16 comments on “Just Effin’ Do It: A Digital Planning Presentation Given at VCU Brandcenter”

1. tom Said

   (June 12, 2010 at 8:52 am)

   Hello

   Very interesting presentation thanks for sharing.

   I have one question, on slide 13 it states the big insight is dead and on slide 15 a planner is described as insights obsessed.

   I’m just interested as to how you reconcile this? In many agency models you still require some sort of insight led proposition to frame creative thinking, are you positing that this is no longer necessary?

   Cheers!

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2. Heidi Said

   (June 12, 2010 at 3:22 pm)

   Hey Tom,

   Great question, one that we’ve been wrestling with quite a bit over here at BBH.

   The thinking is this: the age of the planner going off into their magic black box on the hill and coming out with the glorious one insight that cracks open the entire solution is antiquated. In reality, there’s probably several ways in when cracking a solution and we’ve been playing with letting a team of people pressure-testing ways in to sort what’s best.

   So the planner has to still be obsessed with insights (note the “s”) – but now instead of the glorious one insight, the planner feeds the team with four, five or ten and then works with the team to hone in on the best way in.

   I elaborated more on this approach in a blog post I wrote a few weeks back. Check it out – we’re interested in what you think:

   http://uberblondnyc.com/2010/05/take-the-frickin-insight-off-the-frickin-pedestal/

   Have a great weekend! h

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   • tom Said

     (June 12, 2010 at 4:55 pm)

     That was a really interesting post.

     It actually chimes with my recent experience – I’ve worked on 2 briefs, one of which the insight, brief and subsequent work all flowed quickly and naturally.

     In other words I retreated into the black box and everything just “zinged” out. The solution was simple and immediate and, “right”.

     The other, however, I’ve devoted hours and hours to and still haven’t got there. It is this one that I’ve instead built out into lots of explorations of the territory and am workshopping with the creative team in an effort to get to the proposition that they’re excited by, that feels right and that we think will excite the client.

     So I think your approach is totally right and one that feels natural – I work with some incredibly talented people so why wouldn’t I tap into that.

     My only caveat would be that I still think there are situations when the planner does hit on something that instinctively feels “right” to them and the wider creative (and whoever else) team and that perhaps we shouldn’t throw those babies out with the bathwater (for real wont of a better phrase!)

     Cheers,

     Tom

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3. Stephen Pirrie Said

   (June 13, 2010 at 6:35 pm)

   Heidi, Seth,
   Thanks for sharing this. Can you share any of the projects the group turned in during that evening?
   Thanks,
   Steve

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4. Edward Boches Said

   (June 13, 2010 at 7:15 pm)

   I like a lot of things in this deck. (Your brand needs friends and the deliverables especially.) But I wonder if we should stop referring to “creatives” as some special department or group of people that the brief serves. Who and what is creative today? Seems it’s as likely to be the the media folks, the PR/social content creators, and even the digital strategists themselves,who are as capable of coming up with “ideas” in an age when ideas aren’t simply messages. Which leads me to question two. The post on “the most important blog you’ll ever read” talks about insights from what appears to be a message bias: problem, what has to be remembered (as a message), and a small nod to other insights. I wonder of those other insights — how a prospect interacts with technology, content, media and community — aren’t, in fact, as important as any brand/category insight. You may have this all figured out in practice, but I find that when you put the “specialists” in the room together with or without a “T-shaped” person, there’s always a tendency to default to muscle memory, or at least see the problem from a narrow perspective. Any input that emphasizes a platform, experience or idea worth being advertised helps. Good stuff. I may take some of this (the whole friend’s idea) and build on it a little. Thanks as always for all that BBHLabs shares with us.

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   • Tim Geoghegan Said

     (June 24, 2010 at 6:37 pm)

     I think because ‘creatives’ are the people who actually create stuff. Might not be a department. But it’s the people with a portfolio of stuff that they wrote, designed, art directed, and produced.

     Just ‘contributing to the conversation’ doesn’t make you a creative. Nor does ‘creating the environment to create.’ As John Hegarty once said – it’s about the idea and who has that idea.

