Exploring and guiding your possibilities
From new business initiatives to promotional campaigns. From (virtual) event planning to adjusting operations for a COVID-age world. Multi-faceted undertakings, like these, are a whole lot easier to develop when grounded in a solid concept.
I’ll help you develop concepts that are tight enough to maintain focus, yet flexible enough to allow creativity. Concepts that encapsulate the facts while inspiring the possibilities. Concepts that clarify your road ahead, so whatever you derive from them remains both true to purpose and open to fresh execution.
Binding your communication and interaction programme, from end-to-end, via a consistent, appealing framework.
Audiences engage best when presented with a limited, but highly relevant, primary message. But sometimes there’s so much good stuff to be told, it’s hard to know where to focus.
I’ll help you find the right perspective by getting all the facts on the table and examining how they measure up against your ambitions. Whether these involve developing a long-term mainstay such as a website or app, specific promotions, communication strategies or other activity for attracting, activating or strengthening your target audience’s interest.
I’ll then distil the findings into an actionable, rationalised concept which can be followed through via every aspect of your short or long-term campaign.
Establishing and delivering on a relevant and inspiring theme.
Whether for leisure, competition, trade, education or motivation, events are all about bringing people, ideas and activities together. Yet all-too-often, in the scramble to arrange everything, promotional promises and basic practicalities fall by the wayside. Resulting in a disjointed experience with unfulfilled expectations and a sense of being let down.
With a neutral perspective which considers every stakeholder’s needs, I’ll help you explore your opportunities for satisfying them in a way which truly binds together. Developing a meaningful, deliverable concept which is a lot more than just ‘this year’s name’.
I’ll also help you map out the touchpoints throughout each participant’s experience. From promotion to content. From confirming attendance to entering and navigating the venue. Considering needs related to various facilities and provisions. So every attendee feels satisfied and valued.
Stress-testing your ideas by examining their purpose, completeness and ability to deliver on tangible expectations.
Realising new projects and developing new products, whether within an established organisation or an adventurous start-up, is an exciting time. A time filled with so many ideas, possibilities and pressures, it can very difficult to get a clear view of your road ahead.
I’ll help you gain rationalised perspective by examining your intention from a neutral viewpoint. Checking how your ability translates into tangible benefit. Challenging you on the target audience need. Questioning why you’re proposing certain aspects, and why others have been neglected. Enquiring how you envision your initiative should be perceived. And how you’ll deliver on expectations.
I’ll identify the connections and the unfilled gaps. And when we’ve agreed how it should all hang together, I’ll paint a picture of how it might be presented outside of your creative bubble, so you can see whether your story adds up.
Armed with a clear concept which defines a worthwhile pathway, you’ll be all set to focus your efforts in a beneficial direction. With fewer distractions and less likelihood of wasting precious time and money. And better use of all that new initiative adrenaline.
Bringing incremental changes into line, to define your current proposition.
As your business evolves to serve its market, with different offerings or focus, its overarching proposition can easily shift. But with efforts usually focussed on rolling out new products and services, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.
As additions, discontinuations and changes of priority stack up, that go-to definition you’ve relied upon for so long edges further away from the truth. With assets from taglines to website structures presenting an increasingly irrelevant impression. Which isn’t at all helpful when trying to attract new customers, retain confidence from existing ones and recruit and train employees.
I’ll provide a clear-headed perspective on what you’re actually offering, now, to bring your proposition back in line with present-day reality. With an eye on planned developments, so your new definition can comfortably incorporate them.
Exploring how your organisation can thrive in a world that’s avoiding infection.
The COVID-19 pandemic is requiring numerous organisations to rethink how workforces can operate and customers can be satisfied. The need for immediate transition has resulted in many changes which were 100% reactive and 0% strategic. Now the longer-term impact is beginning to be acknowledged, it’s time to figure out how this disruption can be turned to your advantage.
Concept development is a great way of approaching this. To explore possibilities and examine how they can be followed through, with completely fresh eyes. Now is an opportune moment to question everything. From whether your expertise can be repackaged to fulfil customers’ COVID-age needs in a completely different way, to whether your workforce’s time is used to best effect.
As a freelancer who’s primarily worked from home for the last 14 years, I know the importance of discipline, efficiency and connectivity. Of being able to adapt to changing demands. And how to strike the balance which optimises productivity. I’m sensitive to the inefficiencies of office set-ups and am the perfect person to ask the dumb questions which force you to provide rational answers.
As the ‘spider in the web’ between so many different industries, types of businesses and creative initiatives, I’m exposed to all manner of thinking. Whatever you were doing before our world was turned on its head, I can help you envision a COVID-age model which a fully-internal team might not have the neutrality to conceive. Perhaps unlocking possibilities which will transform your future.
Investing in efficiency
You wouldn’t set out driving to a destination over 2,000km away without planning your route and considering the journey’s practicalities. Well maybe you would, if time, safety, cost and legalities were of no consequence. In business, however, these aren’t factors you want to gamble with.
Agreeing on a concept before you start developing projects and communications will keep your efforts focussed and of value. Saving you from wasting time, money, reputation and morale on irrelevant distractions and confusing messaging.
Concept development in an agile world
The principle of agile is all about experimentation and correction. But when communicating your proposition to those who’ll determine its success, you need to get your message straight. Right from the outset.
Concept development enables you to do this. By identifying the essence of your offering and its audience appeal, rationalised against ability to deliver, a properly developed concept avoids confusion while still leaving room for improvement. If you love tinkering with ideas, your concept will bring perspective to their value. So you can continue to progress with focus.
Can’t see the wood for the trees?
We came to see the monkeys. But actually it was they who were watching us.
In the quest to keep ahead of the competition, some businesses instinctively feel they need to keep discussions about new ideas in-house. However, this closed-shop approach runs a high risk of missing the obvious. In established companies, long-term employees can lack outsider perspective, be blinded by existing norms or stifled by internal culture. In start-ups and small businesses, adrenaline can override objectivity.
An outsider is an invaluable asset. Especially when that outsider is a highly experienced senior copywriter whose career is built on bringing discipline to unfamiliar subject matter. A Content Dragon who’s obsessed with getting under the skin of why a proposition is worth knowing about.
Whatever commercial or internal business project you’re setting up, I’ll help you explore the possibilities and expose the pitfalls from the outset. Enhancing your vision with an outsider’s view which often sees what those on the inside no longer can. Working with your team to arrive at a fully rationalised concept that’s ready to take on the world. Or at least the part of it that matters to you.
Rationalising your proposition
Concept development stems from defining your proposition’s unique, deliverable appeal. I’ll be the catalyst for a good, hard look into your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Asking the questions that only an outsider thinks of. Challenging you from end-to-end, making sure your claims are substantiated, your full range of opportunities is identified and your limitations are recognised.
I’ll also take an objective view on stakeholder demands, considering relevance to the project and balancing influence.
Opening up your potential while closing in on your proposition’s essence, I’ll play devil’s advocate looking for pitfalls, while also being your wildcard ideas slinger. Until we’ve explored all the positive and negative possibilities and can concisely and completely articulate your position.
Together, we’ll find your sweet spot
Your gain
Fresh blood in your team. A voice of reason. New food-for-thought. Different perspectives. A kick up the a**e if laziness has set in. Beware: cans of worms may be opened.
In addition to bringing an extra dimension to your thinking process, I’ll leave you with a document which concisely articulates and rationalises your concept. A complete reference for you and others to work from moving forward. And if you want me on your team developing and executing ideas derived from your concept, I’ll be happy to do that too.
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