talk I gave to Miami Ad School students in January of 2011. ideas, as always, are WIP, but some thoughts about planning today.

1. IDEAS IDEA IDEAS!
how to fuel them, how to see them, how to make them awesomer
heidi hackemer
@BBHNewYork / Strategic Director
@uberblond

2. First things first…
The story that planners must be able to
define and tell (brilliantly)

3. 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

4. WHEN THESE CATEGORIES ARE TIGHT, WHEN ONE
THING FLOWS INTO THE OTHER, CONGRATS. YOU’VE
BUILT THE PROVERBIAL STRATEGIC FORTRESS

5. 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

6. fueling the ideas

7. 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

8. ADMITTINGLY, WE’RE GOING TO GO A BIT ROGUE
HERE (TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT… SERIOUSLY)

9. THE TRADITIONAL SYSTEM
PRODUCTION
ACCOUNT
STRATEGY
CREATIVE
MEDIA
hand off, hand off, hand off…

10. THIS PROCESS TENDS TO BE!
INEFFICIENT!
SLOW!
FRUSTRATING!
BUILDS WALLS BETWEEN INTERNAL TEAMS

11. ADDITIONALLY, THIS HISTORICAL,
INDUSTRY PROCESS HAS GROWN
AND FUELED THE MYTH OF THE
ICONIC LONE WOLF STRATEGIST

12. 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!

13. THIS IS CRAP.!

14. 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!

15. 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

16. 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’

17. THE BETTER ANALOGY?

18. THE MOTHER EFFIN’
WOLF PACK
TEAMS INTELLIGENTLY BOUNCING
IN AND OUT OF A COLLABORATIVE
GROUP ENVIRONMENT, ALL
WORKING TOGETHER TO SLAY THE
THE BETTER ANALOGY?
PROBLEM

19. SO INSTEAD OF THIS…
PRODUCTION
ACCOUNT
STRATEGY
CREATIVE
MEDIA
hand off, hand off, hand off…

20. THE MODEL STARTS TO LOOK LIKE THIS…
MEDIA
STRATEGY
CREATIVE
ACCOUNT
PRODUCTION
CLIENTS

21. 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

22. 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…

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. TWO MORE THINGS!
GET A WALL!
USE GOOGLE DOCS!
IT’S ALL ABOUT EXPOSURE

28. 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

29. so we got some fuel going,
ideas are starting to roll
how do you see and define a great idea?

30. 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

31. 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!

32. 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

33. 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!

34. SOME PRETTY GREAT MODERN TACTICS!
T-MOBILE DANCE IN LIVERPOOL STATION!
GOOGLE YOUTUBE SYMPHONY!
GOOGLE YOUTUBE PLAY!
CHROME ARCADE FIRE!
AXE UNDIE RUN

35. 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)…

36. 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?

37. 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)

38. GRANTED, THIS IS KINDA A “GUT” PHASE OF THE
PROCESS!
BUT HERE’S A CONSTRUCT THAT MIGHT HELP

39. FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF YOUR PEOPLE, DOES
YOUR IDEA FALL INTO ONE OF THESE AREAS?
PURE DELIGHT
EMOTIONALLY USEFUL
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL

40. 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

41. WHERE IT STARTS!
REALLY THINKING ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE
WANT AND WHAT THE BRAND CAN
AUTHENTICALLY DO FOR THEM

42. 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

43. 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

44. WHAT DEFINES GREAT PLATFORMS!
GENEROSITY!
MULTIFACETEDNESS !
RESPONSIVENESS!
PROPAGATION

45. 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

46. 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
doesn’t live on and on; Nike +
the thought does
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL
Often, a new creative
approach every month

47. Google YouTube Tactics
The Great American
Apparel Diet
The Man Your Man Could Be
Dating Brian
The industry’s latest
poster-child of PURE DELIGHT
EMOTIONALLY USEFUL
responsiveness… and
he’s back
Chrome Fast
Being Girl
Chrome Arcade Fire
Pepsi Refresh
Axe Undie Run
Nike +
FUNCTIONALLY USEFUL

48. 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

49. How to make great ideas awesomer
(aka building awesome ecosystems)

50. 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

51. LET’S FIRST TAKE A STEP BACK

52. BECAUSE WE’RE IN THE WEB WORLD, REMEMBER,
MORE AND MORE OUR IDEAS MUST EMBODY!
GENEROSITY!
MULTIFACETEDNESS !
RESPONSIVENESS!
PROPAGATION

53. OKAY, BACK TO ECOSYSTEMS

54. 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

55. FIRST THINGS FIRST!
COMMIT TO THE CORE OF YOUR IDEA

56. 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

57. 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…

58. BUILDING ECOSYSTEMS!
HONING IN ON THE CORE WILL HELP YOU DECIDE
HOW YOUR IDEA SHOULD BEHAVE!

59. 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

60. IDEAS NEED CODES OF BEHAVIOR AS WELL!

61. 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)

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

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

64. ECOSYSTEM: WHERE YOUR IDEA LIVES,
INTERACTS AND PLAYS!

65. THE TRICK TO BUILDING GREAT ECOSYSTEMS?!
UNDERSTANDING THE CULTURES OF THE MEDIA
PLATFORMS

66. 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

67. THIS DOESN’T HELP IN MAKING A GREAT TV IDEA
NOR UNDERSTANDING HOW TO BUILD IT INTO AN
ECOSYSTEM

68. 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

69. KNOWING HOW TWITTER FUNCTIONALLY WORKS
DOES NOT MEAN THAT YOU UNDERSTAND
TWITTER (NOR ANY OTHER PLATFORM)

70. 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

71. 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

72. 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

73. LET’S TALK …