THE HYPOTHESIS
This started off with an idea, one that felt like common sense, really…
More time = More creativity = Higher quality campaigns
For example, you may have seen this design version of the concept, showing the absolute value of having more time to create:
SPEED CHALLENGE: 10 Minutes | 1 Minute | 10 Seconds – Drawing Spiderman from Mo Selim Art on Vimeo.
So, we ran a little experiment in our agency, born of a need to prove the value of ‘time’. The idea that not everything can, or should, be turned around at the speed of light to hit an urgent deadline.
THE EXPERIMENT
We created two groups, each with the same objective – a top-secret objective that we can’t tell you about – but one group had 30 minutes and the other had 60 minutes.
Here are they, hard at work…
Both groups had the same amount of information and time to ask questions, and after that we set a timer and just… walked away.
With the clock ticking, it was up to them to decide what kind of campaign to create.
THE RESULT
Surprisingly, it turns out that the amount of time isn’t always important when it comes being creative. Both groups came up with interesting, well-thought-out, on-brand campaign ideas – one involving interactive video storytelling and one involving a networking event designed to build awareness and authority in the local area.
Plus, the second group didn’t even feel the need to use their full hour.
While there’s still a clear connection between time and quality, time may have less impact on creativity than we initially thought.
What we learned from our experiment is that taking the time to think creatively is the most important part.
It doesn’t matter exactly how long you need, but what does matter is dedicating a block of time to the ‘idea’. The logistics will be organised once an idea gets to the point of budgets and briefing, though bouncing around a few ideas with complete freedom and space to do so is crucial to coming up with the ideas that will make a difference.
If you have a campaign coming up that you want to do something different for, don’t underestimate the power of getting a few people in a room with one common goal (and a large pot of tea).
Or, if you’d like us to help you along with a collaborative workshop, get in touch.