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)
 The context
The broader world that your product/brand lives in

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
WHEN THESE CATEGORIES ARE TIGHT, WHEN ONE
THING FLOWS INTO THE OTHER, CONGRATS. YOUVE
BUILT THE PROVERBIAL STRATEGIC FORTRESS
Our (general) role

The context
The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
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
Seeing &
defining 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
Awesoming
The ecosystem
All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
fueling the ideas
Our (general) role

The context
The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
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
Seeing
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
Awesoming
The ecosystem
All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
ADMITTINGLY, WERE GOING TO GO A BIT ROGUE
HERE (TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT SERIOUSLY)
THE TRADITIONAL SYSTEM

PRODUCTION
ACCOUNT

STRATEGY

CREATIVE

MEDIA
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 OOHS AND AAHS 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 DOESNT MEAN WE DONT HAVE
RESPONSIBILITIES AND ALONE TIME, BUT GREAT
TEAMS DONT 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: ISNT IT IRONIC THAT WE BUILT
AND IDOLIZED AN INDUSTRY ICON
AROUND AN IDEA THAT DOESNT
REALLY EXIST IN NATURE?
JUST SAYIN
THE BETTER ANALOGY?
 THE MOTHER EFFIN
WOLF PACK
TEAMS INTELLIGENTLY BOUNCING
IN AND OUT OF A COLLABORATIVE
GROUP ENVIRONMENT, ALL
WORKING TOGETHER
THE BETTER ANALOGY? TO SLAY THE
PROBLEM
SO INSTEAD OF THIS

PRODUCTION
ACCOUNT

STRATEGY

CREATIVE

MEDIA
hand off, hand off, hand off
THE MODEL STARTS TO LOOK LIKE THIS
MEDIA

STRATEGY

CREATIVE

ACCOUNT

PRODUCTION

CLIENTS
THIS PROCESS TENDS TO BE!
EFFICIENT!
FAST!
INCLUSIVE!
TEAM MAXIMIZING ONE ANOTHER

NOTE: ITS NOT ABOUT BLOWING UP WHAT WE DO AND OUR SKILL SETS;
ITS 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 THEYRE 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 ARENT 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!

ITS ALL ABOUT EXPOSURE

Our (general) role

The context
The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
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
Seeing &
Defining 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
Awesoming
The ecosystem
All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
so we got some fuel going,
ideas are starting to roll

how do you see and define a great idea?

Our (general) role

The context
The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
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
Seeing &
Defining 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
Awesoming
The ecosystem
All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
WHAT IS A GREAT IDEA IN TODAYS LANDSCAPE?!
AIM FOR PLATFORMS!
AIM FOR BRILLIANT ONE-OFF TACTICS !
DONT SETTLE FOR JUST A CAMPAIGN!
WHAT A PLATFORM IS, WHAT IT ISNT!
ITS NOT A TV CAMPAIGN WITH SOME MATCHING
LUGGAGE DIGITAL BITS TACKED ON!

ITS A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT TO YOUR

PEOPLE (THAT IS, IF THEY WANT IT)!
ITS 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 YOULL 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 ITS A PLATFORM, CAN THE THOUGHT HOLD MANY
DIFFERENT EXECUTIONAL ITERATIONS?!
IF ITS 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 THERES A LOT OF YESES 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 HERES A CONSTRUCT THAT MIGHT HELP
FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF YOUR PEOPLE, DOES
YOUR IDEA FALL INTO ONE OF THESE AREAS?

PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL

FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
 Google YouTube Tactics The Great American
Apparel Diet

The Man Your Man Could Be

Dating Brian
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL

Chrome Fast Being Girl

Chrome Arcade Fire Pepsi Refresh
Axe Undie Run

Nike +
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
WHERE IT STARTS!
REALLY THINKING ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE
WANT AND WHAT THE BRAND CAN
AUTHENTICALLY DO FOR THEM
 Google YouTube Tactics The Great American
Apparel Diet

The Man Your Man Could Be

Dating Brian
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL

Chrome Fast Being Girl

Chrome Arcade Fire Pepsi Refresh
Axe Undie Run
Micro-goals are hella
motivational
Nike +
Runners are anal people FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
that love data
 People genuinely
struggle with their
consumption
relationship with
clothing and want to
The Great American figure it out.
Google YouTube Tactics
Apparel Diet

The Man Your Man Could Be

Dating Brian
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL

Chrome Fast Being Girl

Chrome Arcade Fire Pepsi Refresh
Axe Undie Run

Nike +
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
WHAT DEFINES GREAT PLATFORMS!
GENEROSITY!
MULTIFACETEDNESS !
RESPONSIVENESS!
PROPAGATION
 Google YouTube Tactics The Great American
Apparel Diet

The Man Your Man Could Be

Dating Brian
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL

Chrome Fast Being Girl

Chrome Arcade Fire Pepsi Refresh
Axe Undie Run

Nike + Generosity & people

propagation built into the
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL core of the idea
 Google YouTube Tactics The Great American
Apparel Diet

The Man Your Man Could Be

Dating Brian
PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL

Chrome Fast Being Girl

Chrome Arcade Fire Pepsi Refresh
Axe Undie Run
Multi-faceted: Creative
doesnt live on and on; Nike +
the thought does
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
Often, a new creative
approach every month
 Google YouTube Tactics The Great American
Apparel Diet

The Man Your Man Could Be

Dating Brian
The industrys latest
poster-child of PURE DELIGHT EMOTIONALLY USEFUL
responsiveness and
hes back
Chrome Fast Being Girl
Chrome Arcade Fire Pepsi Refresh
Axe Undie Run

Nike +
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
Our (general) role

The context
The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
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
Seeing
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
Awesoming
The ecosystem
All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
How to make great ideas awesomer
(aka building awesome ecosystems)
Our (general) role

The context
The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
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
Seeing &
Defining 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
Awesoming
The ecosystem
All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
LETS FIRST TAKE A STEP BACK
BECAUSE WERE 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 YOURE RAPIDLY FIRING OFF THESE

EXECUTIONS IN A PRESENTATION, YOUVE
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
THEYRE 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 WHERE YOUR PEOPLE
BEHAVIOR ALREADY ARE

THINKING OF MEDIA AS A
CANVAS, NOT AN OUTLET
DESIRED CODE OF WHERE YOUR PEOPLE
BEHAVIOR ALREADY ARE

IDEA ECOSYSTEM

THINKING OF MEDIA AS A
CANVAS, NOT AN OUTLET
ECOSYSTEM: WHERE YOUR IDEA LIVES,
INTERACTS AND PLAYS!
THE TRICK TO BUILDING GREAT ECOSYSTEMS?!
UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURES OF THE MEDIA
PLATFORMS
LETS 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 DOESNT 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
DOESNT 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
Our (general) role

The context
The broader world that your product/brand lives in
Fuelling
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
Seeing
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
Awesoming
The ecosystem
All the stuff that gets built to make the hero shine
 The context
The broader world that your product/brand lives in

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
LETS TALK