| Whether you’re running a brand planning or tactical exercise, don’t forget the potential value of naïve questions.
I’ve been working with a well-known food business, supporting the development of their next brand plan.
Previously the client’s media agency had relied on a quite sophisticated pen portrait of their target consumer to plan & buy media.
Sometimes we work with assumptions because, like the furniture, they’re already there and appear to serve well.
There is a pleasing logic in applying insights about consumers – such as their interests and attitudes – to the media plan. But reviewing the prior year’s media, it felt like the client wasn’t getting enough “bang” for their media “buck”.
So, I suggested that they ask the agency to produce a second plan with a much broader (and less cleverly-defined) audience.
We reconvened at our next meeting and looked over the new plan. Turns out this naïve question unearthed a planning assumption that wasn’t serving the brand well.
The same budget had now been remodeled against a broad audience and the result was much higher reach. In fact, the new media plan was so efficient that after planning to hit the campaign targets, about 20% of the original £3m budget was unused.
This was stellar news. It’s not everyday that a marketer finds they have over £600k hiding down the back of the sofa. And since the team’s analysis highlighted a need for more point-of-sale support, this could now be properly funded alongside the above-the-line.
With the new plan, the client could reach more people with media and do so more cost-efficiently.
At the same time, they had the opportunity to strengthen their brand’s in-store presence, which in turn, gained higher levels of support from sales colleagues.
Sometimes, the targeted use of naïve questions to strip back the problem unlocks more progress than adding further layers of intellect.
Questions for you
- What are the assumptions that underpin your brand planning?
- Are there any you could encourage your team to challenge?
- If you didn’t have any history to consider, how might your perspective change about your situation and options?
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