A train of thought/ a series of questions to come to ideas for the digital age.

1. Steps for great ideas
in this digital age.
Just a train of thoughts actually.
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www.germaine.be

2. ... or a series of
questions for when
you have absolutely
no idea what to do.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

3. Hi, Iʼm Francesco
I work as a digital
planner
at GERMAINE
an ad agency in antwerp
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

4. Iʼm not talking about
The future of
communication
bla-bla-bla...
There is enough of that
already.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

5. Iʼm going to talk
about what
communication can
DO, right NOW.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

6. First, realize this...
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7. Online/ interactive
advertising means the
consumer = the target
group, but also the
medium.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

8. Step 1. People.
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9. Which people?
Are they a good medium
for this brand?
Could they be?
Would they want to be?
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

10. Step 2. Goals.
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11. What are the goals?
A straight answer
please. Describe this in
cold hard figures if you
can.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

12. Step 3. Issue.
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13. Whatʼs the issue really?
Could be a competitor, a
state-of-mind, lack of
knowledge, money, ...
It may never be our own
product or service.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

14. Step 4. Shoot!
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15. Take a minute to be
critical.
No gloves! Be negative,
cynical, whatever... get it
out of your system early
on.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

16. Step 5. Solution.
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17. Youʼre smart. Find a way
out. In what way can we
beat the issue? Is this
relevant and engaging
for people? Remember, the people are the medium.
This is the solution to point 3.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

18. Step 6. Reality check.
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www.germaine.be

19. No half-ass talks!
If you make promises without living up to
them, you will not last very long today.
Information, all information, is free, and
easy to obtain.
Walk the talk.
If you canʼt do this, return to point 3, Issue. If your own product / service turns out
to be the issue. Get out of the game!
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

20. “Good adverting makes
bad products fail faster”
- Bill Bernbach -
“Good actions make
great advertising”
- 2011 Consumers -
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

21. Step 7. Connect.
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22. What should people
do? Be clear.
What do we want them to do? And does
this helps to achieve our goals?
How will we get people to do this?
How can technology be put to use to
help people do this is an engaging way?
Behavioral tactics, interaction planning, etc. are some pretty words for this.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

23. Step 8. Ask people.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

24. Will this work? Just
test it. Itʼs easy.
Without going for wind-tunnel
advertising, you can easily ask people to
take a look at your idea.
They will be the medium soon. Best to
see if medium and message are
compatible, no?
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

25. Step 9. Share.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

26. Share!
Share with your co-workers.
This is not by default the last step in the flow. Of
course a good sit-down with some smart people helps
best before you start. But it is as important to do so
after you have a great idea. You might be the only one
that thinks itʼs great.
Mini-flow in that case:
fight-listen-fight-listen-agree.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

27. Remember these 9 steps
from this presentation...
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www.germaine.be

28. Step 1. People.
They are the target AND the medium.
Step 2. Goals.
Hard facts please. Know what you want.
Step 3. Issue.
It may never be your own product/ service.
The rest can be overcome.
Step 4. Shoot.
Be critical! But choose your moment wisely.
Step 5. Solution.
Youʼre smart. Figure it out.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

29. Step 6. Reality check.
Walk the talk. No half ass talks.
Step 7. Connect.
What should people do? Be clear.
Step 8. Ask people.
Remember, people = medium. They need to
work well together.
Step 9. Share.
A great idea is worth fighting for. Fight-
listen-fight-listen-agree.
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be

30. Steps for great
ideas in this digital
age. Just a train of thoughts actually.
by francesco caccamese: planner @ GERMAINE & gonzales
www.twitter.com/francesk0
francesco.caccamese@germaine.be
http://francesk0.wordpress.com/
© GERMAINE, antwerp 2000, de burburestraat 6-8 , Belgium
www.germaine.be