Take a long car ride with a 5 year old, You’ll hear a lot of “but WHY?” Although frustrating at the time, think about the value of that particular question. In the agency world CREATIVES are the five year olds (and not for the reasons some of you may be thinking right now!).
Creatives are always asking “why?” The client wants a website. “Why?” We’re briefing on a direct mail project “Why direct mail?” Use this particular image on the piece. “Why THAT image?” It’s just that creatives have an insatiable thirst for clarity, knowledge and information.
The “why” question seems very simple, but leads to SO much information. It allows creatives to dig deeper and find out what exactly the goal of a project is, who it’s targeted to and what can be used as the key message to communicate something useful about the brand. It also has a tendency to uncover directives and tactics that may have been overlooked initially. The question “why” can be annoying and repetitive, but it truly does get to valuable answers that provide “eureka” moments. It allows creatives to push the boundaries and be more effective.
And regardless of what the end result is, learning more is always beneficial. There has to be a value to the end user and a unique approach that can be uncovered by simply asking “why?”
