WE ARE ALL ZOMBIES

Matt Herrmann from BBDO came to class today, let's just say he's got an interesting sense of humor– I dig it.

THE ASSIGNMENT
The much ballyhooed zombie apocalypse has happened, and actually, it's not as dramatic as we expected. Things were pretty hectic fo a year or so, but now the smoke has cleared, and everything is pleasantly familiar, but a little weird around the edges. Sure, everyone's a little paler than normal, but there's still zombie farmer's markets, zombie ultimate Frisbee, and zombie elections between two zombie political factions. 

Kraft Food, Inc., in fact, is now known as Zombie Kraft Food, Inc. They've come to Zombie BBDO and asked you to launch a new gourmet line of human brains called "Cerebella Foods." Cerebella makes the most of its revenue off of a proprietary brain hummus blend. They'd like you to name and market the product for $50MM. 

We have to write a brief using the BBDO format of Get, To, By, Because, & And.

THE DAY REDSCOUT CAME TO PLAY

THE SET UP
Redscout came to play with my Creative Thinking & Problem Solving class today. Initially, Gabrielle Muse was scheduled to lead us on this assignment but at the last minute she had to cancel and so her fellow 'Scouts, Ashley Autenrieth and Brian Meyers stepped in. Now, I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed that Gabrielle couldn't participate, especially after the impression she left on me the last time she came to the Academy. Fortunately, Ashley and Brian were also pretty great and helped make this an exciting project to get started on.

THE LECTURE
The class focused on brand strategy and innovation (duh, they are from Redscout.)
The main takeaways were

• "innovation does not equal invention"
• an innovation is a new idea that surpasses the competition by re-framing the opportunity and improving the way human needs are met. 
• examples: iPod, iTunes
• an innovation is what nudges the human race forward...it transforms the world we live in
• a good innovation should deliver on human needs
• self actualization, esteem, love/belonging, safety, psychological 
• INSIGHT= simple yet powerful statement that explains why behaviors/beliefs exist
• OBSERVATION DOES NOT EQUAL INSIGHT
• defining insights is an intuitive process
•  examples of innovations from insights: Air BnB, Nike Fuel Band, Ubercab
• How to get insights
1. Identify the problem 
1. Is it an unmet need?
2. Is it a business issue?
2. Study the situation & identify insights
3. Ideate (then assess)
• Rules for finding insights
1. Keep an open mind
2. Follow your gut
3. Jot down notes, etc.

THE ASSIGNMENT
-Conduct cultural, category, and consumer research
          -organize learning into insights in different buckets
-Freeform ideas
-Evaluate ideas and bring strongest to life
***Show process
          -Consider-target, idea description, design principles, marketing tactics


MY PROJECT

In class Brian and Ashley helped us come up with ideas to base our projects around. I am working with, "how can we connect people who are always connected to nature?"

OVERACHIEVING BUNCH OF WEIRDOS

I have been working on this project for my Professional Practices class for several weeks and today I recently had some affirmation that my project was on the right track. I have been writing a syllabus for a strategy class that I could potentially teach after graduation and I have been pushing myself to think of what it is that I as a student am glad I know/wish my fellow students knew/wish I knew/etc. Well, I went to a talk by Gabrielle Muse from Redscout and I was sitting in the room dumbstruck because basically her entire one-hour presentation was the short version of what I have been setting up "my class" be. I am not going to get too into it because honestly I am afraid that I may sound like a weirdo because of how amazed I was by her. Let's just say that at first I was dumb founded because she is smart, like really fuckin' smart, and charming and personable and everything that you want a presenter to be. I think I need to start figuring out how to go work at Redscout so I can work with her. ANYWAYS, here are her 10 nuggets of wisdom that she said she wished she knew when she was just starting out:

1. You know it better than anyone in the room
2. Never stop hustlin'
3. Consumers People are people
4. Clients are people too
5. The truth seduces
6. Your way is always more interesting than the "right" way
7. That is, so long as you are interesting
8. The process doesn't matter, the outcome does
9. Rigor & intuition are your best pals
10. Risk is mandatory. 

Oh, and she called planners a bunch of overachieving weirdos, just in case you were wondering where the title of the post came from.