Take the scenic route

Despite spending so much of the past few months indoors, many of us at Tank have been spending a surprising amount of time outside—even if it’s just to step away from our screens for a bit and get some fresh air. In fact, for portions of the strange new reality that is Spring 2020, a stroll around the neighborhood is just about the only thing we can do for entertainment.

Some of us patch in friends via FaceTime as we walk; others head straight for their local park or trail in search of just a slice of solace in nature. When time is all that we have, we’ve uncovered odd side streets and interesting architectural details that have always been there, but we were too focused on our destination to notice. Now, the destination is simply “not home,” as we stretch our legs and relax our minds—or we try to, at least.

You could say that we’ve found that there’s no such thing as a wrong turn as long as we keep moving forward. But the truth is, we’ve known this for a while.

We toss around the word “discovery” because it’s a recognizable term that represents the first step in our process. It communicates a time to explore, to dive deep and uncover insights, and to emerge with those singular, essential findings, whether it’s the key to elevating our clients’ identity or the way forward to creating an engaging new brand experience.

But if you could take a peek into our process—walk a mile in our shoes (as we milk this metaphor)—you’d see us methodically reviewing the data, research and business strategy, but you’d also see us wandering a bit.

Clicking through on that odd search result that seems different from the rest.

Pursuing a tangential theme, just to see if it connects back in a meaningful way.

Stepping away and chatting up a colleague in the kitchen—or these days, in Friday’s virtual happy hour—and stumbling across something they’re doing that relates to our work in a way so perfect it’s uncanny.

We’ll be back together in person one day soon, and we won’t have as much time as we’d like to extend our walks around the next unexpected corner. But we know for certain that those undiscovered places are there, just waiting to be found.