11/11

It’s time to get back in the box

Steven Wold

Everyone on earth has been told they needed to, “think outside the box.” It’s a tired old term. But ironically, I’m here to suggest that what it replaced—”thinking inside the box”— is now actually more true in today’s uber-connected world.

See, thinking outside the box worked when our job was to “interupt” people. To come up with a crazy idea that would get people to take notice—a “hey look at me” tactic. Go back to Apple’s “1984″ commercial. Or anyone remember, like them or hate them, the Quizno’s spongmonkey commercials? I realize some reading may not have been born in 1984, but Apple’s Macintosh launch was a piece of advertising history worth knowing about and it was certainly noticed back then.

Now fast forward to the millions of “viral” videos. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “Do something outside the box—like make one of those viral videos.” First mistake in that statement is it wasn’t going to be viral until at least one viewer said it was good enough to share. And second, what the heck is the purpose? Seemed no one ever had too much of that.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a lot about popular content. But, I have to admit, I am a strategic creative. While I like creative for creative’s sake from time to time, I’m an inside out kind of a guy—I’d prefer to cuddle up to some research and some key consumer insights before I try to solve a problem. And I’d suggest that some of the more brilliant marketing tactics of late, start from painting oneself into a corner before knocking it out of the ballpark. Or to use the metaphor it the title, thinking inside the box can help you achieve succeess well outside the box.

As creatives, strategy is our friend. It tells us what to say to whom. It doesn’t restrict our thinking, it just channels our thoughts. If strategy comes with insights gathered from data or qualitative research that you trust, even better. Because of that, I’ve never really thought about thinking “outside the box,” the process to me is always inside, the fruits of our labor are what fall outside the box.

Strategy and insights form the foundation of what we do, always been true, never truer. What we used to do, whether we thought about it as out of the box thinking or not, was toss rocks over the sides of the box. Like a viral video here, or a guerilla tactic there. All concieved to make a ripple in a crowd of people. But to what end? Did it matter that most of the people who witnessed the message could care less about a brand? Well, for the most part it didn’t matter. Until the consumer got a way to be heard.

The way I see it now (refer to the sketch), we stand on strategy as firm as ever. We need consumer insights now more than ever. Why, well look in that box—as creative people (that means every person in this place), we now have two challenges that the new world is making us responsible for: setting goals, and measuring our success. They are finding their way into the foundation of what we do every day. Want proof? Just count how many times you’ve heard “social marketing” and “ROI” mentioned in the same sentence the past 12 months.

Our jobs are no longer about tossing ideas over the walls of the box from the solid ground of strategy and insight—to interrupt—without concern for what happened to our precious concept until far later. It’s now about breaking down the walls to get engagement and involvement—immediately. While our ideas can be outrageous and incredible, they are deliberate—because we know what we are asking for in return. And it’s more than a “please don’t surf to another channel while my commercial is on.”

How do we break down the barriers? Well, pick a wall, the directions are there. Choose “relevancy” or “utility” or maybe it’s to break down a wall with a “shared purpose” or belief. You can use an “incentive” or a “cultural movement,” you can use any motivation a group or individual responds to. The key is that they respond.

I contend that while social media and the likes include a lot of experimentation and adjustment, success is a calculated guess, not a shot in the dark. Consumers tell us what they think. They tell us what they want. We use our gut instincts to judge a creative idea based on what we know. Same as always. What’s different is that the medium could be anything. And the success isn’t only based on sales or next year’s benchmark research on awareness and perception.

The point is, even if you were on board with out of the box thinking, it doesn’t cut it anymore. Get back in the box and think your way out.

I’d be happy to hear others’ theories on where thinking has evolved. What’s changed for you?

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| Tags:
advertising, cocreation, community, creative thinking, critical thinking, cultural movements, entertainment, goals, incentives, inside the box, insights, marketing, measurement, outside the box, planning, propagation planning, ROI, shared experience, shared purpose, social marketing, social media, strategy, utility

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Susan Spaight

Well said, Steven.

“Get back in the box and think your way out.” Love it. And the thought of you “cuddling up” with some consumer insights…nice. And the fact that you are talking about not just engaging but involving. Amen.

