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Most agencies usually take the approach of presenting three different ideas in response to a client’s brief. Actually, in many cases we’re contractually obligated to do just that.
The approach of presenting three ideas has both positive and negative points. First, some positives:

• By presenting three ideas, you’re making sure you explore a range of solutions in order to find the right one for the job. Even though we try and explore as many ideas as possible, the fact that we have to put three different ones on the table can provide extra incentive. And we all know, that for every idea presented, there are usually numerous ones that didn’t make the cut for one reason or another.
• Having three ideas also gives you a nice way of showing the client the journey of where your thinking took you – and they like to be taken on that journey. In fact, there are many theories around the ‘rule of three‘.
• Inherently, people love having a choice. If you provide only one solution to a client, they can feel like they’re painted into a corner.
• Having three ideas can also allow you to convince the client to do something a little more daring or unexpected. By presenting a third ‘they’ll never buy that’ option, you’re broadening the client’s horizons. Sure, they probably won’t be as daring to buy that third option, but it will help them perceive the next one below it as ‘less risky’.

And now some negatives:

• Sometimes you come to a great idea, but rather than spending all the time on it making it as brilliant as it can be, you end up wasting time on other ideas that will only serve as cannon fodder in a client presentation.
• You consistently waste two thirds of your work. Ultimately, you want all three ideas to be the absolute best they can be because you never know which one the client will choose. But the two ideas not chosen rarely see the light of day ever again. Even if the exact same brief arrives on your desk the next year, the client rarely accepts an idea they’ve previously seen (even if they really liked it the first time they saw it). In their mind, they often perceive them as old or unoriginal (even though they’re the only person who has seen them).
• I know of pitches lost because the client has been given too much choice. They’ve been presented with a myriad of ideas (to help illustrate  the capabilities and breadth of thinking that the agency offers). However, it has backfired when the client perceives it as indecision and a lack of conviction for a single idea.

So, how many do you present?

DUSTIN LANE
Brand Strategy | Advertising Concepts | Copywriting
Visit risinggiants.co or dustinlanecreative.com

Image: courtesy of Poketo, where you can buy these books (but the ideas aren’t included)

Many years ago, I was sitting in a university  theatre awaiting my first marketing lecture. In walked the lecturer and, for the next 40 minutes or so, he spoke to us about the fundamentals of marketing and the marketing mix.
One thing he spent a liberal amount of time on was the manufacturer model versus the consumer model.
He explained how the former was all about people making products firstly, and then selling them to consumers secondly (i.e. Henry Ford’s “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants, so long as it is black”). On the other hand, the consumer model was all about listening to what the consumer wanted or spotting a need for something, and then creating a solution accordingly.
The lecturer than explained that the Henry Ford approach was old and that the new way was the consumer model.
Well, some days I’ve sat at my desk and felt like I’m still waiting for those words to ring true.
I say this because I’m firmly of the belief that we should be spending our time coming up with solutions to help propel businesses and organisations forward. Yet in reality, a huge amount of time and effort is spent  making someone else’s ‘solution’ actually work.
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve looked at a brief and thought ‘Someone, somewhere, has decided that the requested solution answers a business problem. But how?’
Take the brief for an online banner ad. How many times have you actually clicked on one? I recently read that, statistically, you have more chance of surviving a plane crash. So why do we persist with trying to make them work? Sure, for some particular products or relevant placements, they do. But for the most part, they don’t. Aren’t we better off focusing our efforts elsewhere?
I’m not singling out online banners. The problem exists whether it’s traditional TV, press, outdoor, whatever. Put simply, sometimes ‘the solution’ isn’t a solution at all – it just becomes another part of the problem (i.e. how do I solve the real business problem using the ill-fitting solution that has been pre-determined?)
Sometimes this problem comes about by a mixed agenda within the client organisation. For example, I’ve seen the ‘product people’ do a side deal or partnership arrangement with another organisation and then throw a hospital pass to their marketing team with a ‘make this work’.
Over the years, I’ve even been asked to provide a post-rationalisation of why the solution they’re briefing me on to fulfill is the way to go.

Imagine how much better the solutions could be if you focused all  your time and effort finding the right one, rather than trying to make the wrong one work. That’s where the best work always comes from.

Maybe next time you take a brief that’s requesting a pre-determined solution, you could ask this:
‘Before I touch it, can you tell me why this TV/outdoor/print/banner ad/sponsorship/promotion/web page/app etc will be the right solution?’

DUSTIN LANE
Brand Strategy | Advertising Concepts | Copywriting
Visit risinggiants.co or dustinlanecreative.com