I was in LA traffic catching up my reading listening to Malcom Gladwell read his new book Blink.  There’s a section on Improv Comedy and another one on War Games and how these activities seem so spontaneous.  How its seems fascinatingly simple that a group of people can create a 30 minute play from a lonely word thrown out by the audience.  Gladwell notes how in Improv, War Games and even in Basketball spontaneity is a only the result of specific rules and practice.

This made me think about marketing and The Communications Strategy, a process that might seem to suck the creativity and spontaneity out of marketing.   One of the things we always point out is that, yes, a fantastic creative idea can come out of nowhere. More often this not the case and the marketing is usually stuck in the doldrums as a result.

The Communications Strategy is a disciplined process which looks at all the aspects of a brand — the objectives, target, consumer  insight and most important the brands positioning.  This is a process designed to distill the mass of ideas, notions and perceptions about brand into one consistent and potent message.

During this process ideas become more focused and relevant and even seem to be spontaneous.  But what is actually happening is that spontaneity is being created by a disciplined process which forces people to think more effectively and efficiently.

The focused messaging developed during the Communications Strategy then drives all  marketing efforts, improving the overall effectiveness of a company’s marketing investments.