I was a judge yesterday in the Griffin Farley Beautiful Minds completion. Mr. Farley was a BBH strategist who succumbed to cancer at way-too-early an age. The competition, and he would, likely, never have used the word competition, is a legacy built upon his nurturing of young planners. Clearly a beloved man.
The showcase reminded me of why brand planning and strategy are so important. And why we create strategy ideas not only with ballast but with singularity.
The judging process allows gives teams of 5 or 6 planners fifteen minutes to present and about the same time for Q&A. The tyros are given a brief, a couple of key objectives and 24 hours to create an insight, an idea, and a consumer connection platform. Judges are then given even less time to evaluate and select 3 or 4 of the 12 teams to put through to the final round. The final round of judging takes place on Tuesday evening with other judges given even less time to pick a winner.
What I love about the process is that judges have about as much time as consumers to make a buy decision. We saw some amazing work from all the showcase teams. Kernels of brilliance in many places. But what helped teams make the cut was clarity. Of idea. Of serial logic. It’s hard to shine one idea when so many good ones are on the table. But that’s the hard work. Mark Twain once said “I would have written a shorter letter if I had more time.”
I just love this business. Congratulations to Sarah Watson and BBH. Congratulations participants. Beautiful minds indeed.
