IDEAS BORN SOCIALlearning from experiments in social creativity

THIS IS NOT A TEST.Here are a few learnings from experimenting

with social creativity in a global ad network.

It all started with a question we revisit often:

How would we do things differently if we

were starting from scratch?

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1. Build business from the ground up to work in our connected world

2. This means putting humans at the center not technology

3. Fully integrate social dynamics to make it scale

Social by Design

via

“...media is the connective tissue of society.”

Clay ShirkyCognitive Surplus

media is the connective tissue of new agency models, big and small...

ONE.Connecting the agency via social networks

needs a clear, culturally-relevant, marketing-

free framework to identify and elevate

business problems.

“The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating the problem in a way that will allow a solution.” Bertrand Russell

“...can be defined as the network of beliefs, attitudes, behaviors and histories that are prevalent among communities of people.

“It is learned from birth and continues to grow through a range of social and environmental experiences and relationships (and the meanings we make of them).

“Culture becomes an integral part of how we think and behave; it is like a lens through which we see the world.”

CommunityMatters

Culture

ARISING BELIEFSINGRAINED

BEHAVIORS

INSTITUTIONALIZED

CONVENTIONS

CULTURE... Wants to Change Needs to Change Must Change

MANIFESTED VIA Thought Leaders Mainstream Systems

DEFINED BY Purpose Orthodoxy Stagnation

experimental framework to define problems in culture

HOW ABOUT THIS ONE?

We are no longer a nation that celebrates making things and as

a result, we are lost

When technology is opaque and poorly understood it drives

wasteful behaviors and sub-par experiences

Data worldwide is either disconnected or invisible and this limits our potential to be

smarter

all problem statements are speculative and were reversed-engineered via analyzing published interviews with management

ARISING BELIEFS INGRAINED BEHAVIORS INSTITUTIONALIZED CONVENTIONS

*

for example

creative brief = a problem to solve

this is particularly important when briefing a network

also, avoid speaking marketing

english is always better

TWO.Connecting a global network is different than

creating a collaborative shop from scratch.

We already have people all over the world.

Let’s leverage the best of dedicated small teams and

mix it with the power of fluid non-expert groups.

CLIENT INPUT!

PROBLEM ALIGNMENT!

PROBLEM STATEMENT!

HUNCHES!

BRAND STORY!

IDEAS! WINNERS!

IDEATION!

IDEA WALL!CURATION WORKSHOP!

[CORE TEAM]!

[COLLABORATIVE NETWORK]!PROJECT

PLAN!

INQUIRY!

STRATEGY!FINE-TUNE!

PREPARE CLIENT!WORKSHOP/

PRESENTATION!

CLIENT INPUT!

PROBLEM ALIGNMENT!

PROBLEM STATEMENT!

HUNCHES!

BRAND STORY!

IDEAS! WINNERS!

IDEATION!

IDEA WALL!CURATION WORKSHOP!

[CORE TEAM]!

[COLLABORATIVE NETWORK]!PROJECT

PLAN!

INQUIRY!

STRATEGY!FINE-TUNE!

PREPARE CLIENT!WORKSHOP/

PRESENTATION!

small teams fully dedicated to the project

fluid network of people from all disciplines and backgrounds

THREE.What happens if the team can play with hundreds

of ideas just a few days after the project started?

A) Can be overwhelming, B) Could be fun, C) If done

well, is eye opening, D) It’s always better, ideas love

to mate and make better ideas.

“We are often better served by connecting ideas than we are by

protecting them... Environments that build walls around good

ideas tend to be less innovative in the long run than more open-

ended environments. Good ideas may not want to be free, but

they want to connect, fuse, recombine.... They want to complete

each other as much as they want to compete.”

Steven JohnsonWhere Good Ideas Come From

FOUR.The most important learning is to keep doing new

stuff and revisiting the question on page two.

Other key learnings include:

‣Experimenting with social networks as part of work feels like play

‣Social creativity or crowdsoursing in commercial creativity works when both the network and dedicated teams are allowed to do what they do best

‣There is plenty of room for experimentation and many ways to activate private and public networks

‣The tighter the brief and the shorter the timeline, the better the work

‣Integrating all these people around a problem they can understand is way easier than trying to integrate them around a solution

‣Keep an open mind when curating/connecting ideas, start with broad territories, allow concept and detail to inform each other

thank you@akaJuanSmith

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