During The Dig, we come together for what we call a Campfire, where we share what we’ve found, build on one another’s observations, stories and ideas, and try to uncover those insights and truths. Anything we find that feels like it has the potential to be interesting but we aren’t quite sure what to do with yet we call “sparks.”

For instance, when we helped launch a new product for a leading car seat manufacturer, during our Campfire we chatted about hundreds of sparks, like:

• First-time parents doubt their abilities
• Every 32 seconds, a child is involved in a car accident
• Car seats typically expire after six years from the date of manufacture
• Toddlers are squirmy; they rarely go into a carseat without a fight

One truth we agreed on is that parenting is hard on the body. More concretely, we discovered the insight that one year after childbirth, 77% of moms still reported back pain. We also learned that the repetitive movements of motherhood, coupled with exhaustion, can lead to injuries not unlike those of competitive athletes.

Informed by these sparks, our creative team brought the car seat’s 360º rotational features to the forefront by positioning it as “the kinder car seat”—a car seat that’s kinder to parents’ bodies, so they can spend more time focusing on the feel-good moments of parenthood.

During another Campfire, we uncovered a paradox in our client’s positioning. A luxury jewelry brand, they were encouraging customers to mix and match pieces from their collection to develop an authentic style. But the truth is: Women almost never wear one jewelry brand exclusively, opting instead to mix and match pieces from multiple brands with thrift store finds and family heirlooms to create their personal style. Based on this truth, we proposed the brand do something no one else does: feature its jewelry alongside pieces from their models’ personal collections, along with the stories behind each piece. The resulting creative was distinctive, personal, and truly authentic.