Have you ever been asked how you would market a product or service if you weren’t limited by budget, time or resources? If you’re like us, you have. Even when presented with this utopian situation, many of us still hold back. It’s like we’ve been trained to adhere to the restrictions that we are forced to work within.
But consider this: as business leaders and marketers, our battle cry to management and other departments has always been to “think outside the box.” Well, it’s time to lead by example: stop holding back ideas from your digital agency because you’re scared they sound crazy. You’re holding your brand back, and you’re holding your digital agency back.
When you meet with your agency, here is a checklist of things to stop thinking about:
- How much is something like that going to cost?
- Do we have the space for that?
- Who will do the work?
- How will we pull this off logistically?
- Is the timing right?
- Will we be able to get this approved?
- How will people respond?
- What are the reasons this won’t work
Instead of being the person in the brainstorming meeting that is afraid to speak up, be the one that inspires others to speak up. Here’s the thing: you never know where a crazy idea might lead. It’s just a way to kick start a conversation, to spark another idea in someone else, to see where things go.
Even if your original idea isn’t the final approved idea (but let’s be realistic, when does that ever happen), it could lead to that pot of gold. Likely, the wildest ideas are going to be the catalysts that help your group, and your digital agency, learn more about the project and start the next steps.
Big ideas don’t always need to be on the extreme end of crazy either; crazy is going to be relative to your business. If you are in a stuffy industry, it might seem “crazy” to pivot away from golf events. Whatever crazy looks like in your industry, face it, embrace it, and see where it can take you.
The truth is, safe ideas are boring, and the marketing that results from them will be boring too, no matter how talented your team and your digital agency are. Even if your final creative only has a tenth of that original wild idea, it is still enough to take your campaign to the next level.
Don’t get bogged down by all the logic when you’re brainstorming. If your wild idea needs more research to support or debunk it, there is time for that after the brainstorming. Here’s another secret your digital agency knows: data is great but you can’t really ever predict how an audience will respond. Go big, be bold, and adjust as needed for successes and failures.
What is the “craziest” idea you have ever talked about with your digital agency?