Experience Matters

ABB - Always be briefing …

Have you watched this scene from Glengarry Glen Ross? “Coffee is for closers. Always be closing.” I saw this for the first time about three weeks ago. Wow. It left an impression.

I’ve since discovered that this is hugely popular monologue for auditioning actors. And apparently, salespeople refer to it all the time (but not as an example of good salesmanship).

It’s natural for anyone professionally engaged in seeking insight to be thoughtful, analytical, and maybe a little introverted. As one of those people, I know how I can react when I’m presented with a problem to solve. When I’m at my worst, I’ll start to dig into the mechanics of the research, concentrating on the methods and the deliverables. But when I’m at my (more extroverted) best, I’m playing a detective hunting for truths and then I’m playing a preacher, evangelizing those truths to anyone who will listen.

I mentioned our annual planning meeting in my last post. We talked a lot about how we provide insight and we arrived at two conclusions:

• Briefing should be continuous.
• Briefing should be an experience.

What is “briefing” as opposed to a deliverable called a “brief”? We concluded that the act of sharing insight is active, not passive. While tools like creative briefs are useful and important, they aren’t always active. They don’t guarantee that your insights will find a home with your audience. Everyone has an off-day when they get distracted or become unfocused. What if it happens to the creative director reading your carefully prepared creative brief for the first time?

To counter these inevitable hiccups, a briefing should be something that can happen anytime and anywhere. It should be easily repeated. It should always be inspirational.

Briefing should be continuous. Sometimes, insights need to be repeated to promote understanding. I’ve sailed boats for many years and I’m a highly competent navigator when in sight of land. However, it took me ages to really grasp the simple navigational concept of performing a running fix. I could always do it, but it took three different people to help me understand why it worked. A carefully crafted insight isn’t that different. Sometimes you need to repeat it for your audience to really understand its subtleties.

Sometimes, insights need to be repeated so they can evolve. They can be like a collection of pretty stones. As they’re passed from hand to hand, they become smoother, shiner. People add their own contributions to the collection, making it better. Insights change as they’re been discussed and interpreted by their audience.

But what does “continuous briefing” really look like? We’re still learning, but we think it means starting with a great, simple story that you can tell easily over coffee, in an elevator or while working at someone’s desk. It also means changing and re-sharing that story when the insights evolve.

Briefing should be an experience. Let’s play word association football. I’ll start. “Eighty page report.” Opps. Fumble.

Let’s face it - nothing takes more fun out of great insights than burying them in a boring document. Granted, excellent creative briefs are inspirational because they are short and “to the point”. But if we work in the experience industry, why can’t our briefings be experiences?

This is how Glegarry Glen Ross caught my attention. Blake, the guy from downtown, makes his point in a way that the other salesmen (and we) will never forget. Don’t get me wrong - I’m not suggesting that you take a pair of brass balls to your next briefing. But how do you show your enthusiasm, your excitement for those truths you’ve uncovered? How do you engage your audience so that they remember what you’ve shared? How do you sell your insights? What does your briefing experience look like?

We’re still learning (and we’d love to hear your suggestions in the comments) but we believe it starts with showing a little conviction and using something that catches your audience’s attention. I’ve publicly declared that the timeshare industry is “fascinating” and then gone on to proven it in a briefing. Another planning director here claims to have witnessed a briefing about automotive products that employed Lego models of a car and garage. Vroom, vroom, putt, putt. Creative was enthralled.

It’s not the whole answer, but it’s a start. Maybe the next step lies in A-I-D-A. Attention. Interest. Decision. Attention.

Next time: More Quick Questions with Information Architects playing in Flash