Why the fastest idea is rarely the best one
Let’s have a chat about budgets for ideas.
When you give us a budget for a concept, let’s say for four hours, you are not just buying “an idea.” You are buying the best idea those four hours can wrestle into existence.
Now, here’s the thing about ideas. Occasionally, they arrive fully formed like an angelic gift from the heavens. Other times, they are messy little devils that need to be dragged out kicking and screaming, scrubbed clean, and taught some manners before they’re ready for public life.
But here’s the catch. Rule number one of advertising: there is always a better idea. Rule number two: There is ALWAYS a better idea. So even if we land on something pretty quickly, we’re not stopping there. We’ll take that idea, poke it, pull it apart and push it harder until it’s sharper, more persuasive, more attention-grabbing and actually helps you sell more product. That’s the job. That’s the fun.
That’s what makes advertising awesome.
Sure, you could save some time and put a prompt into AI and generate an idea or five. Brilliant! But it will be first ideas, stitched together from things that have already been done and displayed online. And they will be the same five ideas everyone has access to, including your competitors.
Our human creative brains work in the opposite way. We actively try to not to repeat what has been done before. We are searching for the surprising, the original, the thing that makes people pay attention to you and start buying or doing. And it’ll be based on strategic human insights, lifelong observations of behaviour and culture, and an understanding of your brief and its objectives.
Those are the differences that matter.
So when you (or we) set a budget for creativity, you are not paying for “an idea.” You are investing in the hunt for the best idea your time and money can buy. Sometimes that means one perfectly polished script. Sometimes it means four contenders and one absolute gem. But if each idea hasn’t been put through its paces, how will we ever know how good it can be?
So please, respect the process. Give it time. Be prepared to invest in it. Because the result will sell your product, service or cause, make your brand look good, and, if we’re lucky, give us both something to brag about at the pub.
