FROM POV TO LOAHow to develop a Point Of View
and create a persuasive Line Of
Argument
You did not join the company to do PowerPoint and be an email clearing
house so you need a…
1. Point Of View2. Line Of Argument
HAVING A POV
• Your job is to.....• Be relentlessly curious• Assimilate wide-ranging stimuli• Gather the right data and information• Come up with some hypotheses about
what to do• Have an opinion on it• Distill it down to something clear• Recommend a direction
YOU CAN’T CREATE AN LOA WITHOUT A POV
• Here are some ideas to increase your chances of having a POV...
A decent brief?
• To achieve what?• Why?• Who is this aimed at?• Statement: our
objective• Question: how do
we…?
What if the brief is defective?
• Use Three Good Three Bad
• Draw out negatives first
• 3 worst and 3 best things
• Find common ground• Offset bad with good• Time limit & move on
What if our ideas are too random?
• Use Think Inside The Box
• Map out constraints• Only work within those• Bounded subject area• Reject everything
irrelevant• Think Apollo 13
What if our perspective is too narrow?
• Use Eyes Of Experts• Choose experts in
advance• Or get attendees to do
it• View brief through the
eyes of different experts
• How would they do it?• Consider those
unrelated to category
What if everyone in our market does the same
thing?• Use Category Stealing• Identify other
categories (not your own)
• Define characteristics• Name brands• Identify approaches• Apply to your brief
What if we tend to express ideas verbally?
• Use Picture Platforms• Break reliance on the
same old vocabulary• Find images from a
wide range of sources• Choose in advance or
allow choice on the spot
• 10 = narrow range• 100 = free form
What if we tend to use the same language all the
time?• Use Random Word• Take a book• Ask for numbers to
find page, sentence, word
• Dictionary at random• Or enter relevant
words into wordle.net
What if we have too little to go on?
• Use What’s Hot?• Examine current trends• Major events coming up• Look at celebrities &
issues• Attach your issue to
them• Don’t force fit
What if too often we have a fixed point of view?
• Use Different Light• Are you identical to
your target audience?
• If not, name very diverse people who may have a different perspective
• Assume their role and explore the implications
What if we usually end up with a compromise?
• Use Exaggeration and Deprivation
• Push to irrational extremes
• Ludicrously over-exaggerate product benefits
• Imagine product doesn’t exist at all
• What are the implications?
• Use hyperbole as drama
What if we need a new jumping off point?
• Use Analogy Springboard
• Many great ideas were observed in one place and then applied in another
• Pictures? Words?• Stimuli from
elsewhere applied to your brief
• What if x were used in y…?
What if we want something more whacky?
• Use Sticking Plaster Sentence
• Invented by surrealists• 2 adjectives, 2 nouns,
1 verb• Think of words
secretly, then put in right sequence
• Scrutinize in relation to brief
• Suspend disbelief!
What if we are stuck in a rut?
• Use Conceptual Blending
• Start with what you know
• Add something from somewhere else
• Blend the two• Repeat for interesting
combinations
What if we know nothing about it, or too much?
• Use Strange Or Familiar?
• Unfamiliarity = fear• Overfamiliarity =
conformity• 1. = Learn more +
develop• 2. = Revisit
assumptions• Reappraise in new light
What if the brief is always the same?
• Use Four Corner Walkabout
• 4 flip chart pages• 1 in each corner • 1 strategic word on
each• Walk round and add
ideas• Review when pages full
What if we usually ignore any anomalies?
• Use Outliers• Context is crucial• Head to Extremistan• Ignore consensus
view• Head to the edges• What’s the oddest
thing?• Examine the
anomalies• Is there an
interesting lateral link to the brief?
ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR POV...
• Don’t stampede to PowerPoint• Get a pen and paper and sketch out
your LOA• Just because you have a POV, they still
might not get it• If you have no LOA, they definitely
won’t get it
THINK BEFORE YOU START WRITING
• What is this supposed to achieve?• To whom is it directed?• What approach is likely to
yield the best result?
AUDIENCE ORIENTATIONS
ResultsDon’t bore with details. Snappy points. Talk results.
