The balloon in the box

Fascinator of children and adults alike, the balloon is a mysterious thing. Imitating slow motion, it moves gracefully, influenced by the currents of air which unpredictably control it’s pathway. Always a symbol of happiness, the humble balloon can quieten the hysterical child, excite the sleepy infant and variously produce moments of distress as it explodes and dies or flies into the atmosphere never to be seen again.

Such indulgences exit our lives as we mature and forget the wonderment of our childhood experiences, but the balloon has much to teach us in business. At Jack in the box it has profound lessons as an example of the way we enhance our own and our clients’ futures.

We have long said, we are Change Masters and we are! We believe if a company is not different, it is invisible. But for this to mean something we need to understand what creates differentials. Ideas are, of course, common to all agencies, some are good at it, others are unknowing plagiarists, taking others ideas and disguise them as their own.

Perhaps it is true that there is no such thing as a new idea but what is not necessarily well understood is how ideas mature into originality and the balloon is a perfect example of the lateral evolution of the birth of an idea to its execution.

How much appeal, fun and enjoyment does one achieve with a limp, ugly piece of formed rubber. To bring it to life you must breath air into it and compress that air. Once inflated, it flies; it soars; it heads heavenward with the environmental currents; it does its thing. So too an idea without the right pressure, remains impotent and inane.

We create the idea and by carefully introducing the right kind of pressure, we change a limp concept into a flying machine. The secret is to possess a keen and intelligent understanding of the pressure needed to stretch an idea, enough to make it float, but not so much as to cause it to explode.

Make no mistake this is an art – we know, because we have watched companies take our ideas and mistakenly believing that this alone is the answer, employ the wrong pressure in a vain attempt to make it fly, only to discover that transforming a limp rubber object, takes more than a big pump.

At the box we massage an idea, cajole it, and preciously expand it, stretching its limits and causing it to float into the skies of success. Yes, it requires fair weather, convenient winds and just the right amount of air, but never underestimate the power of a well inflated idea. Like the balloon, it can often travel so much further than we believe and arrive in unexpected places.

Whatever the outcome, the ability to make it fly is unquestioned. At the box we are powerful ‘Balloon Blowers’ and proud of it – a team which can give wings to an idea and send it into the ionosphere, and if you wish you can join us and share in the fun.