How to harness collaboration to take clients to extraordinary and unexpected places
Our industry no longer uses labels such as ‘advertising’, ‘digital’ or ‘CRM’. At best, we see our function in the world as being creative business partners. Collectively, we should try to start with a business or consumer problem and remain open to the kinds of creative solutions we end up with. They could be new digital services, new brands or brand ideas or even helping clients become a publisher of content that serves their brand purpose.
The Drum's Plan It Day getting underway
An open-minded, creative engagement with any challenge is the key to success in today’s world. And why we think The Drum’s Plan It and Do It Days, getting underway today, are a great force to catapult the industry into open, collaborative ways of working.
There are a number of ways to embrace this collaborative approach. Thinking of the 10 challenges ahead at Plan It Day, we have pulled out three key principles which we think are intrinsic to this way of working:
1. Unconventional diversity. Get a wide range of talents and perspective involved from the outset. People with unconventional backgrounds – such as creatives working with ethnographers working with technologists, data scientists and UX specialists – help you define the problem more broadly and start from an interesting place.
2. Data and insight brings clarity. There is so much data and information out there that mastering it quickly can not only help understand the problem, but can be an intrinsic part of the solution too.
3. Keep iterating. Crucial to an open approach. Broader solutions don’t come from a linear process where one person or team ‘finishes their bit’ and hands off to the next team. Keep the key people involved and be prepared to evolve the strategy and idea as the execution iterates.
Ultimately, with the right mix of talent and tools you end up somewhere extraordinary and unexpected - somewhere that you’ve never been before
It’s something that I’m sure that we’ll all discover during the fascinating Plan It Day, which is very much the same thing – getting people from different backgrounds into a room to come up with the best possible solution to a challenge. It is why we at Wunderman are very proud to sponsor it.
After all, when you don’t know the end destination, the most important factor is having brilliant people along with you on the journey.
Chris Perry is CEO at Wunderman