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 Kata - routines- algorithms - patterns
If you have ever done any martial arts then you will know about kata the
exercises practiced solus to improve technique, speed and accuracy.
This section of the website will add a series of such exercises for account
planners! Think of them as mental workouts particularly when you
are in a jam. We all fall into familiar patterns of thinking and
responding. And we all know of planners who seem to have been successful
doing one thing very well. Over and over again. But most of
us get stuck from time to time and need jogging out of the ruts we get
into. Which is what this section is all about.
Some of the kata I want to post here are legendary. Arguably a creative
brief is a formalised kata most agencies cannot survive without.
Think of them in two ways, as ways of jumping out of the loop and as checks
as to whether you have been thorough enough at following a particular
routine through. WARNING: Whatever happens don't try to do several
at one time. They will tie you up in knots!! By the way I'm not
the bloke in the illustrations: there's a limit isn't there to self promotion?
We all get stuck in ruts - we all get bogged down. Here are 10 ways to
reframe the communications task to get you out of the rut.
One of the biggest problems for planners working in agencies is coming
up with original thinking or in fact doing any thinking at all! Thinking
is hard work and temperament and environment can often conspire to stop
us ever putting our thinking caps on. This isn't about brainstorming.
We'll visit de Bono and wack ourselves on the side of the head at another
time.
Kata
No 3 How to Cock Up Magnificently every time
Agencies are traditionally afraid of making mistakes and owning up to
them. Which is a shame considering how essential mistakes are to
making genuine breakthroughs.
Future kata will include Grand Larceny - great ways to nick and rehash
stuff and as long as I don't get sued some of the classic memes from the
planning hall of greats (What?) brand onions/characters/ USPs/T plans/
The first anti-kata. This one is a steal - Dominic published this
in Sharp Stick years ago. But it is still available on the Wardle
McLean web site so click on the title above to go to the relevant page.
Kata
No 4 Will the real target audience stand up?
I am FED UP with sloppy creative briefs that provide so little lucid
and accurate information about the people we aim our communications at.
This is an attempt to find the real target audience and separate wood
from trees for once and for all.
Kata
No 5 So you want to interrogate the brand?
Still trying to get
under the skin of that pesky brand? Well here are some questions you might
not have thought of. And I guarantee that you won't have to resort to
imaging what kind of car or animal a brand might be. Well it's about time.....
Kata
No 6 What's the point of a creative brief?
A few thoughts which
came out of a recent discussion with an agency I was working with about
how to "improve" the creative briefing format. Creative briefs
model processes, they are contractual, they are intended to inform, but
also to stimulate. Here are some provocative questions to make you think
about what you're trying to bring about.
The second anti-kata.
This was culled from the wit and wisdom of some of the freelancers listed
on the site. What are the favourite killer comments that rabbit punch
great creative ideas into oblivion and have you ever used them? Framed
as a countdown because of the order in which they tend to be introduced.
I guess what we need soon is a kata on how to put down such assasination
attempts
Sailing really close
to the wind this time. If you waste advertising money - if you advertise
because all your compeitors do at this time of year then you're damaging
the medium you're using. Time to kick the addiction. This is bound
to upset everybody........
Kata
No 7 Comms tracking - fave questions
Thoughts on tracking
questions, the good, the pragmatic, the politically sensitive and
the genuinely useful.
Kata
No 8 Audiences - and how to look at them
Where's the best
perspective from which to look at an audience - I use a number
of different authors looking at the English to give you a few suggestions
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