I spend a lot of time trying to encourage my team to do that--to stretch their minds. One way is through a program called Inspire Me Day. A creative team has to take the rest of the department out to do something inspiring unrelated to advertising. While it doesn't always show up literally on the page, it might lead to something later on, like an art-direction style, or a different way of thinking about a problem. One team took us to a Mexican wrestling match and they showed up in costumes and masks, like some of the more ardent fans. One idea that came out of that was a new slogan for a sports network called the Score: 'The Score, Home for the Hardcore.' It's doing the unusual things that sparks an idea.
In the ad industry, new agency models are emerging, leading some to wonder if there's still a reason to have a chief creative officer. Today's creative officer has to work on the brands directly, ensure the quality of the work, nurture the agency culture, and train and develop the creative staff. It's no longer a figurehead out playing golf."
Post, 48, worked at KFC before joining Burger King in 2004. She has overseen the creation and launch of such arterial assaults as Chicken Fries and the Angus 'Shroom & Swiss Steak Burger.
"Coming up with new ideas is relatively easy. It's figuring out which of those ideas we should pursue that's tough. Before you spend a lot of resources, you've got to winnow them down. For example, you have to think not only how a sandwich is going to look and taste, but if 17-year-olds in 11,000 restaurants around the world will be able to manufacture it many times a day.
One of the first things I put in place when I started was a concept screening process, and it has made a huge difference in making sure we're working on the right ideas. Every week, we ask a group of our most loyal fans--Whopperheads--to rate ideas from just a description and a photograph. We've screened more than 500 ideas in the past year down to roughly 120.
We have to keep winnowing, though. We had an idea for a sandwich called the Stack, a pepper-jack breakfast biscuit that was one of our favorite boardroom meals. But during further testing, our customers said, 'At breakfast, I'm not sure I want to take the risk on pepper-jack-biscuit anything.'
The true winners, like the Enormous Omelet Sandwich, will get popped way to the top. We had just switched the shape of our egg mold to a rectangle, and were standing around the kitchen looking at it. I said, 'What if we put something between it and made it like an omelet? Like bacon.' Somebody else said that we could use a bun from lunch and dinner, and before you know it, about three or four of us had built it. Somebody said, 'Geez, that's enormous.' One board member said, 'You're going to name that something else, aren't you?' But the name stuck. Before we fell in love with it, though, we had to see if the consumer liked it. I've seen big organizations stumble because they went on somebody's gut. None of us are that good."
Bradley, 41, has a PhD in food science. At McNeil, she's charged with finding innovative ways to sell a roster of products that includes Splenda, Viactiv, Lactaid, and Benecol.
"Our products are not some magic bullet but part of a holistic approach to good health. And my job is to keep our products current for customers' needs today and tomorrow by making sure our scientists, marketers, and operations team are all focused on the problems for the people who use them. If I don't get everyone talking early enough, we're always backing up trying to correct something.
We have to get everyone speaking the language of the consumer. So we created these learning labs where we pick a theme, problem, or insight we need to solve, and experience that with actual consumers. For Splenda, we went to the International Diabetes Center and lived with individuals with diabetes, and, like them, monitored our glucose levels, took simulated insulin shots, and saw what happens during the day when they have a low-sugar moment. By seeing what issues they have personally, it has helped us better think about where Splenda fits into their lives and how to address these problems.
I have to make sure I speak that language, too. A few years ago, I started running in Central Park and met a woman there who's 67 and on her 13th marathon. I'm on my third marathon, but here was this woman who had severe osteoporosis, who was out there every day, rain or shine. I've sparked up a conversation with her, and she helps me live in her world, which wouldn't otherwise be accessible. It really inspires me to go back and push our own thinking about the relevance of our products. If we're focused on just trying to find a home for some science, we're going to fail."
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