Are propositions still relevant?

John Grant has asked if we still need propositions in the twenty first century. He argues that:

“I think ‘propositions’ and the thinking behind them (sales, persuasion, messaging) is generally rubbish.

“I have thought this for at least 12 years (when I produced a St Lukes brief which had no ‘proposition box’).”

So I thought I’d express my view on the whole argument.

Surely every message a brand puts out, whether it be a TV ad or a call centre script, has at its heart, a point of view, a mantra, or dare I say it, a proposition? After all, you can post-rationalise any piece of communication and see what the underlying sentiment is.

The proposition in a creative brief is merely an attempt to simplify this or make it specific to the communications task. It also makes sure that the more expensive resources, i.e. the creatives, spend less time on thinking about what they want to say and more time working out how they want to say it. You don’t need a proposition in the brief, it just helps crystallise exactly what the brief is saying overall.

Ultimately it’s the brief writer’s headline for a lowest common denomenator ad, a starting point from which a creative team can move forward. Doesn’t John Hegarty famously use the proposition as a headline and a packshot as his starting point for any ad?

So it’s a useful tool, but by no means necessary.

You can contribute to the debate here.