beyond the brief

A while ago I had a bit of a rant about messaging. A few things have been piling up recently to make me think that's not so wrong. Like this ace Zeus Jones post (via The Planning Lab). And the APG paper for somebodyelsesphone.com. I think the latter does it for me especially. So much planning and creative work takes place upstream, in a brief-shaped bubble. You determine the insights, determine the shape, brief it in, sign it off and buy the media space. However much it's intended to change, adapt and live, it doesn't quite do it in a convincing way. So the emphasis on a different kind of team in both of these posts seems pretty relevant. It's not about carving out ever more niche roles, it's about knitting groups together more effectively and taking advantage of the overlaps in skills. That's how I work best anyhow. And that kind of work doesn't produce the normal comms outputs, because it's born of the need to evolve and react. Which is less about messaging and more about conversations and experiences.