Ideas / Insights / Fire Drills

1. Let’s amplify
your portfolios
in 3 parts:
range / insights / fire drills
Gina Collura: Class #3

2. Why are we doing this?

3. Your portfolios
need more r a n g e
and less matching luggage

4. Matching luggage
The same 1-2 headlines + design
on all campaign components
- Oh, look! It’s a banner.
- And a homepage.
- And a 3-ad print campaign…
…and a billboard.

5. Your portfolio should have
a range of:
- Thinking + problem-solving skills
- Design “voices + skills”
- Copywriting “voices + skills”
- Products
- Services

6. What do I mean by “range?”

14. What do I mean by “range?”
There’s having a range of
Brands/Products/Services…
…And then there’s having a range of:
- Problem-solving skills
- Voices (copywriting)
+ Design approaches

19. Campaign in 2009: Snickers Case Study

20. Then this
happened
during the
2010 SuperBowl
Betty White

23. Barton FG 9000: Ragu Case Study

24. Re-cap
Range means:
- Products/Services/Brands
- Art Direction
- Copywriting
- Design techniques, looks
- Voices (humor, provocative,
smart, clever, etc)
- Digital, print, traditional, futuristic

25. Part II:
The importance of Insights

26. The work in your portfolio
should have:
An insight.
aka, a human truth.

27. What do I mean by that?
A refresher…

28. An insight.
aka, a human truth.
Observations + statistics
tell us what people say and do.
Insights tell us why.

29. Example
Observation: We tend to take Mom for granted.
Why?
Insight: We’re not good at visualizing or imagining
just how hard it is that she works for us and her
kids.
Idea: Create a fake job listing for “the toughest job in
the world.
Example: Product
Observation: We tend to take Mom for granted.
Why?
Insight: We’re not good at visualizing or imagining
just how hard it is, that she works for family.
Idea: Create a fake job listing for “the toughest job
in the world.”

30. Big Idea: World's Toughest Job - #worldstoughestjob
Emotional Big Idea

31. Example: Sports/Fitness
Observation: Not everyone aspires to be
a competitive athlete.
Why?
Insight: It’s not attainable or believable.
Idea: Greatness is within reach.

32. Big Idea: Find your greatness.
The Jogger

33. Example: Automotive
Observation: Minivans don’t excite young,
suburban, new parents.
Why?
Insight: If you drive a minivan, you’re a dork.
Idea: The Sienna Family

34. Big Idea: The Swagger Wagon.
Video that kicked off Campaign: https://youtu.be/ql-N3F1FhW4
Daddy Like PoolOut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm4Oe54g-nw
Mommy Like PoolOut:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hny91bKOKO0

35. Re-cap
An insight can help power Big Ideas.
It’s an undeniable, human truth.
It’s an aha! It’s emotional.
It can teach someone reviewing your portfolio
something they didn’t know (and they love that!)

36. Part III
Fire Drills:
A tool you can use

37. Agencies have their own names +
brainstorming processes:
Jam Sessions
Rumbles
Sprints
Power Hour
Idea Hacking
Design Thinking

38. Agencies + clients expect
creatives to think fast

39. Agencies + clients expect
creatives to think fast
- 1 hour
- 2 hours
- Briefed at 5 pm.
Ideas by 10 am.

40. Why do we do it?
Quantity gets to Quality
More Ideas
=
Better Ideas

41. “100 mph Thinking™”
Generate 100 ideas fast.
Identify 10 good ones.
Tweak.
Determine the best idea.
https://www.amazon.com/Do-Yourself-Lobotomy-Creative-Thinking/dp/0471417424

42. Today’s mission
5 brands*
5 fire drill sessions
15 minutes each
5 minute review
Lots of ideas + post its
*If time permits. If not, we can have a 2nd session.

43. The desired outcome
1+ Big Idea for your portfolio

44. The desired outcome
- An all-type solution
- Headline-driven campaign
- Exaggerated campaign
- Humorous/Funny campaign
- Something Provocative
- Dare I say, luxurious?

45. The desired outcome
More fun in your portfolios

46. Fire Drill Rules

47. We will have 5 fire drills for 5 different brands.
Each round will last 15 minutes. You will have 5
minutes to identify the best idea in each round.
- Work solo
- 1 idea/post-it
- Write as many as you can
- Do not edit yourself
- Ask yourself, “What If?” to start each idea
- You will review your post-its and
mark the best idea with the most potential

49. Write 3-5 words on each post-it
Think of it as a tagline
Or a Hashtag

50. The brands

51. Fire Drill #1
- First introduced in the US in 1985 (but started
in Canada in the 1970’s)
- They taste sour, then sweet
- Flavors: Lemon, lime, orange, raspberry
- Average cost $4.50
How do you get Gen-Z moviegoers
(your younger sibling/cousin/friend),
to buy a bag/box of Sour Patch candy
the next time they go to a movie?