EmotionsShow genuine interest in feelings. Give help & support.
AbracadabraGive it some magic. Make it interesting and sparky.
DataMake research, facts, and figures perfectly precise.
What if we want to say it all in one chart?
• Use The Market Map• Win the business with one
diagram• Plot any market• Encapsulate strategy
visually• Try multiple variables• Imply direction of travel
and success
What if we don’t know how brave to be?
• Use The Bravery Scale• How adventurous is the
individual?• How adventurous is the
company culture?• How brave should targets be?• What standards are expected?• Remind when you present/they
reject
What if we don’t want to look indecisive?
• Use The Whittling Wedge• Tell an engaging strategic
story• Start broad, then reduce• Consider, then reject• Exclude competitor
proposals• Recommend with authority
What if we need to cover a lot of detail?
• Use The Bow Tie• Perfect story telling• Reduce, big reveal,
expand• Cadence and pace of a
presentation• “And now for the detail...”
What if we need to distinguish between strategy and tactics?
• Use The Strategic v. Tactics Year View
• It’s not what changes that matters – it’s what stays the same
• Strategy = fixed• Tactics = flexible• You must always be able
to link the two
What if we need to organise our creative thoughts?
• Use The Central Idea Satellite System
• How to explain ideas clearly
• Sub-sets and interrelationships
• Proper anchored strategy• Multiple themes and
fertility of ideas
What if there are too many projects or tasks?
• Use The Three Buckets• BB = excellence as
standard• CD = significantly better
than normal• CTG = truly extraordinary• Put all projects in a bucket
& review
What if we think they won’t buy it?
• Use The Barriers To Purchase Axis
• What are the barriers?• How many?• How do we knock them
down?• All at once?• Or in what sequence?
What if we haven’t got much time?
• Use The Personal Deadline• Human nature to delay, but
don’t• Convene decision makers
in the first 24 hours• Set direction, brief experts,
course correct if necessary
MAPPING OUT YOUR LOA
1. KILLER TITLE GOES HERE
•Make the title truly reflect the main point you are trying to get across•It must be accurate and engaging•Do not write “presentation by Agency X” - let the logo do the work
2. START WITH A BANG• Do not repeat the brief or cut
and paste “the task”• Use a grabber, such as...• A controversial statement• A quotation that sums up the
dilemma• Stating the opposite view
3. MAKE ASSERTIONS AND BACK THEM UP
• Re-express their issues cleverly• Don’t hide negatives and overclaim in a list
of things to do - be honest about the job• Challenge their assumptions and be brave• Follow with solutions as unique to your
agency as possible• Show data that support your argument(s)• Deliberately introduce similar issues from
other markets they aren’t familiar with• Cross fertilise knowledge from different
disciplines
4. TELL THE STORY OF YOUR STRATEGIC JOURNEY
• Such as: in this market there are only really four strategies - eg. price, reliability, innovation and speed
• Isn’t it interesting that your company has tried three of these in the last four years?
• We wanted to know why your most admired competitor has cleverly migrated their position from x to y
• So we researched it and this is what we found…
5. ARRIVE AT A STRATEGIC POSITIONING
• So we think you should be occupying territory x
• (At this stage we have not mentioned any particular medium at all)
• The positioning statement needs either to be a distinctive diagram or a crystal clear sentence which your mum could understand
• The positioning statement must not include any flabby adjectives such as “innovative” or “trustworthy”
6. TELL THEM THE CENTRAL IDEA
• We propose basing the campaign on x• Our creative expression of x is …..• This is such a fertile idea that it works
effectively for a range of audiences, vertical markets, countries, channels, ++
• We have cherry picked 6-10 ideas from the implementation programme to demonstrate the point, and they are…
• Here are some examples that bring it to life - video, personalities, graphics etc
7. IN THE CONTEXT OF THE OVERALL (COMMUNICATIONS)
STRATEGY• Don’t dive straight in to the details of
your favourite medium - that’s what they would expect from a media agency
• Instead review their whole marketing strategy and communications plan
• Look at all the communication options and show how the plan fits in with the total picture
• You may end up concluding for example that your agency cannot do everything - recommend other experts if needed
8. TONE OF VOICE• Don’t confuse what you wish to say
with how you wish to say it• Select no more than three adjectives
that reflect the right tone of voice• If they could be applied to a competitor
they are not distinctive enough• Try to choose words that you have not
seen in marketing documents before• Not allowed: innovative, visionary,
responsible, mould-breaking• Try: eccentric, cheeky, loud, invasive,
etc.
