How to Pitch Unserious Ideas in Serious Ways

Solutions for social ruts with Arin Delaney, Co-Founder of FONZIE, a copy-led creative agency that works with brands like rhode, A24, Netflix, and more.

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Okay, let’s get into today’s newsletter with Arin Delaney, which is sort of like a one-off creative advice column. It’s a lot of fun.

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Dear Arin…

You might remember Arin Delaney from one of Link in Bio’s most popular newsletters, How to Write Better Captions. She also started FONZIE, a copy-led creative agency that works with Nike, rhode, A24, Away, and more. She’s the kind of big picture thinker who always has some sort of out-of-the-box exercise to get you out of a creative rut. Below I shared a handful of scenarios that social teams run into, and asked how Arin would handle them. I hope you find her answers as delightful as I do!

“I've gotten feedback that I should write more like I talk. What does that even mean?” - Corporate Caitlin

Can’t speak for everyone but in my exp, it means that the copy is stiff, corporate, lengthy, resolute, or cliché. Sounds like something we’ve heard. Reads like an ad. Falls flat.

Writing like you speak is bubbly, imperfect, and unexpected. Or it’s — morose, dry, and hysterical. Either way, the way people talk is usually somewhat entertaining.

Read through your texts, try out new material with friends. Send something in the group chat, see if it plays.

Finding your written voice is an exercise like anything else. A little free association can help, open a doc and blah blah blah all over the page. Keep going until you make yourself laugh. If you like reading it, someone else may too.

“Times are tough. How do I stay creative when business is uncertain?” - Tariff Timothy

So I sit in front of this giant corkboard, anyone I Zoom with sees it. It’s covered in little scraps of colorful paper and on each one is something I need to hear. Here’s one:

I find uncertainty to be particularly cruel. Often times nothing bad has actually happened, but it definitely feels like it’s coming. Also, creatives have pretty good imaginations and can play out endless scenarios (that usually don’t end well).

So I read a little note like this and try to quiet that “What if…” part of my mind that’s filling me with dread. Instead, I pivot it to find solutions and opportunities to real problems in front of me. That feels more in line with the definition of a creative anyway. Anytime I pursue an avenue of thought that brings light, life, humor — that’s the source of all possibility and where true creation lies.

“Sometimes I feel so silly pitching social ideas to my manager. ‘So there's this trend where you write this and yap...’ How do I pitch unserious ideas in serious ways?” - Brainrot Bill

Being fluent in social, understanding trends, AND having the ability to translate it into something effective and relevant for your brand is not unserious — it’s exceedingly valuable. (And so are you, for many reasons, not just your professional insight.)

Social is ephemeral, it moves quickly, and it speaks the language of humor, youth, newness — all things that are very difficult to sell, period. It’s easily undermined, but it’s serious work.

Treat it unseriously, and so will others. Put it on a pedestal and others will pay for a peek.

One way to elevate your valuable offerings is to organize them. Speak a language managers understand. Collect your findings. Could be a running spreadsheet of emerging trends, creators, other successful brand collabs. A central tome of your insights and research. Keep it alive and it can act as a reference guide to help you and your team ideate in the future.

Review this doc regularly with said manager, it’s a chance to bring them into this world and show them opportunities that await them. Become the go-to, the Scion of Social. Now they’re in meetings asking “What would <Your Name> think about this?”

Creating living documents and making a ritual of your insight is true workplace currency. If you’re doing this and your manager (or their manager) still doesn’t value it — you have the building blocks to start consulting and/or start a very successful substack (hi, Rachel!).

“Help! I have a content brainstorm in 30 minutes that I totally forgot about. Any quick exercises for big ideas?” - Busy Bea

First, deep breath. Remember you are doing the best you can, and no matter what happens you are capable, thoughtful, and creative. (Gotta start with this.)

K so we’ve normalized exceedingly distracting work days. The 200-tabs-open-slack-pings-email-reply-to-do-list-anxiety-meetings-meetings-meetings context of your M-F is effectively setting you up for failure.

There’s a chance 30 minutes is all you really need to come up with a first pass of content. That is, 30 minutes of uninterrupted time. Close the tabs, turn on the Do Not Disturb, set a Pomodoro Timer (25 mins).

Spend 5 of those minutes reading the brief and getting familiar with the ask.

As far as creative exercises, I actually have one. A million years ago I made up an equation for creating social content it goes like this:

Nugget + Mechanic + Emotion = Content

• Nugget. What’s distinctive about it? (a product’s texture, the movie’s hook — hone in on a differentiator)

• Mechanic. What’s the format? (POV, throwback, duet, GRWM, stunt, collab)

• Emotion. How do you want people to feel? (Freaked out, lol, informed, etc.)

Remember, you don’t need completely polished ideas if you present in a way that’s open and invites collaboration and change. Doing that allows you to work with the magic in the room as you integrate other ideas, new client goals, and references from the creatives around you.

“I keep getting feedback that my captions are too verbose. Any tips for making my copy more succinct?” - Wordy Wendy

We love a verbose caption under a “must communicate all this info” bucket, but that can only have its moment if 2/3 of the other content is sleek and succinct.

Capture a feeling. Make an in-joke. Hone in on a tiny detail. Fill in the . Drop an ellipsis… How would you DM it?

Also, bullet points.

“I love campaigns that are rooted in a real customer truth, but I have trouble coming up with ideas for them myself. What exercises do you recommend for brainstorming campaigns that really resonate?” - Sticky Sally

Sometimes professional creatives can forget they’re also everyday shoppers. Like, as if we’re not some of the most selective, knowledgeable consumers out there. Great campaigns hit because we feel them from both sides (as a creator/as an online person).

You nailed it when you said “truth.” That’s the hardest thing to be in a lot of rooms — honest. Sometimes honesty can be confused with negativity, when really it’s a launch pad. Being real about a feeling people have and positioning yourself to help can be quite powerful. It conveys a greater awareness, and an intimacy and respect for people who buy from you.

In our work with Dieux, I’m always in awe of their fearlessness and how well they communicate with their community.

“I do too much scrolling for ideas. Any activities or books you recommend for creativity?” - Blue Light Billy

There’s a chance you’ve already scrolled so much that your brain just needs a chance to organize the thoughts and connect that inspo with your prompt. So welcome to the most glamorous suggestion you’ll get all day — sit outside in the quiet for 15 mins thinking about the ask. Ideas should flow.

One other thing, go to the library. Practice following your curiosity and picking up books on things you find interesting. It’s true discovery, gets the neurons firing, creates little sparks up there. Plus it’s tactile so it imprints more than scrolling.

Books, yes. Here are three that I’m always sending to people I love. Now that I think about it, they probably define how I think about most things.

The House Book by Terrence Conran — Not only is it full of aesthetic 70’s homes, it acknowledges the kinds of spaces that make people feel really comfortable and themselves.

Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy — Written by the ultimate copywriter, a testament to the power of everlasting creative and why we respond to it.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein — Shel’s work is subversive and succinct, morally attuned, and frankly, bouncy. Fun fact: he wrote Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue.”

“It feels like once a week I have an existential crisis about working in marketing. It all feels so...meaningless. Especially with everything going on in the world. How do I get re-inspired to do this kind of work?” - Cynical Cyril

At this particular moment in time, I feel like kindness, grace, and silliness are radical acts and the antidotes to fear. So I try and make every ask, interaction, and movement of my body to be in service of those values. Or as the board says…

“Where do I start when I don't know where to start?” - Existential Edward

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