVENESS!PROPAGATION
Nike +
Pepsi Refresh
Being Girl Chrome Fast
The Great American Apparel Diet
The Man Your Man Could Be
Dating Brian
Google YouTube Tactics
Chrome Arcade Fire
Axe Undie Run
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
Generosity & people propagation built into the
core of the idea
Nike +
Pepsi Refresh
Being Girl Chrome Fast
The Great American Apparel Diet
The Man Your Man Could Be
Dating Brian
Google YouTube Tactics
Chrome Arcade Fire
Axe Undie Run
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
Multi-faceted: Creative doesn’t live on and on;
the thought does
Often, a new creative approach every month
The industry’s latest poster-child of
responsiveness… and he’s back
Nike +
Pepsi Refresh
Being Girl Chrome Fast
The Great American Apparel Diet
The Man Your Man Could Be
Dating Brian
Google YouTube Tactics
Chrome Arcade Fire
Axe Undie Run
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
Your people (With loads of emotional and behavioral insights)
The main insight The one truth your leveraging in your solution
The message What you want people to know
The creative platform The thought that holds it all together
Hero execution/s The executional/spiritual center of the idea
Engagement strategy The driving principle/s of the platform behavior
The ecosystem All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
The context The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
Seeing
Awesoming
Our (general) role
How to make great ideas awesomer (aka building awesome ecosystems)
Your people (With loads of emotional and behavioral insights)
The main insight The one truth your leveraging in your solution
The message What you want people to know
The creative platform The thought that holds it all together
Hero execution/s The executional/spiritual center of the idea
Engagement strategy The driving principle/s of the platform behavior
The ecosystem All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
The context The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
Seeing & Defining
Awesoming
Our (general) role
LET’S FIRST TAKE A STEP BACK
BECAUSE WE’RE IN THE WEB WORLD, REMEMBER, MORE AND MORE OUR IDEAS MUST EMBODY!GENEROSITY!MULTIFACETEDNESS !RESPONSIVENESS!PROPAGATION
OKAY, BACK TO ECOSYSTEMS
THE CLASSIC MISTAKE!CONFUSING A MATCHING LUGGAGE 360 CAMPAIGN FOR A ECOSYSTEM/PLATFORM!“AND THEN WE CAN DO THIS IN PRINT, AND THEN WE CAN DO THIS IN OLA, AND THEN WE CAN DO THIS HERE AND THERE…”!
IF YOU’RE RAPIDLY FIRING OFF THESE EXECUTIONS IN A PRESENTATION, YOU’VE PROBABLY FALLEN INTO THE 360 SAND HOLE
FIRST THINGS FIRST!COMMIT TO THE CORE OF YOUR IDEA
MAKE A DECISION!WHAT THE EXECUTIONAL CENTER OF YOUR IDEA? !WHERE DOES THE IDEA BEST MANIFEST ITSELF?!BUILD OUT FROM AND POINT EVERYTHING ELSE TO THAT CORE
THE EXCEPTION TO THIS “FIND THE CORE” APPROACH!THE BIG FUCK OFF BRAND LAUNCH CAMPAIGN WHEN YOU HAVE A HUGE ASS BUDGET!
IN THAT CASE, MAKE EXECUTIONS UNDERNEATH A THOUGHT THAT ARE BESPOKE TO THE MEDIA THAT THEY’RE LIVING IN – NO MATCHING LUGGAGE!
BACK TO HONING IN ON THE CORE…
BUILDING ECOSYSTEMS!HONING IN ON THE CORE WILL HELP YOU DECIDE HOW YOUR IDEA SHOULD BEHAVE!
HUMANS HAVE CODES OF BEHAVIOR; !THERE ARE WAYS TO BEHAVE…!AT A SOCCER GAME!AT THE OPERA!AT WORK!AT CHURCH!ON THE SUBWAY!IN YOUR CAR!AT THE MALL!AT A MOVIE
IDEAS NEED CODES OF BEHAVIOR AS WELL!
KEEPING YOUR PEOPLE, CORE AND OBJECTIVES IN MIND, SHOULD YOUR IDEA FEEL… !BOLD?!CLEVER?!HUMBLE?!CREATIVE?!PROVOCATIVE?!INTIMATE?!EXCLUSIVE?!ETC…!(DIFFERENT MEDIA AND SPACES WILL MAP TO THESE QUESTIONS)
DESIRED CODE OF BEHAVIOR
WHERE YOUR PEOPLE ALREADY ARE
THINKING OF MEDIA AS A CANVAS, NOT AN OUTLET
DESIRED CODE OF BEHAVIOR
WHERE YOUR PEOPLE ALREADY ARE
THINKING OF MEDIA AS A CANVAS, NOT AN OUTLET
IDEA ECOSYSTEM
ECOSYSTEM: WHERE YOUR IDEA LIVES, INTERACTS AND PLAYS!
THE TRICK TO BUILDING GREAT ECOSYSTEMS?!UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURES OF THE MEDIA PLATFORMS
LET’S DEFINE HOW TV WORKS!PEOPLE HAVE RECEIVERS IN THEIR HOMES, SOMETIMES SEVERAL!BROADCASTERS TRANSMIT CONTENT TO INDIVIDUAL RECEIVERS!DIFFERENT CHANNELS HAVE CONTENT THAT SPEAK TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE!THE BUSINESS MODEL IS BUILT ON ADVERTISERS!PEOPLE CAN CHOOSE WHAT THEY WATCH
THIS DOESN’T HELP IN MAKING A GREAT TV IDEA NOR UNDERSTANDING HOW TO BUILD IT INTO AN ECOSYSTEM
SO WHY DO WE MAKE THIS MISTAKE?!TWITTER IS A MICROBLOGGING PLATFORM!PEOPLE HAVE HANDLES!YOU CAN TWEET FROM ANY DIGITAL DEVICE!PEOPLE FOLLOW OTHER PEOPLE!PEOPLE RT, DM AND #FF
KNOWING HOW TWITTER FUNCTIONALLY WORKS DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU UNDERSTAND TWITTER (NOR ANY OTHER PLATFORM)
WANT TO BUILD GREAT DIGITAL STRATEGIES AND OVERALL ECOSYSTEMS? !GET INTO THE SPACES THAT YOUR PEOPLE ARE IN!THINK ABOUT HOW THEY UNIQUELY INTERACT WITH THOSE SPACES!BUILD STUFF THAT HONORS THE PLATFORMS, BUT DOESN’T JUST FOLLOW THE RULES!THINK ABOUT PROPAGATION AND DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT (1/9/90 RULE)!
IF YOU DO THIS CORRECTLY, EVERY IDEA WILL LOOK & BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY
Your people (With loads of emotional and behavioral insights)
The main insight The one truth your leveraging in your solution
The message What you want people to know
The creative platform The thought that holds it all together
Hero execution/s The executional/spiritual center of the idea
Engagement strategy The driving principle/s of the platform behavior
The ecosystem All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
The context The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
Seeing
Awesoming
Our (general) role
Your people (With loads of emotional and behavioral insights)
The main insight The one truth your leveraging in your solution
The message What you want people to know
The creative platform The thought that holds it all together
Hero execution/s The executional/spiritual center of the idea
Engagement strategy The driving principle/s of the platform behavior
The ecosystem All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
The context The broader world that your product/brand lives in
LET’S TALK …