BBH Labs is using crowdsourcing to develop its new logo. (I’m a big BBH fan, by the way.) Crowdsourcing is a practice whereby an assignment is offered up to many via the web, with one winner. Typically, the winnings are monetary and not very large. The BBH Labs award amounts to $1,500. A new logo from Interbrand can cost $100,000+ with bells and whistles.
But crowdsourcing is a topic for another day, today we talk about the project brief and its flaws. Here’s it is.
Problem one is the target: “Design enthusiasts, technology buffs, media junkies, brand managers, marketing professionals, bloggers, press and all the other smart, interesting, opinionated people we plan to soon be exchanging business cards with.” The target is too broad. Peter Kim (the dead one) taught McCann planners it’s best to understand all the targets, then find a motivating belief or attitude they share and create a single target which can really be brought to life. Some outliers might have to fall by the wayside in this process but that’s okay. Creative people need a tight picture of whom they’re designing for. I might call this group “New Market Mobsters” and create a profile that one can see, hear and taste.
Problem two is the Selling Idea: To pioneer and realize new marketing models using technology, transformation and collaboration as our tools. Whenever a selling idea has commas, conjunctions or too many tasks it is lazy and a nightmare for creative people. The idea must be boiled down to an “andless” statement. My take: “Rewriting The Battle of New Market.” Here I would use the original Civil War battle to spark some creative excitement. (Right or wrong — I’ve only given it a few minutes thought — you probably get my point. A brief must stimulate or the work won’t.)
Peace.
