Why imagination is good for brands

Gayle Lunn, co-founder at Rebelles Research, offers her thoughts on how going off-script can enrich strategic and creative development.

Let’s face it. As strategists we all have our favourite models, frameworks and processes. But this illusion of certainty can dim our view of possibilities and extinguish our strongest human asset: imagination. 

Imagination delights in exploring that twilight world between black and white, where patterns and contradictions abound. But ambiguity is not always a comfortable place. How can we make meaningful discoveries when we don’t know what we’re looking for? What if we’re reinventing the actual thing itself? And how can we help our clients feel at ease navigating the unknown?

This was the situation we recently faced with Canadian financial institution ATB. We set off on a journey together to create a new strategic model that would help inspire and direct the behaviours and deliverables of the entire organisation. Part corporate purpose, part brand strategy, part creative strategy.

“When we began, we had no idea what this final framework was going to look like. It was something that developed iteratively over time, as we kept refining and reflecting back what we heard from our clients, prospects and stakeholders. We engaged them during multiple stages of research, so we knew we were on the right track, even if we didn’t know the final destination. We now have a custom tool that allows all 5,200 of our team members to make aligned decisions on how we deliver a uniquely ATB experience,” says Jesse Yuen, managing director, culture to brand at ATB.

Following a similar explorative path to developing a sonic strategy for the brand was something Marco Vitali, owner of Sonic Lens Agency, was thrilled to embrace: “One truth I swear by is the ability of music to communicate very specific ideas and emotions. When we added that extra layer of insight to our music intelligence process through qualitative research, it took our quest for precision to a whole new level. We learned more specifically the exact moments or elements in each track that resonated, with who, and what it made them feel. This gave us a depth of insight and detail we were not used to and allowed us to essentially create the perfect ‘super track’ – a piece of music that became the foundation of ATB's entire Sonic Identity System.

“Keeping an open mind and allowing a steady flow of new ideas and insights right to the very end is truly best practice. It's changed our approach to sonic branding for good.”

There’s no downside to inspiring our teams to explore the terrain of ‘what if’ more often. Taking these journeys into the unknown can help challenge assumptions, reacquaint with customers and, most importantly, reimagine our toolkit of strategic process and outcomes.