9. MECHANICS, MEDIA, CHANNELS, ROUTES
• You are now clear to outline the specific strategy or plan that you are recommending
• Be concise and avoid cliché - if the words are similar to those used in other presentations, it’s probably not going to be memorable enough
• Show the relative merit of your agency’s recommendation alongside others
10. ADD PRODUCTS AND PROCESSES
• Now is the time to introduce your bespoke products as clever solutions to their tricky problems - but only if they are relevant
• Putting “Brand Process X” on a chart out of the blue doesn’t work
• Try to demonstrate their efficacy by reference to irrefutable success on other impressive clients - “we introduced “Brand Process X” to Client Y 2 years ago and now they can’t operate without it…”
11. THE PROGRAMME
• If at all possible, put this in the appendix and don’t present it on the day
• If the client is process driven, then do it, but do it fast and distinctively - reading bullet points off 15-20 charts will bore them rigid
• Summarise the hygiene factors such as costs and housekeeping as succinctly as possible
12. APPENDIX• Put all back up material in the
appendix• Don’t protest too much in the main
LOA with too much evidence• Relegate to the appendix anything
that interrupts the LOA• Don’t stray into this material if the job
is done• If they agree with your
recommendation, don’t use it at all
JUST A FEW THINGS LEFT...
• Edit several times• Remove all cliche and bullshit• Add a bit of colour• Test drive with a colleague• Write the executive summary
A CLASSIC LOA1. There are various views on X, which span
broadly from A to B to C. Let’s take a new look at this.
2. The facts are D, E, and F.3. Interestingly, new evidence sheds a different
light on how this is usually viewed.4. Analysing this leads us to main areas 1, 2, 3.5. Looking specifically, we get closer to a solution
like 4.6. Objections to this idea might include X, Y and Z,
but they can be countered with A, B and C.7. So we recommend X.8. X is a very fertile idea, and can be developed by
XYZ.9. If enacted, the principle benefit of this will be X.10.In our line of argument, the chain of logic is A +
B + C = D.
STRUCTURAL CHECKLIST• What are we trying to achieve?• Who is the audience of this LOA?• Research subject• Be accurate and engaging• Decent structure• Colour and pace• Remove cliché and bullshit• Edit several times• Writer’s block & colleague check
Brevity equals intelligence
You need a Point Of View
and a Line Of Argument
theideasbook.netthediagramsbook.com
@kevinduncan
3. LIVING WITH IDEAS
What if nothing happens at first?
• Recognise The Unconcealing
• Things don’t always happen immediately
• During the stumped phase, your depth mind is still working
• Focus on not being focused
• Brief yourself, then do something else
How can we ‘make ideas happen’?
• Try to Train Your Depth Mind
• Be constantly curious• Be a ‘junk collector’• Be a Mental Magpie• Widen your span of
relevance• Attach stimuli to
issues• Practice serendipity• Chance favours the
prepared mind
What if we invent something original, and then always
dilute it?• Don’t allow ideas to be
Pecked To Death By Ducks
• Do you like it?• If so, don’t fiddle
with it• What would you
sacrifice to make it happen?
• How can we devote every possible resource to it?
What if we have too many ideas?
• Use Post-It Voting• Cull regularly• In session, or on
project list• Put on the wall• Take a pause• Limited number of
votes?• Rank order?• Consensus =
commitment and better use of energy
What if the idea is okay, but not that great?
• Use Kill It• Don’t flog dead
horses• Issue limited number
of Kill It cards• Play if feel strongly• Yes = develop• No = stop wasting
time• If in doubt, kill it and
think of something better
You need a Point Of View
and a Line Of Argument
theideasbook.netthediagramsbook.com
@kevinduncan
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