Improv

What can a bunch of comedians teach us about communication?
Improv comedy groups are all about having fun, but they play with a very strict set of rules that must be followed.

• Don't Deny
Denial is the number one reason most scenes go bad.

• Say Yes-and!
For a story to be built, whether it is short form or long form, the players have to agree to the basic situation and set-up. The who, what, and where have to be developed for a scene to work.

• Don't Block.
The opposite of saying yes-and is blocking or denial.

• After the `and` add new information.
An improvised scene can't move forward or advance unless we add new information. That is why new information is added after the Yes of Yes-and!

• Avoid Questions.
Questions force our partners to fill in the information or do the work. It is a way of avoiding committing to a choice or a detail. It is playing it safe.

• Trust your partners.
• Listen, watch and concentrate.
• Never enter a scene unless you are NEEDED.
• Your prime responsibility is to support.

Even in a situation when one needs to improvise, people need rules, guides, a process.
Its easy to see how the comedians need to apply these rules. Its easier to see how marketers could benefit from them.
Communication is not a funny business after all.

Is this Viral?

This spot provoked an interesting conversation around the agency. What makes you to want to share a spot? When we send something to our friends and family, we instantly make it viral.
Obviously most brands and agencies would love to master the secrets of this phenomenon.
What makes this ad a shareable idea?

A (creative) point of view.

We want to share another insightful and smart post from Seth Godin.
In Creativity and stretching the sweatshirt he compares the act of being creative with stretching out a sweatshirt.

For me, creativity is the stuff you do at the edges. But the edges are different for everyone, and the edges change over time. If you visualize the territory you work in as an old Boston Bruins sweatshirt, realize that over time, it stretches out, it gets looser, the edges move away. Stuff that would have been creative last year isn't creative at all today, because it's not near the edges any more.

The exercise at the edges is an adventure in search of new and different ideas. Its not easy to get there and its hard to convince others to come with you if they are not ready.
To get to the edges requires two different travel plans, depending on where you are.

1. If you want to be creative, understand that you'll need to get to the edges, even if the edges have moved. Being creative means immediately going to the place the last person left off.

2. If you are "not creative," if you are the sort of person that gets uncomfortable being creative or has been persuaded you're not capable, don't worry about it. Just stretch the sweatshirt in your spare time, watch the creative things other people have done, keep up with the state of the art. Then, when you do your "not creative" thing, most people will think it's pretty creative indeed.