Here's a dirty little secret: a lot of advertising campaigns—creative, media, or activations—don't start with a brilliant insight. They begin with a brief, a budget, and a deadline. But its tough to win an award without one.
But the best work? The kind that makes judges sit up, smirk, and wish they had thought of it first? That work is built on a hidden human truth that makes everything click. Sometimes, we need to find that insight and retrofit it into award submissions in a last-minute scramble.
What an Insight Is—and What It’s Not
Many people confuse insights with data, facts, or observations. These are the ingredients, but they are not the insight itself. Data tells you that sales spike in winter. A fact might be that people buy more soup when it’s cold. An observation could be that people tend to order takeout more often on Sundays. But an insight? That’s the deeper human truth that ties it all together, something like: Sunday night is the unofficial reset button of the week—one last moment to relax before Monday returns, which is why people crave comfort food most on Sundays.
At its core, finding an insight is about understanding people better than they understand themselves. It's the “aha” that makes a campaign feel less like advertising and more like a mirror reflecting back something people have always felt but never quite put into words. It’s what makes a campaign resonate, not just sell.
How to Find an Insight
Start With the Tension. Insights are born from tension—between what people say and do, between what they believe and how they behave. If everything aligns perfectly, there's no room for discovery. Look for the contradiction, the gap that doesn’t quite add up.
Listen for What's Unsaid. Consumers will tell you what they think you want to hear. Great strategists listen to what they don't say. It's not just "people love coffee." It's “coffee makes people feel competent before they actually are.”
Ask ‘Why?’ Again and Again. The first answer is never the real answer. Keep pushing. “Why do people drink coffee?” Because they like the taste. Why? Because it's familiar and comforting. Why? Because it reminds them of mornings with their parents. Now we're getting somewhere.
Flip the Assumption. If everyone assumes something is true, consider the opposite. If the category says, "Teenagers are obsessed with social media," ask, "What if they actually feel trapped by it?” Now you’re in insight territory.
So, You Don't Have an Insight (Yet)
So, you don't have one, or you've got a fact or observation instead (double-check whether it's an actual insight), and you want to make it to the final round of judging. Here's some advice: Dig deeper. Look for the tension, contradiction, or emotional truth that shifts how people see the world. Keep asking why until you get to something that makes you pause and think, Oh, that's interesting. That's your insight.
So the next time you're staring at an awards submission, trying to retrofit an insight into a campaign that didn't start with one, take a beat. The real insights aren’t found in the data slides or the client brief. They're in the messy, contradictory, wonderfully human world. And if you listen closely, you just might find the spark that makes a judge's eyebrow lift, makes a room nod in recognition, and, if you're lucky, wins you that trophy.