Amid all the Video Projects and Ideation Projects that make up the core of what we do here at Tongal, you may have also noticed a new type of Project quietly emerge over the past handful of months: the Think Tank Project. It’s set apart from all other projects by its unique ‘Think Tank’ banner, and marks a subtle shift in how early in the creative process we’re inviting the Tongal community to share their brilliant ideas.
Rather than asking you to deliver a single Idea or Video, Think Tank Projects focus more broadly on shaping a brand’s long term creative strategy. This may take the form of product taglines, product names, campaign ideas, observations, brand manifestos, and other marketing-focused creative asks.
The reason we’ve established Think Tank Projects is twofold: The Tongal community is super smart and capable of executing this type of work in a valuable way for our brand partners AND these projects allow us to bring even more creative opportunities directly to you!
We recently caught up with Caleb Light-Wills, Tongal’s SVP of Creative Strategy, to learn more about Think Tank and how Tongalers can succeed in these types of projects.
Marissa: Thanks for taking the time to talk about Think Tank! Over the years, we’ve occasionally asked the Tongal community to do some of this type of work - taglines, product naming, etc. - but how is Think Tank different?
Caleb: Initially, most projects on Tongal were focused on developing video content: ideation phases led into pitch phases, which lead into video production phases. That's still the majority of what we do and how we operate, but at some point in the not so distant past sponsors began to approach us with creative challenges that didn't always end up with the production of a video asset.
It started with, "hey, could someone in the community help us come up with a name for this product?" Which led to:
-- "Could we ask the community to help us develop a campaign idea?"
-- "What about a positioning statement for our new product?"
-- "What about a tagline or a manifesto that explains what our brand stands for?"
We started getting a lot of these questions from sponsors and after a couple trial runs realized that these projects are fundamentally different from the other video-focused challenges on the platform. We created the "Think Tank" banner to indicate these types of projects which focus on activities taking place much earlier in the creative development cycle.
M: When our community members see the words ‘Think Tank’ on a project banner, what would you like them to associate with that visual cue?
C: If I had one piece of advice about these projects it would be to challenge yourself to think beyond, "here's a great idea for a :30 video." That type of executional thinking is awesome when it comes to normal video projects, but it’s beside the point with Think Tank where the goal is to develop ideas that are bigger than any single piece of content. Take the time to do some research about the brand and its competitors and then put yourself in the shoes of their target audience.
Brands tend to talk about this stuff in terms of “big ideas” or “campaigns” or “platforms,” basically synonyms for an idea that can be communicated across multiple channels (video, in store, billboards, etc.) and can be sustained for a prolonged period of time given its relevance to consumers. That’s a lot of what Think Tank is about -- getting to that kind of thinking.
M: Do most of the Think Tank Projects eventually ladder up to Video Projects? How else might our brand partners be utilizing these insights from our community?
C: They definitely can and it’s both exciting and validating to watch the work done in Think Tank to end up on-screen. Suave Kids and Epiduo Forte are good examples of this, but it’s definitely not always the case. Sometimes these projects are about arriving at answers to questions like “what should we name our new jewelry collection?” Just because a project does not end up as a video execution, does not mean it can’t impact a brand’s overall marketing strategy.
M: What type of person do you think will do best in Think Tank Projects? What skills should they have to succeed?
Overall, these projects are about informing a brand's creative strategy and (right now) a lot of that work tends to be writing assignments. If you're a strong writer or strategist by trade or good with a turn of phrase, these are good projects to dive into. Other times, it’s just about being creative and making sure you take the time to understand the brand and its audience.
M: Since Think Tank Projects began popping up on the Tongal website earlier this year, how have the efforts of our community begun to affect our client’s creative strategy?
I really like the jewelry example because it was about identifying ways to help a brand that was struggling to connect with a Millennial audience.
What’s really cool is you can track the evolution of the ideas of through the series of projects on the site. It started with a Tagline Project, then moved into a Manifesto Project and Naming Project. Picking one final example that stood out for me was this concept around the link between jewelry and tattoos. If you think about it, both jewelry and tattoos: 1) capture a special moment, 2) are a sign of self-expression, 3) have a story behind them.
Kelsey Jonikas came up with a name for the collection and Tim Cordell wrote a wonderful manifesto that eloquently captured the idea.
Combine that creative thinking with the fact that ~47% of Millennials have tattoos and you’ve got a really powerful idea and creative strategy to support it.
M: Is there a particular Think Tank Project that you’re most proud of?
C: It’s still early, but the work coming out of the RumHaven and Nat Geo projects has been really strong. I’m very optimistic that the results of those projects will precipitate more work on the site.
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Thanks again to Caleb for giving us the scoop on Think Tank projects! If you have any questions about Think Tank, share them down in the comments.
