Babita’s blog: Let’s Think ‘Pop-Up’

I began this blog with the headline, ‘Done is better than Perfect’.

But a quick Net trawl showed me that if there is one message that has beaten the “Keep Calm…” one in terms of posters, cards, T-shirts, blogs, to the poster that inspires Facebook… it is this.

So I changed the headline to what it is now, though the essence of the next few lines are all about how Doing is better than Perfecting.

Pop-Up. A word that is moving beyond the small retail temporary outlet to being a part of our culture. Just set it up, and get going. Whether it is a shop, a cafe or an impromptu performance. Where everything is about do. About thinking, processing and producing at the speed of now.

Joining dots to what I do every day.

And I realise that it is time we think Pop-Up.

The first thing that is up at the altar are the age old timelines. We just don’t have the time to think, re-think, write, re-write, meet, re-meet.

There are two critical success factors for this mindset.

Clarity and Collaboration.

Clarity. Starts with a clear brief. Clear deliverables. And clarity on the brand, the consumer and the business.

Collaboration. A pop up mindset does not have scope for one discipline to inspire another. No step by step process. Every hand on deck. Everyone in it together. Like multi-coloured threads woven together to form a pattern. Or a relay race, where one baton is seamlessly handed over to the next.

What about the oft debated term - Perfection?

Obviously, no one wants a half-baked gooey cake. It has to be deliciously edible. The question is whether we buy time for making that perfect little rose on top of the ‘I’ of Happy Birthday. Perfection is subjective. And in today’s context, we need to look at it from the receiver’s lens and not just the creator’s.

We also know from age old practise that the best ideas are still cracked the day before, even the night before. The only change in the pop-up mind set is that this becomes more the norm, especially if we want to be topical, or make the most of a situation.

A pop-up mind set needs client collaboration as well. Both in terms of inputs and approval process.

The quest for ‘Perfection’ beyond a point leads to losing out on a first mover advantage, a topicality or sheer time.

So yes, we need great work.

But we need it @speed of now, @speed of culture.

And only a pop-up mindset will help us get there.

The views expressed are the author's independent views as an ad professional and do not reflect the organisation's viewpoint.