Agency Announces Bold New Strategy After Discovering the Whiteboard Was Upside Down
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Following a comprehensive six week discovery phase, including three offsites within walking distance of the office, local agency Bright Hammer has unveiled a new strategic framework after realising the main whiteboard in Meeting Room Two had been mounted upside down since 2022. The revelation occurred during a routine post pitch debrief when a junior planner attempted to diagram the funnel and instead invented a new shape. The agency says the inverted board better reflects the modern customer journey, which now begins confused and ends in a spreadsheet.
The initiative, internally titled Project Flip It, has already been written up as a case study. According to the release, the team leaned into the insight by rotating all workshop stationery 180 degrees and encouraging staff to speak in conclusions first, then work backwards to the brief. A senior account director described it as liberating. "I can finally say the budget is locked at the start of the meeting and watch everyone emotionally process it in real time," she said, standing next to a tray of cold sausage rolls.
Early results are promising. The agency reports a 14 percent increase in decisive nodding, a 22 percent reduction in someone asking if this has been done before, and a measurable lift in confidence from the guy who always draws arrows. Clients have responded positively, with one FMCG brand noting the upside down whiteboard made their annual plan feel more honest. Another said it explained a lot.
Bright Hammer plans to roll out the framework across all departments, excluding finance who asked not to be involved, and is entering the work into at least four award shows under the category of Cultural Impact. The agency confirms the whiteboard will remain inverted for the foreseeable future, or until someone important notices.
The initiative, internally titled Project Flip It, has already been written up as a case study. According to the release, the team leaned into the insight by rotating all workshop stationery 180 degrees and encouraging staff to speak in conclusions first, then work backwards to the brief. A senior account director described it as liberating. "I can finally say the budget is locked at the start of the meeting and watch everyone emotionally process it in real time," she said, standing next to a tray of cold sausage rolls.
Early results are promising. The agency reports a 14 percent increase in decisive nodding, a 22 percent reduction in someone asking if this has been done before, and a measurable lift in confidence from the guy who always draws arrows. Clients have responded positively, with one FMCG brand noting the upside down whiteboard made their annual plan feel more honest. Another said it explained a lot.
Bright Hammer plans to roll out the framework across all departments, excluding finance who asked not to be involved, and is entering the work into at least four award shows under the category of Cultural Impact. The agency confirms the whiteboard will remain inverted for the foreseeable future, or until someone important notices.