I think its safe to say we were all glued to our screens
watching the 24-hour coverage of the amazing scenes unfolding in
the Chilean desert this week. It was a story that had it all;
tension, drama, emotion, pride and, best of all, a very, very happy
ending. You could almost hear the keyboards of any number of
Hollywood screenwriters rattling along in time with the rescue
capsule.
'Now what's all that got do with advertising?' I hear you ask.
Well, think of getting those 33 brave men out of the ground as the
brief. Then think of the fact that all 33 men actually did get out
of the ground as the final produced work. Now think of the team
that took the project from brief to reality.
The job could have been given to the mine team, but they probably
wouldn't have cracked it on their own (tough brief!). So they
looked at whom else they could pull in. That meant drilling
specialists from the oil industry, mine rescue specialists from
around the world, specialists in operating in confined spaces from
the Chilean navy, psychologists, nutritionists and so on. And
that's before you even start thinking about all of those family
members who kept giving those miners something to hold on to, to
aim for.
So answering the brief called for some truly radical thinking and
risks to be taken in an incredibly pressured situation. The
Chileans took on the challenge, used every brain and resource they
could muster and they absolutely cracked it - a clear two months
before their deadline too.
The lesson is that they took themselves out of their usual way of
thinking - 'it's a mine problem, let's stick with miners to fix it'
- and managed to unearth (sorry!) a quicker, smarter and ultimately
hugely successful solution.
Ok, its not saving lives, but when working in our industry you
face similar obstacles. The way in which you approach these
obstacles will inevitably play a huge part in the development of
the idea. By taking yourself out of your usual way of thinking, by
seeking stimulus from other worlds and sources I think you will
come up with richer more engaging ideas.
We call this way of working Connected Creativity. It's about
involving people in the generation of ideas that might not be part
of a traditional model.
It is often said that the most innovative ideas are born of
necessity, and many times with little or no budget. What makes
these ideas or hidden gems so powerful is their ability to forge
deep connections with people, which will happen when you put the
right people in the right environment.
It's an old saying but great ideas can come from anywhere, so why
wouldn't you want people who come from as many different
disciplines thinking about your business? If all of these great
creative minds hadn't come together for the miners then who knows
where they would be now.
Connected creativity is our way to best collaborate; using our
multitude of different skill sets.
Now more than ever, when budgets are tight and expectations are
high, who can afford to lose great ideas. It feels like a ripe time
to truly innovate and to give great ideas the best chance of seeing
the light of day.
Tagged:
Creative, Chiliean miners