Brilliant Marketing

How to run a

brilliant

marketing

workshop

CHAPTER 24

Why marketing workshops are so important

‘Talent wins games but teamwork and intelligence win

championships.’

(Michael Jordan)

W

orkshops allow you and

your colleagues to be cre-

ative and discover ways of

marketing successfully that day to

day stuck behind your PC, you

might not achieve. Workshops are

the mechanism for unleashing competitive edge. Do not try to

be a brilliant marketer by yourself – it won’t work.

What is a workshop?

It’s a group of colleagues who get together to thrash out a

problem or series of problems or, alternately, try to work out

how to realise one or more opportunities. It has as its guiding

principle the belief that together we are stronger. But it stands or

falls on how it’s done.

workshops are the

mechanism for

unleashing competitive

edge

264 brilliant marketing

Ingredients

One unusual and interesting venue.

One inspiring facilitator with an assistant or amanuensis (sorry,

scribe or note taker), who can turn a mess into messages.

Eight to ten eager (getting people into the right frame of mind is

critical) and very well-briefed participants representing different

functions and skills.

Ten clear and carefully prepared briefing packs including a

critical ‘rules of engagement’ or ‘how we are going to cook this

meal’.

At least three rooms so the group can be split up into two or

three groups during the day.

At least (if possible) one overnight stay so the dish prepared can

be reheated the next day and improved.

White boards and A2 easels with lots of paper and coloured

marker pens.

Plenty of spice viz. stimuli for everyone – product samples,

proto-types, competitors’ samples, ads, PR releases, media cov-

erage, videos, anything which puts the conversations that will be

held into context.

Cooking instructions

Your master-chef-facilitator will lead this. She or he will have

brilliant

tip

A workshop is a dish that needs to be cooked carefully, with

excellent and well-prepared ingredients. The Jamie Oliver ‘splash it

around – lovely outcome’ won’t do. Holding a workshop is a big

statement and needs to be treated very seriously.

How to run a brilliant marketing workshop 265

made sure everyone is brilliantly briefed and will have had a 121

with each beforehand. This is not a random exercise. It really

needs great planning. The 121 will establish not the actual

outcome, but the process, so that on the day every single mind

is revving up to deliver its best.

The assistant/stand-in, apart from taking notes, makes sure

everyone is comfortable and being treated properly. The minds

in this room are valuable pieces of equipment and they deserve

respect.

One other thing. There’s one question the facilitators must keep

asking the delegates and that is, ‘What’s missing?’ Much better

to ask this at the event than afterwards decide something was

indeed missing but not mentioned.

The day/two-day programme will depend on the facilitator but

will usually go through seven phases:

INTRODUCTION – who’s who; why you are there; what you hope

and expect to get out of it; the broad dimensions of the task.

INVESTIGATION – asking all the questions that need asking;

making sure everyone has a clear handle on these issues; debating

the scale of the challenge.

COMPLICATION – this is the messy bit, which is absolutely critical;

try to raise and eliminate as many aspects of the challenge – all

the problems, vested interests and detours; this is usually where

everyone gets a bit grumpy and wonders where it’s all going.

CREATION –agood period of time to be spent in smaller groups

(two groups each with facilitators) on idea generation; create as

many ideas as possible; work fast; work visually; be alive; have fun.

FOCUS – the editing process; the total group reconvenes and

presents all the ideas to each other; reducing all the ideas down.

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