Page 8 - The EDIT | Q1 2017

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EDITorial
data helps us with that, it is insights that help us bring our stories to life.
Insight is not an idea
An insight is not an idea. However, an insight can — and should be — the start of possibly hundreds of ideas.
I am sure we have all been in situations where we have just received a client’s brief and someone in the room jumped up and screamed “I have a great idea!”.
Again, I do not want to undermine the importance of ideas and I strongly believe that they set us apart from our competitors more than anything else, but insights and ideas do not have a chicken or egg relationship — what comes first when we are approaching a new brief or comms challenge is non-debatable. It is insights and exploration — and it is from insights that ideas can most naturally be developed.
Insight is not an observation
An observation is an incredibly important ingredient to what we do — and it’s an indispensable component of a great insight. We really want
to encourage you though to not mistake an observation for an insight. Challenge yourself by asking “Am I just basing my strategy on something
I have seen?”. If you run into asking yourself that question, we hope the below explanation of insight vs. observation is helpful.
Holistic measurement is a must-have foundation for insights
A few years back, Harvard Business Review’s Irfan Kamal wrote an interesting piece titled “Metrics are easy, Insight is hard.” This certainly still stands today. At least the second part of his statement.
Metrics and measurement, a critical element of insight generation, has become more precise compared to a few years ago — but at the same time also more challenging. Because of the vast pool of KPIs we can now choose from, it is more difficult to select the really relevant metrics.
As for media metrics, Deepa Menon from PHD Singapore reveals in her essay “Taking the Long View” a holistic measurement framework to measure both long and short term goals and explains why thorough measurement is critical — and how it should be done.
Why we need insights
The world has changed dramatically — and continues to do so every day. We need to understand all these changes to be fully equipped for tomorrow’s opportunities, as well as of course to advise our clients on what they should be doing today.
We live in exciting times! Everything we do — how we work, how we shop, how we communicate, how we commute and even how we feed our pets or pay our bills has changed. Most of these changes emerged from new technologies — and CES 2017 has just proven that there’s no limit to innovative tech developments.
Another huge implication of what technology
has enabled is that it allows us to travel the world faster, more cost-efficiently and safer than 10 years ago. And what happens when more people travel? Different cultures, different food, different ways of thinking are mixed together. And think about how we all stay in touch now with our friends and families?
Insight is the capacity to gain an accurate, deep and relevant understanding of someone or something. An insight always includes the WHY. An insight will always have at least one implication. If you struggle to find implications or ideas tied to your insight, you might need to reassess the quality of your insight.
Observation is a statement based on something that someone has seen, heard or noticed. It does not tell you the WHY.
THE EDIT ISSUE 05 | Q1 2017