A brief arrives with a request: we need more people to see us. The natural response is to discuss reach, formats and frequency. Everyone gets busy. Yet the most useful work may be sitting one question earlier: what would make someone care that they have seen you?
Questions carry assumptions. Asking how to attract younger customers assumes age explains the problem. Asking which platform to use assumes distribution is the obstacle. Asking for a new identity assumes the existing one is holding something valuable back. Each assumption deserves a little daylight before it becomes a budget.
Imagine a neighbourhood furniture shop asking for more social content. A conversation with customers might reveal that people already love the pieces but struggle to picture them in a small flat. That suggests several useful responses: room plans, dimensions shown honestly, advice from someone who understands awkward corners.
The brief becomes: help people feel confident that a beautiful piece will work in their actual home. Now content has a purpose. So do the window display, the product page and the conversation in the shop. One better question gives the whole business something clearer to do.
Getting there takes consideration. Ask what customers are trying to accomplish. Ask what makes them hesitate. Ask the team which questions they answer every day. Listen for the language people use when nobody has asked them to sound like a target audience.
Before approving the next brief, write down the belief underneath it. Then ask what evidence would change your mind. That small discipline can save a great deal of polished effort. A strong strategy begins with enough curiosity to discover that the first problem you were handed may need rewriting.
An original Switch perspective. The illustrative examples in this essay are hypothetical.