I've presented this deck as part of the Holistic Young Planners Education for APG Belgium on April 21 2015, at mortierbrigade Brussel. It's meant to help young planners improve cooperation with the creative department.

1. WHY WORKING WITH
CREATIVES ISN’T WORKING
HYPE SESSION
APRIL 21
Vincent d’halluin – SD mortierbrigade

2. HELLO!
I AM VINCENT
@vincentdh

3. WHY
WORKING WITH CREATIVES
ISN’T WORKING

5. WHY
WORKING WITH CREATIVES
ISN’T WORKING

7. Bernoulli’s
Equa/on:

8. Feynman Technique
• Step 1. Choose the concept you want to understand.
• Step 2. Pretend you’re teaching the idea to someone else.
• Step 3. If you get stuck, go back to the book.
• Step 4. Simplify your language.

9. Good planners make
complicated things simple.
Bad planners make
simple things complicated

11. “A problem well-put
is a problem
half-solved.”
John Dewey

12. YOUR JOB
SIMPLIFY

13. Most briefs
SELL MORE

14. SALES ARE NEVER
THE REAL PROBLEM

15. Exercise: WHY?
Define a daily life
problem and
keep asking why.

16. SOLVE THE PROBLEM
don’t answer to
the brief

17. WHY
WORKING WITH CREATIVES
ISN’T WORKING

19. UNDERSTAND
• The business
• The problem
• Your client
• Your
colleagues

20. UNDERSTAND
• The business
• The problem
• Your client
• THE CUSTOMER
• Your
colleagues

21. A BAT AND A BALL COST €1,10 IN TOTAL.
THE BAT COSTS €1 MORE THAN THE BALL.
HOW MUCH DOES THE BALL COST?

22. 3%

24. SYSTEM 1
• FAST
• IMPLICIT
• EXPERIENTIAL
• INSTINCTIVE
• EMOTIONAL
SYSTEM 2
• SLOW
• EXPLICIT
• ANALYTICAL
• EFFORTFUL
• COGNITIVE

25. YOU GIVE EMOTIONAL PEOPLE A BRIEF WRITTEN BY RATIONAL
PEOPLE.
EMOTIONAL PEOPLE who ARE NOT allowed to critic the work
of rational people.
You go back with emotional work to rational people.

27. YOUR JOB
human understanding
CREATIVE INSPIRATION

28. YOUR JOB
human understanding
business advantage

29. INTRODUCING
THE BRIEF
Vs
The briefing

30. “Every order which can
be misunderstood will
be misunderstood”
Jacob Meckel, 1877

31. A SYMPHONY?
THE BRIEF
• CLEAR
• Stating the problem
• inspires
• Elaborated & discussed
• from the planner
THE BRIEFING
• Clear
• Stating the problem
• inspires
• In beta & open to discussion
• From the team

32. BRIEFING
OUTPUT
INPUT

33. INFLUENCE
INTELLIGENCE

35. CLAIMS
Vs
IDEAS

36. Great campaigns are A
simultaneous orgasm of
strategy and creation.
It’s rare in advertising as well

37. SHOW WHAT PEOPLE
WITH DEMENTIA ARE
CAPABLE OF,
THANKS TO THE POWER
OF MUSIC

39. Let’s play
WHAT’S THE BRIEF

40. Let’s play
WHAT’S THE BRIEF

41. Let’s play
WHAT’S THE BRIEF

42. Let’s play
WHAT’S THE BRIEF

43. My first campaign
@ mortierbrigade
Good joke – strategy: 1 - 0

44. YOUR JOB
BECOME THE CREATOR
OF DIRECTIONS

45. Directions?
• Start with many ideas. People
with little ideas freak out.
• Discuss the directions
• Provide stimuli

46. Make it an experience
• Go outside
• Try the product
• Go where your target is

47. What creatives say
• Be brief
• AVOID , , , , ,
• Spark ideas
• Give many proof points
• Use insights only if they are fresh / TRUE
• Don’t create or write taglines
• BE PROVOCATIVE
• BELIEVE IN THE POTENTIAL
• WEAR NICE SHOES

48. The next day
HI

49. REPOSITION
Creepy weirdos Beloved entertainers

50. REPOSITION

51. WHY
WORKING WITH CREATIVES
ISN’T WORKING

52. “You and I both drink from
the same well of inspiration.
The difference is that you
get to piss in it first.”

53. EXERCISE
YES BUT

54. INTRODUCING
THE REVIEW

55. ASK

56.
• If you want to win an argument, ask the person trying to
convince you of something to explain how it would
work.
• If they can explain why they are correct and how
things would work, you’ll learn something. If they can’t
you’ll soften their views, perhaps nudging them ever so
softly toward your views.

57. • You should attempt to re-express your target’s position so
clearly, vividly, and fairly that your target says, “Thanks, I
wish I’d thought of putting it that way.
• You should list any points of agreement (especially if they
are not matters of general or widespread agreement).
• You should mention anything you have learned from your
target.
• Only then are you permitted to say so much as a word of
rebuttal or criticism.

58. FEEDBACK METHOD
• Questioning feedback: “what did you like best?”
• AFFIRMATIVE FEEDBACK “What I liked…”
• PERSPECTIVE FEEDBACK “as a planner, I lack…”
• Open feedback “according to you, …”
• Gossip feedback: everyone gives feedback, creative only
replies afterwards
• Tips & tricks feedback: “I once worked on this campaign and
we did that to tackle the issue”
• Personal feedback: write an email afterwards
• Plus one feedback: if you agree, keep it short

59. Become the (wo) man
with the questions
instead of the planner
with the answers.

60. COMMANDMENTS
• Be useful
• Help, don’t impress
• Don’t fall in love
• Build trust
• Give all your ideas away

61. LOVE
THEM

62. WHY
state the problem clearly
WORKING WITH CREATIVES
ISN’T WORKING

63. WHY
state the problem clearly
WORKING WITH CREATIVES
collaborate, don’t convince
ISN’T WORKING
.

64. WHY
state the problem clearly
WORKING WITH CREATIVES
collaborate, don’t convince
ISN’T WORKING
questions are your best friend