This document outlines learnings from experiments with social creativity in a global advertising network. It discusses building business models centered around social dynamics and human connections. An experimental framework is proposed to define cultural problems by arising beliefs, ingrained behaviors, and institutionalized conventions. The document advocates leveraging both dedicated small teams and larger fluid groups through a collaborative network. It also discusses allowing hundreds of ideas early in the process, connecting ideas rather than protecting them, and keeping an open mind during idea curation. The key learnings are to continually experiment and revisit foundational questions.

1. IDEAS BORN SOCIAL
learning from experiments in social creativity

2. THIS IS NOT A TEST.
Here are a few learnings from experimenting
with social creativity in a global ad network.
It all started with a question we revisit often:
How would we do things differently if we
were starting from scratch?

3. Social by Design
1. Build business from the ground up to work in our connected world
2. This means putting humans at the center not technology
3. Fully integrate social dynamics to make it scale
via

4. ...media is the connective tissue of society.
Clay Shirky
Cognitive Surplus

6. media is the connective tissue of new
agency models, big and small...

7. ONE.
Connecting the agency via social networks
needs a clear, culturally-relevant, marketing-
free framework to identify and elevate
business problems.

8. The greatest challenge to any thinker is stating
the problem in a way that will allow a solution.
Bertrand Russell

9. Culture
...can be defined as the network of beliefs, attitudes, behaviors and histories that
are prevalent among communities of people.
It is learned from birth and continues to grow through a range of social and
environmental experiences and relationships (and the meanings we make of
them).
Culture becomes an integral part of how we think and behave; it is like a lens
through which we see the world.
CommunityMatters

10. HOW ABOUT THIS ONE?
experimental framework to define problems in culture
INGRAINED INSTITUTIONALIZED
ARISING BELIEFS
BEHAVIORS CONVENTIONS
CULTURE... Wants to Change Needs to Change Must Change
MANIFESTED VIA Thought Leaders Mainstream Systems
DEFINED BY Purpose Orthodoxy Stagnation

11. for example
INSTITUTIONALIZED
ARISING BELIEFS INGRAINED BEHAVIORS
CONVENTIONS
When technology is opaque and Data worldwide is either
We are no longer a nation that
poorly understood it drives disconnected or invisible and
celebrates making things and as
wasteful behaviors and sub-par this limits our potential to be
a result, we are lost
experiences smarter
* all problem statements are speculative and were reversed-engineered via
analyzing published interviews with management

12. creative brief = a problem to solve
this is particularly important when briefing a network
also, avoid speaking marketing
english is always better

13. TWO.
Connecting a global network is different than
creating a collaborative shop from scratch.
We already have people all over the world.
Let s leverage the best of dedicated small teams and
mix it with the power of fluid non-expert groups.

14. [COLLABORATIVE NETWORK]!
PROJECT
PLAN!
HUNCHES! IDEAS! WINNERS!
PREPARE CLIENT!
CLIENT PROBLEM PROBLEM CURATION
IDEA WALL! WORKSHOP/
INPUT! ALIGNMENT! STATEMENT!
WORKSHOP! PRESENTATION!
BRAND STRATEGY!
IDEATION!
STORY! FINE-TUNE!
INQUIRY!
[CORE TEAM]!

15. fluid network of people from all
disciplines and backgrounds
[COLLABORATIVE NETWORK]!
PROJECT
PLAN!
HUNCHES! IDEAS! WINNERS!
PREPARE CLIENT!
CLIENT PROBLEM PROBLEM CURATION
IDEA WALL! WORKSHOP/
INPUT! ALIGNMENT! STATEMENT!
WORKSHOP! PRESENTATION!
BRAND STRATEGY!
IDEATION!
STORY! FINE-TUNE!
INQUIRY!
[CORE TEAM]!
small teams fully
dedicated to the project

16. THREE.
What happens if the team can play with hundreds
of ideas just a few days after the project started?
A) Can be overwhelming, B) Could be fun, C) If done
well, is eye opening, D) It s always better, ideas love
to mate and make better ideas.

17. We are often better served by connecting ideas than we are by
protecting them... Environments that build walls around good
ideas tend to be less innovative in the long run than more open-
ended environments. Good ideas may not want to be free, but
they want to connect, fuse, recombine.... They want to complete
each other as much as they want to compete.
Steven Johnson
Where Good Ideas Come From

20. FOUR.
The most important learning is to keep doing new
stuff and revisiting the question on page two.
Other key learnings include:

21. ‣Experimenting with social networks as part of work feels like play
‣Social creativity or crowdsoursing in commercial creativity works when both
the network and dedicated teams are allowed to do what they do best
‣There is plenty of room for experimentation and many ways to activate
private and public networks
‣The tighter the brief and the shorter the timeline, the better the work
‣Integrating all these people around a problem they can understand is way
easier than trying to integrate them around a solution
‣Keep an open mind when curating/connecting ideas, start with broad
territories, allow concept and detail to inform each other

22. thank you
@akaJuanSmith