Digital strategy is an ever-evolving process; something every company is always striving improve and be more efficient with. Deeper insight leads to a better strategy; and both push for higher campaign ROI (Return on Investment).
One of the topics most focused on, was that information doesn’t mean insight. To get to point B from point A, a lot of work has to be put in, bad ideas need to be had and then finally the best idea will rise! This isn’t to say that data doesn’t help, it means that’s not all you need to establish a successful strategy. When the whole team works together, and shares info, that’s when the real ideas begin to form.
Client and agency collaboration helps bridge any knowledge gap, allowing the creative team to have good, innovative ideas.
1. Keep it short and sweet
Creative briefs are often anything but brief, and in many instances, for no good reason. Lengthy descriptions, using business buzzwords and over describing problems can and often does, lead to more confusion than clarification. Think “we’re looking to raise sales among women” vs. “moderately declining numbers within our targeted demographic have led us to seek business development within the female audience.”
Yes, we’ve all been there, and we do all want to be descriptive enough to ensure everyone has a firm understanding of the task at hand but, before you send that brief to the team, try asking yourself, “could it be more brief?”
2. Limit the requirements
Within the brief itself, a simplified ask is always helpful to cultivate more creative and insightful solutions.
The more requirements given for the task, the more people feel confined in the solutions they can offer. Instead of pushing someone to find strategic results, you may be limiting them to standard answers that easily fit into a long list of requirements.
3. Ask and answer
Questions are a strategist’s best friend! Asking useful questions can unlock everything needed to find strategic answers and achieve positive results. The hard part about questions is knowing which ones are the best to ask. Interrogating may seem like a strong word, but the best way to understand the client ask is to ask lots of questions and obtain in-depth answers.
4. Research, research and, more research
To quote the conference directly, “Research [is] a tool that strengthens all of your brains.” When timelines are tight, research is something that doesn’t always get the time and effort it deserves.
A simple and useful way to keep research at the forefront of any strategy is to do a quick assessment of what would be useful for a project. Will it require first-hand research, or is secondary research readily available? How can qualitative and quantitative data each help with insight and ideas?
Ask yourself these questions before carving your strategy in stone and you’re guaranteed to improve your results.
Hope you found this information interesting. Thank you for tuning in!
