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Thinking inside the box

By Tim Sharp

Experience has taught us, that if you want to create a brand that does what it’s supposed to do, you have to start by understanding exactly what it is that you’re branding. Often, the people who know what that is, find it very difficult to put it into words. They have the essential building blocks in their heads, but not in a form they can clearly articulate. We always have to dig around a bit to uncover what it is that gets them out of bed in the morning, what’s great about the work they do, who they’re trying to impress, what challenges they may face.

If you sit somebody down at the other side of a desk and interrogate them, you get limited results. To reveal the things that really matter, you have to let people relax, think, throw ideas around. You have to get them engaged in the process. A blank sheet of paper and a pen just doesn’t cut it; it relies too heavily on people being ‘in the moment’.

So we came up with ‘Thinking Inside the Box’. It’s a collection of creative tools to prompt feedback, and it does exactly the opposite of what it says on the tin. It invites people to look at brands from different angles, to find a new perspective on everyday activities, irritations, victories and frustrations. Each box is a collection of different tools to use; disposable cameras to take pictures, postcards to share a passing thought, dummy newspapers to fill in the dream headline, scissors and paste to make a collage, and a twitter address so they can start important conversations, and a few other interesting goodies.

We brief the participants and give out the boxes, distributing them strategically, to employees, customers, and often, other stakeholders. We tell them they have two weeks to put together a visual picture of their lives, aspirations and the brand.

It’s loads of fun with serious function. It’s incredibly insightful to us, the agency, and it also tells the participants a lot about themselves, their attitudes and opinions. When we put it all together we usually find the results give us a pretty good image of the company, the direction it’s coming from and the direction it’s hoping to go. It helps us ask the right questions, and starts a dialogue that runs right through the branding process. When we present our findings back to the client, they’re focused, immediate and recognisable.

Here’s the best bit. The great wealth of ideas that’s produced then becomes a rich source of inspiration for the creative development, further down the line. The result is authentic brand communication that is relevant, engaging and has been developed from the inside out.

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