NORTHERN PLANNER

In Paul Watzlwick’s The Situation is hopeless but not serious he opens with a little story about the Austrians.

A once great Empire, the sheer diversity meant that agreeing on the common sensical was virtually impossible and absurdity permeated every facet of life. ‘Simple problemswere impossible and impossible problems acheievable by default’. ‘Austria loses every battle but the hopeless ones’. Sounds like planning to me, trying to do impossibly clever stuff just because that’s what planners are supposed to do.

We’ve all been guilty of it, inexplicable inability to do something perfectly good and right because it’s too simple. I suspect that many have ignored a flash of inspiration that came too early in the process.."Hold on, I haven’t thought enough about thism surely there must be more?"

Yes, very often we cannot resist the urge to muddy things with added layers of complication just because we want to be shinier, harder, looks like genius. I’m not sure last week’s Campaign helped when they argued that some of their percieved best work recently looks like it’s had no planning – like Drench, Sony Balls or the Gorilla. Simple ideas (truths?) executed very well.

What I dislike about this observation is that ‘planning’ needs to shine out of the work, it needs to look really, really, really clever. On the most frustrating things about my job is that very few people see how much you’ve left out. But that’s the job.

That doesn’t mean reducing stuff down to something dumb, or bullet hard advertising propositions, but it does mean compressing lots of good stuff into a rich, simple idea. But that’s the job. Leave your ego at the door and get on with it.

When you developing strategy it’s very easy to do the right thing. You know, do masses of groups, prove your point with a quant study and develop an lovely, elegant strategy that makes total sense. Who knows, there may be shining insight. It will probably track well too.

But you’re probably missing as trick. I’m often amazed at how how few marketing people actually go out and talk to the people who use their product or service while they’re actually using it. They never see what the true relationship actually is – they won’t say much that matches your brand onion, but they will tell you exactly what your company really means to them. Stuff that doesn’t come out in groups because it’s too intuitive.

Rich stuff tends to tumble out. Not just how best to promote what you’re selling, but NPD, product development, real meaty business stuff.

One of the best NPD guys I ever worked with worked for a handtools brand and used to look at how professionals modified their tools – and simply made it. No one else bothered and they continually remained one step ahead of the competition. 

In the Observer’s Book of Books they outline Christopher Booker’s Seven basic plots found in storytelling. Interesting way of thinking about the theme to a creative brief, the story behind your presentation or even the brand narrative if you believe in such things.

In a world where being interesting is just as essential as being salient, I think think this is good way to frame stimulating thinking.

They are:

Overcome a monster

Rags to Riches

A quest

Voyage and return 

Comedy – usually a nightmarish comedy of errors

Tragedy

Rebirth

Honda is very much about quest to me, so is the famous Tesco work with Dudley Moore. I guess much of the VW Golf work has a tragedy worked in, espescially the Great Pretender. Much of challenger brand thinking is about overcoming a big bullying enemy this is one of my favourite Irn Bru ads that neatly destabilised Coke and co etc, etc.