Planners love to go on about the importance of innovation.
Of pushing boundaries.
Of finding that killer insight that can tap into societies heart and mind in ways that literally transform culture.
We go on about consumers journeys.
Transmedia thinking.
Cultural tension points.
I’m not saying it’s all bollocks … but I do think that sometimes we forget that for a lot of people, something that gives them a moment of laughter is more appealing than the best brand proposition in the entire Universe.
Imagine you are a company selling cheese graters.
Yes, cheese graters.
Do you hire an agency to help you position your product in a way that is better than the competition?
Do you ask the planner to uncover an insight that can engage – or influence – the broader culture?
Do you engage media experts to identify the ultimate touch points to reach your idea consumer?
Or do you simply do this?
Yes it’s cheesy [pun fully intended] … yes it is reliant on someone walking down a particular aisle of a supermarket … yes it loses all its charm the moment you have removed it from the packaging … but sometimes the biggest insight is there is no insight, or should I say no insight that will fundamentally grow/differentiate your brand from the countless others and if you want to stand out, it’s better to let go of all the rules and just make someone smile.
And yes, I do know that’s a sort-of insight, but not so much of an insight as the fact that going shopping with children is supposedly the 5th most stressful experience after death, divorce, marriage & child-birth … so anything that can inject a moment of joviality will be disproportionately appealing.
Which is almost as good an insight as planners are simply post-rationalisers .