Asking yourself “what if” can provide a surge of energy to your thoughts – a mental supercharger, if you will. In this blog post, we’ll explore how these two words can not only transform your perspective, but also supercharge your brand plan.
What does it mean to ask yourself “what if”? The idea comes from a curiosity to try something new, inspirational, bold or exciting. It’s fueled by human passion to make great things, and it’s designed to bring people together irrespective of their roles, areas of expertise or experiences. Everyone can open themselves up to think on a larger scale by answering these three questions:
- What if there was no budget?
- What if no one said no?
- What if there were no restrictions?
Imagine the possibilities that can spring forth by “what if.” It allows us to stretch our brains.
So, is it a mindset, a framework or something else? To us, it’s like approaching your business and brand with a child’s mind. It lets you look at your brand’s world in an unadulterated way so you can adventure into new thinking without pressures, just like a child asks their parents questions without a second thought.
In addition to approaching a brand plan with a child’s mind, we also must consider insights and pair those with a problem. Insights are often confused to be observations or facts, but they are personal revelations and connections we draw from a concept, as is seen in the example of a sunset.
- Fact: A sunset happens every day.
- Observation: Sunsets are pretty.
- Insight: Sunsets symbolize our own existence.
It’s our privilege as an agency partner to find insights, approach problems with curiosity and ask questions to compel a thought that uncovers brand opportunities. One of the best ways to prepare for annual planning is to do something different from your normal routine. Take a walk around a museum. Start a new hobby, which could cultivate new insights.
These new insights are influenced by culture. Culture is a language we all speak and it’s familiar. How your brand integrates with culture is an interesting dichotomy. As agents of our clients’ brands, we must understand the world around us – including stereotypes, biases, inequities and reactions – in order to create ideas. But the crux and core of pharma marketing is that our ideas should influence and impact people on a personal level and open their eyes to new possibilities.
How do you bring it all together to supercharge your brand plan?
Here are three tips:
- Listen actively and be curious, then operationalize. For example, put together a template that could outline the business category challenge, a high-level description of the idea and what you need to get it done.
- Put “what if” into practice every day. This is a posture, not a process. It’s a position you take every day with your brand. Put a sticky note on your monitor to remind yourself to wonder “what if?”
- Begin with a conversation. Sometimes all it takes to turn an idea into action is sharing a crazy idea with someone: “We were thinking about this, and here is how we might approach it. What do you think?”
Brand planning is not something that you do once per year; it requires year-round work. EVERSANA INTOUCH experts actively seek deep, data-driven insights; maintain a perpetual sense of curiosity; and introduce innovative ideas to enhance and energize brand strategies year-round. Find out more about our brand planning services and how we can help supercharge your brand.