Flipping Questions & Awarding Inventiveness

In this Cannes Lions case study video, we can see that CHEIL asked themselves how they could get the Home Plus store to come to more people rather than asking how they could get more people to come to the store. Sometimes, simply flipping the key question around is all you need to land on a great idea. It's by no means a new way to generate ideas, but I think it's an often forgotten one.

As an interesting related note regarding the awarding of the Media Grand Prix Lion to CHEIL for this work, AdAge.com shares the following (Ms. Francoli Plaza was the jury chair for the media category):

"It was pretty unanimous. ... When we saw this case most of us appreciated the difference and the consumer insight," said Ms. Francoli Plaza. While there was wide agreement about which agency and campaign should be awarded the top prize, the topic of effectiveness and to what degree results should be factored into the deliberation process prompted much debate, the jurors said. (In the end, effectiveness wound up taking a backseat to creativity.)

It would appear that before they set out to judge the work, there was a debate about where to place greater emphasis, creativity or effectiveness. The planner in me cringes at diminishing the importance of effectiveness, but the creative spirit in me champions their decision in this case. This age-old debate has a far different context in the modern era of media versus its relevance to the past.

In the past, the media landscape was relatively constant. Today, we're living in a media environment that is changing at an exponential rate. Everything and anything can become media with the right idea behind it. Because of this, we need to encourage creativity and diminish fear of failure.

When an idea is brought to life that took a risk and showed positive results, we should celebrate it so as to encourage others who have been afraid to take risks to step futher out towards the ledge. Very few people and brands have the courage to be bold leaders. Most like to be near the end of the early majority when it comes to adopting new ideas. The more these brands see others doing new things, the easier it is for them to inch towards them.

So, while I hate seeing effectiveness take a back seat to creativity, if we're going to have a show that celebrates creativity and inventiveness over effectiveness in some cases, Cannes is the place to do it. From my view, it's the only show that has the attention of both the advertising world and the major brands/clients. By sharing and celebrating ideas that broke the mold while demonstrating any kind of positive results, we'll see more ideas in those same areas that improve upon the original idea to create greater effectiveness.

Ultimately, that leads to a better future for business and advertising alike. And that, the planner in me can definitely live with.

Comments

[Abby Adolphs]

Very interesting approach... how they could get the Home Plus store to come to more people rather than asking how they could get more people to come to the store. I think the more ways/angles you look at a problem, especially in advertising, the more likely you're going to find a great solution.