After a few weeks of comms insight groups, and more to come, we are like the proverbial pigs in s**t. In our zone. Doing what we love best.
People being fundamentally fascinating makes all insight topics interesting, but for us there’s something especially juicy about comms work. The team and agency have to figure out something to say, and a way to say it, that’s not just true to the brand but also speaks to people. Connects with them. Ideally, lights them up. And when it works, it’s magic.
The challenge is getting a decent read on this when all we have is ideas.
For us, this means mimicking reality as much as we can. Minimal preamble. Focusing on the spontaneous. Giving people tools and experiences that enable them to imagine something beautifully finished from a script and a few line drawings. We have a raft of techniques to help with this, many of which clients tell us are ‘different’ (and better).
And, perhaps even more importantly, using our own experience of making and commissioning ads in the analysis, and focusing on the matters that matter. The big picture rather than the detail.
Will the ad get noticed at all in the first place? Because if it doesn’t, everything else is irrelevant. And if it’s polarising, is this in a good way?
What’s the tone and tenor of the response – the feeling in the room (or Zoom)? What’s really connecting and how do we know that?
What’s a genuine issue and what will be ‘forgiven in the execution’?
What will the overall takeout be, how does this reflect on the brand and is it on-strategy?
The world is too full of nice-but-dull films that tick boxes but don’t do the real job. Or, conversely, get people talking but don’t connect with the brand.
Our aim is to help clients avoid both these pitfalls, and contribute instead to ads that are on-strategy while getting noticed, loved and talked about, in a way that halos the brand and the experience of it.
That’s what lights us up.
Maddy is Director of Lucid. She has been described as a ‘maestra’ with groups of people and is appreciated for her passion and commitment as well as the clarity of her strategic thinking, insight and expression. Maddy began her career in advertising at Ogilvy and BBH and then worked at the Arts Council, English National Opera, AEA consulting and Stimulating World Research before setting up Lucid.