     Sure, ideas can come from anywhere – but they usually come from somewhere. And a good majority of the time, it’s from a specific group of people that’s been ‘edited’ and ‘curated’ to work on briefs…by hiring the best people – and they’re decided on by the portfolios of work that they’ve previously created.

     Anyone can have ‘ideas’ but that doesn’t mean they’re good. Their needs to be a filter and a ‘test’ if you will. Like a portfolio that says ‘this person has some proof that they know what they’re doing.’

     It’s a dumb title, and everyone and anyone can be a ‘creative.’ But only as soon as they go through the steps (portfolio/real case studies, etc) that qualify them to live up to it.

     Otherwise, how do you separate those who talk a great game, and those who can actually produce great work?

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     • Ben Malbon Said

       (June 24, 2010 at 8:44 pm)

       Disagree. I strongly believe the best ideas can come from anywhere. I don’t care about your title or department. Just about your brain, and your ability to collaborate in creating the best ideas, and then getting them made. Labels don’t help, they hinder.

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       • Tim Geoghegan Said

         (June 28, 2010 at 6:02 pm)

         In teaching ad concept or design classes, it becomes clear that 2% of the class really has it. They get a book together, that’s how they’re judged and hired.

         Opening it up completely, we’d just hire the whole class, because everyone is as skilled at having ideas? Even if that 2% has clearly demonstrated that they ‘get it’ exponentially better and hit the ball more times at bat’? That doesn’t sound efficient.

         My point is, there’s a reason books/portfolios/reels/case studies (even awards) exist – they’re qualifiers that help separate those who can really do it.

         I’d argue that some of the very best creative minds I know don’t blog or even use social media like we do. All they have is their work to speak for itself. I would still trust previous great work over promises of great work any day.

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         • Ben Malbon Said

           (June 28, 2010 at 6:35 pm)

           I’m with you on that (trusting evidence of great work over promises of great work). 100%. But you don’t need to be a creative to have a portfolio or record of ‘great work’. Often you will be. Sometimes you won’t be. B
         • Tim Geoghegan Said

           (June 28, 2010 at 8:28 pm)

           I think we agree.

           Many times, I’ve seen great ideas come from people in the room other than ‘creatives.’ I think it should always be open. But I just think it’s important that everything comes down to the work you’ve had a part of. Even with a book, it’s too easy for someone to talk a great game and then everyone comes to realize they can’t produce the goods.

           That’s why I also think anyone on a team – from creative to content to strategy should have a book. Work that they did themselves, work they contributed to, work they helped get through, and their own projects. It shows that ‘T-shaped’ sensibility that is now a requirement.
         • Ben Malbon Said

           (June 28, 2010 at 8:33 pm)

           We always agree in the end.
5. Mark Sargent Said

   (June 14, 2010 at 3:59 pm)

   Planning requires a good idea. A good idea then is universal and must work and be campaign-able across multiple platforms. A good story should always be passed on with the idea, this way all can grasp the idea. The story must be told in few sentences so it can be told over the phone and resonate with the person on the other end. This is also a good test for the idea and its story. Variations of the story to be told are then being created for the chosen platforms. If your brand tells a good story over multiple platforms, it will make friends. You end up with an integrated campaign.
   All points made in the presentation are sound. I be happy to keep wondering where an idea comes from. As long as it’s there or evolves at the core of all steps to be taken. Thank you.

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6. Brands need friends and an eco-system that attracts them | Creativity_Unbound Said

   (June 15, 2010 at 11:47 am)

   [...] couple of days ago, poking around on some of my favorite blogs, I came across a presentation on BBH Labs’ site that included another smart way to think about [...]

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7. Planner Reads » Blog Archive » Brands need friends and an eco-system that attracts them Said

   (June 15, 2010 at 6:40 pm)

   [...] couple of days ago, poking around on some of my favorite blogs, I came across a presentation on BBH Labs’ site that included another smart way to think about [...]

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8. Max Joseph Said

   (June 25, 2010 at 2:27 pm)

   Very cool presentation

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9. Max Joseph Said

   (June 25, 2010 at 2:29 pm)

   test

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