Utopia is an original brand and scenario planning tool devised by me as the Strategy lead at Clique CG. This framework helps agencies and brand teams in coming up with strategic brand ideas and creatives routes through collaborative group ideations. For doing an Utopia session for your brand or to see an example of how this tool helps, please get in touch.

1. THE UTOPIA IDEATION TOOLKIT
COMING UP WITH STRATEGIC IDEAS FOR CREATIVE ASSIGNMENTS
DEC ’14 | Dubai

2. The purpose of this document is to give a
clear direction to the strategy, accounts and
creative teams on how to crack big
STRATEGIC ROUTES on digital
assignments. While this guiding document
doesn’t suggest a hard-and-fast, by-the-
book approach, the aim still is to bring a
synergy in our collective thinking process.

3. Agenda/
On Ideations
The Prelude
Creative Planning
The Utopia model
Implementation module

4. ““Takes two to tango”Takes two to tango”
1.Conducting an ideation1.Conducting an ideation

5. You’ll need two members to
orchestrate the perfect
ideation session,

6. PROBLEM OWNER
A member from the
accounts/creative team
who runs the session
FACILITATOR
A member from the Strat
team who oversees the
session

7. 1 problem owner to set agenda
briefingbriefing ideasideas presentationpresentation
2 problem owner to present research
(“right question” and “right answer” for “10 factors”)
3 facilitator to present tool
5 problem owner to jot down the team notes
4 team to contribute on ideas
6 problem owner to combine them
7 facilitator to round up

8. ““bit of background”bit of background”
2.Prelude to the platform2.Prelude to the platform

9. Remember an old, classic ad? Any old, classic ad.Remember an old, classic ad? Any old, classic ad.

10. The narrative always spoke of two worlds.The narrative always spoke of two worlds.

11. The plain, old, boring world.

12. And the changed, new, exciting
one.

13. With the
brand at the
center.

14. How many ads like this can you remember?

15. And how many brands kept their promise?

17. ““the changing face”the changing face”
2.Creative planning and our model2.Creative planning and our model

18. Brands are more real than ever.Brands are more real than ever.

19. They are everyday touch and feel objects.They are everyday touch and feel objects.

20. They are experiences.They are experiences.

21. They are encounters.They are encounters.

22. Things to write home about.

23. Did you see the new ad? Did you experience the new site?

24. Now, let’s look at traditional
agency branding models

25. *Source: Ogilvy

26. *Source: BBH

27. *Source: TBWA

28. *Source: LBi

29. *Source: SapientNitro/Simon Sinek

30. What’s common?
They all speak of a journey.

31. where the plain, old boring world
transforms into
a sublime, new, exciting state

32. An immaculate site experience.
An app that turns you into an artist.
A branded film that’s pure cinema.

33. A moment in time and space where everything is just perfect.

34. A state of
realized dream
we call
“utopia”.

35. To transform a business is to go from POBW to Utopia.

36. Who are we?

37. Clique.Clique.
A connected agency for the digital age.A connected agency for the digital age.
We transform businesses by inspiritingWe transform businesses by inspiriting
people.people.

38. How do we transform businesses and inspirit people?
Business
Challenge
Say
What
What
Say

39. How do we transform businesses and inspirit people?
Step 1:
Name the problem
Step 2:
Understand
Step 3:
Unearth

40. All the steps.
Step 1:
Name the problem
Step 2:
Understand
Step 3:
Unearth
Step 4:
Unravel
Step 5:
Unify
S
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N

41. Team Exercise: Case
*X is a client brand of Clique Interactive
Let’s try this on brand X.
NAME THE PROBLEMNAME THE PROBLEM
SAY WHATSAY WHAT
WHAT SAYWHAT SAY
TRANSFORMS
BUSINESS
TRANSFORMS
BUSINESS
INSPIRITS PEOPLEINSPIRITS PEOPLE

42. What is the business problem?
Group Exercise: 10 minutes

43. The first task on any account is
to
scoped the requirement
*From the Clique Creative Briefing deck

44. BUSINESS PLAN
where is the client’s business headed?
ENTERPRISE PLAN
who really are we in business with? the stakeholders, the managers,
the partners, the local agency? how are they?
BRAND PLAN
what is the brand about? globally vs. locally.
ACCOUNT PLAN
what’s on our roadmap with them?
COMMS PLAN
what have they been saying/doing? what are
they going to say/do?
CONNS PLAN
what touchpoints (across media) are essential
for the brand to activate?
*From the Clique Creative Briefing deck

45. Understand Phase: Answer the
“Say What”
Group Exercise: 20 minutes

46. Things you would
want to dig in to.
THIS IS THE CLIQUE
SIX FACTORS TEST.
trends
people
industry
entity
medium
adversar
y

47. Understand Phase:
Answer the “Say What”

48. 1 What are the key
cultural trends
(societal,
technological or
economical) around
the product or
category?
Does the brand or the
category have any
significance culturally?
2 How does the industry sell
itself today?
What are the emerging
features- whether good or
bad?
What gap existed in the
category before our brand
came along?
What is our greatest strength
in the industry?
3 What is the business of the
brand?
why does the brand exist?
what is the world as per the
brand ideology?
why would people believe in
the brand’s story or solution?

49. 4 Whom do we attract?
what is their belief in
the brand?
how do they engage
with us?
what do they think of
us?
what do they say of
us?
5 What is the nature of the
medium?
what are people expecting
from the medium?
how does the brand behave
in the medium?
Is there a media trend that
we are expected to ride on?
6 What is the alternative to us?
who’s is the closest name?
what do they do differently?
what else can people cling
on to if not us?

50. Sample case:
A “Say What” to
“What Say”
in Trends
(before) (after)

51. Unearth Phase: Think with “What
Say”
Group Exercise: 20 minutes

52. Now comes
Utopia.

53. 1 What say we start a
movement around our
brand?
Or a new trend?
2 What say we create a new
way of looking at the
industry?
Or create a new industry
altogether?
3 What say we create new
ways of using the brand?
What if we create a new
product or service out of the
existing brand?

54. 4 What say we create
something that
changes the way
people dealt with our
brand?
What say we change
their current behavior?
5 What say we do something
groundbreaking with the
medium?
What say we change the way
people have always thought
of it?
What say we carve a niche
for our brand there?
6 What say we create our own
enemy by going against own
old norms and beliefs?
And then slowly transform
ourselves into it?

55. And ideas ensued…. Scribble them away.

56. Unravel Phase: Plot ideas
Group Exercise: 5 minutes

57. # 1
# 2
There are no bad ideas. But then again, bad is not the only negative adjective out
there, is it?
innovates
renovates
easy
hard

58. Unify Phase: Bring solidarity and
then evaluate
Group Exercise: 10 minutes

59. How to make ideas better.

60. Meets broader objectives?
Yes/No
Inspirits people?
Yes/No
Transforms the business?
Yes/No

61. Go ahead, make the
strategy deck
S
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62. Thanks.
To see an actual case of this tool being applicable to a
brand,
please get in touch with inbox.kunaldgp@gmail.com.