To promote the launch of our new agency, we decided to bring creativity to the streets through a live event. Eight interdisciplinary thinkers from the agency crammed into a 9' x 14' box in the middle of Dundas Square (the Canadian equivalent of New York's Times Square). We solicited creative challenges from passersby, which we then solved on the spot while “thinking inside the box”. Reporters from two of Canada's largest daily newspapers actually participated inside the box. Think garnered national media attention. We landed three new clients who cited the project as their reason for calling. And the estimated 117,000 people who pass through the square each day had a new appreciation for creativity.

The agency's founder/creative director casually mentioned that he was working on something “very different” to several trade and mainstream journalists in late August and early September without providing any details. This tactic piqued curiosity and created buzz. Just over a week before the October 29th event, we invited a targeted group of trade and mainstream journalists to participate in Think. On October 27th, we issued a press release to mainstream news outlets across Canada, accompanied by a document called Think: By Numbers that highlighted some technical information about the event, like the size of the box and amount of equipment inside. On October 28th, we issued a business-focused press release to trade and business reporters and editors. At the event, we integrated participating journalists with the problem-solving team, and ensured they had the opportunity to do one-on-one interviews with the agency's founder/creative director.

Think garnered national media attention from both mainstream and trade news outlets. As a direct result of Think, the agency received calls from three new clients who told us that this unusual approach and unique use of media resonated with them and reflected the kind of work they aspire to do themselves.

More importantly, the estimated 117,000 people who pass through the square each day had a new appreciation for creativity on that day. The project continues to generate media coverage months later.