As marketers, we need to fully embrace today's reality that the consumer now has tremendous control. As a result, we need to provide ourselves and our clients room to evolve our thinking as consumer reactions are gathered in real-time. These insights and imagination of today’s consumers have transformed the traditional advertising monologue into a real-time, constantly evolving conversation online.

1. the brief in flux: (v1.0)!
As the world becomes more complex,!
our chances of being wrong increase.

2. what must the
“agency of the
future” believe
and deliver to
be credible?
If advertising/marketing is a business discipline
focussed on selling the most goods and services
at the best prices, it can’t be just a random
collection of activities or assumptions set in time. !
It must be adaptive and dynamic to respond
to the market.
Thought Starter - Discussion Paper
THE BRIEF IN FLUX

3. “The flux capacitor is what makes time
travel possible” !
!
Then perhaps…!
!
“The flux brief is what makes effective
marketing possible”
The “Flux Brief”
Corollary
Source: Back to the Future. Universal Pictures. 1985. Film

4. As a result of
the “Network
Effect”, we
must evolve
our go-to-
market strategy
We need to focus our thinking, planning and briefing for different
outcomes and behaviour changes.!
‣ Have a point-of-view on the world, not a position in a category.!
‣ Create ideas that foster interaction, not integration.!
‣ Understand the values, behaviours and shared vision of the people
you want to connect with.!
‣ Look for ways to share, co-operate, co-create and organize for
collective action.!
AND FINALLY,!
‣ Realize we live in two world’s, one of “social exchanges” and one
of “market exchanges”.
Thought Starter - Discussion Paper
THE BRIEF IN FLUX

5. Thought Starter - Discussion Paper
OPPORTUNITY BRIEF
Now, all experiences
take place in the
context of a network
of connected people
through technology.

6. AGILE DEVELOPMENT!
Agile software development
is a group of software
development methods based
on iterative and incremental
development, where
requirements and solutions
evolve through collaboration
between self-organizing, !
cross-functional teams.
1
LEAN START-UP!
"Lean Startup" is a method !
for developing businesses/
products by shortening their
development cycles through !
a combination of business-
hypothesis-driven
experimentation, iterative
product releases, and !
validated learning.
2
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT!
The Minimum Viable Product
(MVP) is a strategy used for
fast and quantitative market
testing of a product or product
feature.
3
How have other
industries
adapted their
processes to
manage rapid
change?
Thought Starter - Discussion Paper
THE BRIEF IN FLUX

7. The concept of a Minimum Viable Brief (MVB) is mirrored from tech
companies that quickly build a "Minimum Viable Product," with only
the features needed to make it functional enough for real-world
testing. The MVB covers as much as it needs to for creatives to get
cooking, and can be built in a day.!
!
An MVB is a dynamic framework for inspiration with:!
‣ Insights that are mined “real-time” with digital tools!
‣ Multiple thought starters vs. one perfected strategic line!
‣ Room to evolve as consumer reactions are gathered
What is a
Minimum
Viable Brief?
Source: Google - Google Lean Creativity, http://www.google.com/think/articles/lean-communication.html
Thought Starter - Discussion Paper
THE BRIEF IN FLUX

8. Many agencies
have changed
their processes
to align to
changing
platforms and
consumer
behaviour.
‣ Publicis Mojo - “Soundboarding"
Rapidly prototype and research early idea with real-time feedback!
‣ 72 and Sunny - “Work Wall”
“When its on your desk its yours, when its on the wall its ours”.!
‣ Publicis London - “Eco-System Mapping”
Explicitly analyzes existing consumer “gathering places” for each major idea
Source: Google- Minimum Viable Brief, Google Lean Creativity.
Thought Starter - Discussion Paper
THE BRIEF IN FLUX

9. BEHAVIOUR MOTIVATION OPPORTUNITY=
A business problem is a
behavioural change in
disguise.
Think about network
insights, not just
consumer insights.
From the “single thing
we should say” to “what
can we make or do”
What do we need people
to do?
Why would they do it?
What are their network
motivations?
What are we going to
make or do that will
enable the behaviour we
need to see? !
Source: Clay Shirky, SxSW, “Behaviour equals motivation divided by opportunity”.
Thought Starter - Discussion Paper
THE BRIEF IN FLUX
Fundamental
approach and
questions to
consider
through the
process.

10. Thought Starter - Discussion Paper
THE BRIEF IN FLUX
What:!Solve business problem!
Who:! Multi-disciplined, self-organizing team!
How:! Iterative, collaborative process
Organizational/Structural challenge:
We must help teams become comfortable with designing for a world in which interactions are spread
across time and channel. It’s how all of these are perceived together that creates the voice, tone,
and personality of a brand.
‣ Client briefs agency OR
Agency approaches client
‣ Business challenge clearly
defined (numeric)!
‣ Factors affecting
opportunity (if known)!
‣ Record of today’s solution
01. !
Opportunity ID
02. !
Opportunity Brief
03. !
Discovery
03. !
Discovery
04. !
Concepting
03. !
Discovery
05. !
In-market Learning
‣ Team knowledge gathering!
‣ Hypothesis building!
‣ Motivation/Network Effect
‣ Ideas that deliver against
business objective (scale)
‣ Response from market and
indication on how to
optimize/re-think approach

11. “Minimum viable
brief” process
focuses our attention
on creating for
collective action
through developing
communities and
platforms
BEHAVIOURS
TOOLS/
METHODS
HOW
VALUES
MOTIVATIONS
WHY
COMMUNITY
PARTICIPANTS
WHO
VISION
GOAL
WHAT
Account, planners, creative teams, technology,
media, data scientist, anthropologist, retail
specialist, UX, etc.
Thought Starter - Discussion Paper
THE BRIEF IN FLUX
Source: Mike Arauz, Design for Networks, May 2010

12. Here are a few
sample briefs
and categories
to consider…
OPPORTUNITY BRIEF!
!
Context!
(Background, market dynamics, consumer
behaviour, platforms)!
!
Objective!
(Real and measurable business goal)!
!
Issue !
(The one thing preventing us from meeting the
objective?)!
!
Insight
(A simple truth about people to overcome the
issue?)!
!
Challenge !
(What we need to do – not say – to meet the
objective)!
!
Support!
(Reasons to believe the Challenge)!
!
Brand Voice
(The tone and feeling of brand communications)!
!
Timing!
(When things need to be in market)
CONTEXT BRIEF!
!
Consumers!
(What are their motivations?)!
!
Connections!
(Where are their networks? What are
they doing their?)!
!
Community !
(Who influences them? Who do they
influence?)!
!
What’s the Buzz
What are people saying about the brand/
category?)
Thought Starter - Discussion Paper
THE BRIEF IN FLUX

13. Thank You.
Thought Starter - Discussion Paper
THE BRIEF IN FLUX