52. - 16- to 18-year-olds with diverse backgrounds
- Their attention spans are eight seconds
- They’re unable to focus for extended amounts of
time
- However, Gen Z actually has highly evolved
"eight-second filters”
- They’ve grown up in a world where their options
are limitless, but their time is not
- Gen Z has been strongly shaped by their
individualistic, self-reliant Gen X parents and
they’re committed to avoiding the mistakes their
meandering millennial predecessors made
Who is Gen-Z?

53. Who is Gen-Z?

54. Fire Drill #1: The clock starts now
- First introduced in the US in 1985 (but started
in Canada in the 1970’s)
- They taste sour, then sweet
- Flavors: Lemon, lime, orange, raspberry
- Average cost $4.50
How do you get Gen-Z moviegoers
(your younger sibling/cousin/friend),
to buy a bag/box of Sour Patch candy
the next time they go to a movie?

55. 5-Minute Review
- Do you have any Big Ideas?
- Mark them with a star
- Does an idea spark another idea? Write it down
- Put post-its aside (in your sketchbook, or take a
picture, so you can refine and polish this into a
portfolio campaign later

56. Fire Drill #2
- Following the trend of whitening products
in various dental and beauty products, Trident
wants to bring whiter teeth to you, too.
- Comes in 5 flavors (Cool Rush, Peppermint,
Spearmint, Wintergreen, Sparking Mint)
- Gum is for everyone, young and old
Let’s exaggerate:
How white can gum make your teeth?

57. - Do you have any Big Ideas?
- Mark them with a star
- Does an idea spark another idea? Write it down
- Put post-its aside (in your sketchbook, or take a
picture, so you can refine and polish this into a
portfolio campaign later
5-Minute Review

58. Fire Drill #3
- San Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water
- An iconic, Italian brand
- Founded in 1899
- A bottle can be found on the tables in fine
restaurants around the world
How can you get Millennial foodies, who are
just starting out, to ask for a bottle of San
Pellegrino at their next dinner out with friends?

59. - Do you have any Big Ideas?
- Mark them with a star
- Does an idea spark another idea? Write it down
- Put post-its aside (in your sketchbook, or take a
picture, so you can refine and polish this into a
portfolio campaign later
5-Minute Review

60. The Elio Mission
To provide a fun-to-drive, super-economical, personal transportation
alternative, based on a list of consumer focused “must-haves” that
keep our vehicles affordable, safe, and environmentally friendly.
We are committed to the American dream, creating American jobs,
and bringing American automotive ingenuity to every vehicle
we build.
Fire Drill #4

62. Functional Benefits/Specs:
- 84 mpg
(drive from NYC
to Detroit on 1 tank)
- Starts at $7,300!
- Made in USA
- 3-wheeled (seats 2)
- Comes in 7 colors
- Has 1 door

63. It’s important to keep up with the
brands in your portfolios…
I just saw a commercial on TV yesterday.
We call this an “Anthem” spot/video:
Hello Elio TV Spot

64. Let’s create a campaign that creates buzz,
to let Fortysomething (Gen-Xers like me)
commuters––who drive to work––know about the
awesomeness of soon-to-be-released, Elio.
(Reserve today. Expected to be on the road in 2017)

65. - Do you have any Big Ideas?
- Mark them with a star
- Does an idea spark another idea? Write it down
- Put post-its aside (in your sketchbook, or take a
picture, so you can refine and polish this into a
portfolio campaign later
5-Minute Review

66. Fire Drill #5
- You know TicTacs, but you’ve never heard of
TicTac Mixers, where cherry becomes cola
and Peach becomes lemonade.
- The flavor changes—in your mouth.
- 1.9 calories. No Sugar. No Carbs.
How can you launch new TicTac Mixers?

67. - Do you have any Big Ideas?
- Mark them with a star
- Does an idea spark another idea? Write it down
- Put post-its aside (in your sketchbook, or take a
picture, so you can refine and polish this into a
portfolio campaign later
5-Minute Review

68. Last words
Your Portfolio:
Consider including 1 or more of the brands we worked on today
Ask yourself: Are these ideas big enough?
Are they the best reflection of your creative prowess +
awesomeness?
Portfolio Deadline + 5-Minute Stand-up: Halloween is 41 days away
Ready for feedback? Attend HAATB @ One Club this Friday, 9/30
+ show your portfolio! Registration required. Money is not. FREE!