From my pov as a planner, the box has changed. The box used to be “what’s the one thing”. A one-dimensional box, a square. Because of the myriad ways for people to participate now, the box has become a many dimensional box. A rubick’s cube, maybe. More strategic fun and juicy goodness than ever.

Many layers. Utility. Storytelling. Connecting. Involving.

But yes, there is still a box. The good news for creative is it’s maybe a little roomier, more interesting, than before.

Love this post.

Anonymous

Sue and Addy Trying to comment while on a plane. What fun. You both have wonderful observations. I love the idea of a Chief Culture Officer, but agree with Sue that it may not take a scientist to do it. So much of what we do is instinct. We need affirmation on what our gut tells us is the right thing to do. That’s why I like planners. But the other thing planners get that a educated Culture Officer might not- is creative. Take the best of all worlds. Give me one of those.

Anonymous

Sorry. Glitch in my phone letting me comment as me. Steven

http://twitter.com/addy_dren Andreana Drencheva

Steven, I loved the post from the minute you shared the idea with me last week. As Sue said, many layers and I am glad you mention cultural movements because they’ve become such a great part of our lives.

For me your drawing is worth much more than 1000 words. It is amazing how it captures so many ideas.

What I think we still struggle with, and by we I mean almost all advertising folks, is measurement and insights. And by insights I don’t mean the information we get from surveys and focus groups, but the insights we get from ethnographic research, from understanding culture and how it shapes our decisions, from understanding human behavior and how people make decisions. I am a big proponent of the idea of Chief Culture Officer, someone who lives and breathes culture and can put frameworks around trends, someone who can predict trends, because he/she understands the culture movements. But I think that Grant McCracken’s idea of Chief Culture Officer is a bit limited. It is not only about understanding culture, but also understanding humans. The Chief Culture Officer should be someone with anthropological and ethnographic background, but also with education on psychology, behavioral economics, etc. We assume that humans are rational beings, but many new studies show that we are not. We make decisions based on emotions, habits and context. So how does this relate to your brand? How do you change someone’s habit to buy a competitor’s product?

We also struggle with measurement because for first time we can measure more than just impressions and this brings two problems. First, we are scared of it. Second, we haven’t figure out what and how to measure yet.

Again, loved the post!
Susan Spaight

Great comment Addy.

Funny I hadn’t even really focused on the drawing earlier because I am so used to posts with bad stock. It. Is. FANTASTIC.

Insights. Yes. But, you do not have to be an “official” ethnographer, pscychologist, or behavioral economist to find them. That education is great, sure, but there is no reason that you, or
I, or a creative director, would lack the observational skills needed to mine a nugget of inspiration. Sometimes even volumes of great secondary research can be enough.

That said, I definitely agree that observational insight and cultural trends is still where it’s at.

Rock on.

http://twitter.com/addy_dren Andreana Drencheva

Sue, you are right that formal training isn’t required for someone to be successful to find and crystalize insights and turn them into actionable messages and strategies. However, I do think that some sort of training (formal or informal) is required in order for that person to be able to systematically search for patterns, trends, etc., record them and make sense of them. And this survey/ ethnographic research of culture shouldn’t happen only when there is a project. This person should absorb culture everywhere, every day in a matter much more grant and consistent than what cool hunters do and more focused on slow culture.

Sue Spaight

Agreed. And you would make an excellent account planner or ethnographer, BTW. But then you’re also excellent at what you do now. It’s hard to have so many mad skillz

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Steven Wold

Addy, Sue, et al.

Sorry all for the lack of quick response. Went to NYC Friday and Saturday. Left the laptop at home and my phone was acting out (and up). Only able to comment as Jigsaw, not me.

Anyway, aren’t we all trying to figure it out? As a creative, I find it an exhilarating time and a frightening time. In the past, the rules were somewhat drawn up by the media people. Now people are the media. Demographics and focus groups and the like gave us as finite a picture as we were going to get.

Now, the sandbox is bigger. The opportunity is greater, and (to me) the margin for failure is bigger too. That’s why I like the idea of a Culture/Conversation/Integrated Planner/Strategist. Or someone in the control tower watching how all the planes are landing and taking off. Hmmm… Think I should draw that up for the next post?