This is another post I wrote for Creative Week.
THE BIG IDEA ISN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE
I went to a Creative Week session last Monday at City Winery called THE IDEA MATTERS….STILL. It opened with the panel (a bunch of Deutsch dudes: Jerome Austria, Bud Caddell, Morgan Carroll, Steve Nesle and Liz Gumbinner) talking about what they thought of their topic.
They asked themselves if it was bullshit.
And they concluded – spoiler alert! – yes and no.
Yes, because if you’re a creative, you know that “The Big Idea” still matters.
No, because while the importance of “The Big Idea” hasn’t changed, what it isabsolutely has.
So how do you know if you’ve come up with “The Next Big Idea”…or something else?
Here are some new rules for nailing it.
Don’t mistake a tactic for an idea. This is hard to do with so many gimmicky technologies out there. Lots of so-called Big Ideas are simply cool uses of technology. And these projects can be cool and successful and groundbreaking. While that’s great for technology, it’s not so great if you’re trying to be a conceptual creative.
Remove the glitter. You can reduce the best ideas down to a single sentence – the Deutsch guys talked about writing it down and leaving out the strategy, the visuals, really everything except the thought. Without all the glitter, does is still feel like a Big Idea? Or is it really an average idea wearing too much makeup?
Don’t perfect your Big Idea. It’s more important to get it out there for people to play with. Then, based on how people interact with it, figure out how to make it better. In digital, it’s easier to experiment with an idea and iterate. The important thing isn’t polishing your idea to perfection. It’s putting it in people’s hands and creating the experience that people want. Look at how Instagram and Twitter and Facebook change every few months. That’s because they’re not worried about being perfect. They’re looking for the feedback it takes to make their experience a better one.
Don’t put it all out there. Now that everything can be viewed or visited over and over again, give people a reason to spend more time with your idea. People are looking for experiences they can play with or learn from. They don’t want everything placed on a silver, pixelated platter. People like to debate online, so let them. Hold something back and give them something to talk about. The Deutsch guys talked about their online VW video The Bark Side – the one with dogs barking The Imperial March from Star Wars. The script called for dressing up all the dogs as Star Wars characters. At the last minute they decided to leave costumes off half the dogs. Instead of making it obvious which dogs were which characters, they let people debate who was who. There’s an Ewok, and Chewbacca, but is that Obi Wan or the Emperor? If you can’t tell, watch it again!
We’re still creatives looking for the next Big Idea.
But as you go hunting for it, remember that it’s not just “The Big Idea” that matters – it’s how you get to it.
What I Learned at SXSW Interactive 2012
This year I went to SXSW Interactive for the first time. While there, I talked to people and I saw people speak. Then I crammed what I could into a lightweight, handy Keynote. This is what I learned.
The keynotes, presentations and panels covered in this deck:
Ambient Location and the Future of the Interface
Presenter: Amber Case
Summary: We’re already cyborgs. But the technology isn’t inside of us. It’s in our pockets.
How to Harvest Consumer Intent from the Social Web
Presenters: Mullen CIO Edward Boches, Difference Engine Founder Farrah Bostic, Vayner Media co-founder AJ Vaynerchuk, and Springpad co-founder Jeff Janer
Summary: Brands try to insert themselves into our social graphs. But there’s a much more seamless and natural fit into our lives: interest graphs.
Create More Value Than You Capture
Presenters: Andrew Mcafee Principal Research Scientist MIT and Tim O'Reilly Founder, CEO O'Reilly Media
Summary: Jobs are being outsourced not just to low-wage countries, but to machines. We need to rethink how our economy works.
The End of Business as Usual
Presenters: Rock God Billy Corgan and Altimeter Group Principal Brian Solis
Summary: People have made the model change. But business leaders can’t bitch about it. They have to do something about it.
Why Your Car Will Be the 5th Screen in Your Life
Presenters: Tina Unterlaender, Director of Mobile, AKQA and Anupam Malhotra Manager, Connected Vehicle Audi Of America Inc
Summary: The time we spend in our cars shouldn't be wasted time connectivity-wise but it can't disrupt the driving experience.
Epic Battle: Creativity vs. Discipline in Social
Panelists: Mekanism CEO Jason Harris, 140 Proof Founder John Manoogian III, Barbarian Group Director of Earned Media Kristin Maverick and Story Labs Founder Sarahjane Sacchetti
Summary: There’s creativity. And there’s analytics. It seems like they don’t like each other. But we can make them get along.
Why Ad Agencies Should Act More Like Tech Startups
Presenter: AKQA CCO Rei Inamoto
Summary: The agency model isn’t working. So what can we learn from successful start-ups that would revitalize the advertising business?
Posted by Nathan Archambault on April 09, 2012 at 12:53 PM in Advice, Guest Posts, Musings, Social, Social Commentary, SXSWi 2012, Writing | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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