What if you could get served market signals, trends, and opportunities — with multiple angles, ideas, and copy — tailored to your industry, your segment, region, type of agency/consultancy, and even roles?

First, a question for you. Do you agree that crafting winning pitches strongly involves demonstrating deep understanding of the client’s business, market, category, and customers — and translating signals and trends into strategic and creative ideas.

If you agree, this should interest you.

So, what if you had access not to a handful, but to hundreds… even thousands of signals, trends, opportunities, and ideas, all ready to drop into your next pitch deck or client workshop?

And all these were delivered specifically to you and your team members on a daily and weekly basis?

I’m not talking about The Brief+ this time.

I’m talking about a far more sophisticated service designed to help your agency win more pitches and save serious time. We're currently piloting this, and I am looking for a handful of Beta clients. You'll find a sample demo at the end of this (long 😅) post.

Picture This

Say your biggest client is a global (or regional) brand in the functional health space. Maybe they’re launching protein bars, functional drinks, or mood-supporting snacks.

You want to stay ahead of the curve — not just on what’s happening, but on:

  • Signals and trends in the category.
  • Strategic directions that shape brand positioning.
  • Creative ideas you can pitch tomorrow.
  • Design directions that inspire your team.
  • Communications and copywriting that cut through.

Now imagine instead of spending hours trawling newsletters, LinkedIn, and Google…or doing ad hoc ChatGPT searches.

👉 You receive a steady flow of signals, facts, opportunities, and ideas — all tailored to your category and region.

👉 You get ready-to-use insights that slot directly into your pitch deck or workshop, or refine the ideas further.

👉 For just one category and region, you’d collect hundreds of actionable insights and ideas every year. Imagine this across multiple industries, categories, and regions, all accessible inside a searchable platform - and delivered to you through email, Slack, etc.

What would that be worth to you?

How much time would that save your team?

If even one idea helped you win a pitch, it would pay for itself many times over.

Most trend reports are generic. They tell you what’s happening, but not what to do with it. They can be great, however, you need to know how to synthesize them for relevant opportunities and ideas. They don’t translate into actions for your strategists, creatives, designers, and copywriters.

If you have been consuming content from The Brief™, you know that even the free content we deliver goes far beyond this. We've built a machine that scans and interprets signals across industries, regions, and categories, millions of data points.

This means we can get a lot more specific that generic market intent, news, or trend reports.

Introducing our Pro Intelligence Solution (Beta)


We already offer The Brief™ - our free newsletter.
We also offer The Brief+ which gives you a ton of great trends and actionable insights per five categories (Brand, Design, Entrepreneurship, Agency, and Marketing).

With our "agency enterprise level" solution, we take this a lot further.
We scan the world for signals and trends, and synthesize them into industry, region, category, and agency-role specific outputs:

  • Opportunities → the “so what” behind each trend.
  • Plays → concrete actions through the lenses of the key agency roles:
    • The Strategist
    • The Creative Director
    • The Designer
    • The Copywriter

So instead of “interesting trends,” you get strategic and creative fuel ready to use in your work. Let me demo this for you.

Example: Functional Snacks

Below, (scroll to the end of the post) you’ll find a sample brief showing how the same global signal (“minimally processed snacks”) plays out in three markets:

  • Nordics → Clarity + premium minimalism
  • UK → Trust + accessible premium
  • US → Performance + lifestyle tribes + subscriptions

    And for each, the signal translates into specific Plays for strategists, creatives, designers, and copywriters.

Why It Matters

  • Win More Pitches → One extra client pays for this many times over.
  • Inspire Your Team → Keep strategists, creatives, and designers sharp.
  • Impress Clients → Show them you understand their market better than they do.
  • Save Time → Cut the noise. Get clarity. Act faster.

Next Step

We’re piloting this now with a select group of agencies.

👉 If this sounds like something your agency should explore, hit reply and let me know. You'll get the best deal we'll ever make as part of the pilot group.
I’ll share details and next steps. You can also EMAIL me here.

Check this sample report below.
First, the overview, then briefings for three market regions, broken down into segment with a signal turned into three different opportunities - interpreted by four roles within an agency or consultancy for a total of 12 ideas. Imagine getting all these ideas to choose from across categories, every day.

There is a lot here, but it's worth the scroll all the day to the end 😄

Comparative Brief: Minimally Processed Snacks Across Markets

Below is a summary of the three regions we use for demo purposes, followed by the individual briefs per region.

🚨 The Signal (Global)

Reports highlight growing consumer demand for clean-label and minimally processed snacks. Functional food categories (protein bars, energy snacks, mood-supporting bites) are increasingly under pressure to show simplicity, transparency, and efficacy.

Sources

🇳🇴 🇫🇮 🇸🇪 🇩🇰 🇮🇸 Nordics

Consumer Context

  • Health-conscious culture, strong trust in natural/functional balance.
  • Premium design and minimalism resonate deeply.

Opportunities

  1. Functional Clarity → Simplify and build trust with transparent, minimal ingredients.
  2. Premium Minimalism → Frame simplicity as a luxury lifestyle signal.

Plays (sample)

  • Strategist: “Performance, simplified” brand platform.
  • Creative Director: “Uncomplicate Performance” campaign.
  • Designer: Transparent packaging, Nordic minimalism.
  • Copywriter: “Pure function. No fluff.”

🇬🇧 UK

Consumer Context

  • Value-driven post-inflation shoppers.
  • Sceptical of over-processed claims and “greenwashing.”

Opportunities

  1. Trust as Differentiator → Transparent ingredients as proof of honesty.
  2. Accessible Premium → Position clean-label snacks as worth a small, affordable trade-up.

Plays (sample)

  • Strategist: “The Honest Functional” brand stance.
  • Creative Director: “Nothing to Hide” campaign.
  • Designer: “5 ingredients only” typography, trust cues.
  • Copywriter: “Clarity you can taste.”

🇺🇸 US

Consumer Context

  • Highly competitive snacking market.
  • Consumers are identity-driven: fitness, productivity, mindfulness tribes.
  • DTC + subscription models are mainstream.

Opportunities

  1. Performance with Transparency → Clean, no-BS performance fuel.
  2. Lifestyle Branding → Functional snacks as identity markers (tribes).
  3. Snack as Subscription → Personalized, ritual-based DTC models.

Plays (sample)

  • Strategist: Align SKUs with lifestyle tribes.
  • Creative Director: “Fuel Without the Fake” campaign.
  • Designer: Tribe-coded packaging (colors, icons).
  • Copywriter: “Your ritual. Your fuel.”

📊 Comparative Watchpoints

  • Nordics: Growth of premium clean-label SKUs, adoption of minimalist brand codes.
  • UK: Retail space for wellness snacks in Tesco/Sainsbury’s, consumer price tolerance.
  • US: Subscription models (Graze, Ritual Snacks 2.0), FTC scrutiny on claims.

✅ Key Takeaway

One global signal (minimally processed functional snacks) → three very different sets of Opportunities and Plays, depending on market context.

  • Nordics → clarity + minimalism as premium.
  • UK → trust + accessible premium.
  • US → performance + lifestyle tribes + DTC subscription.

UK Brief: Clean-Label Functional Snacks on the Rise

Signal

Reports highlight growing UK consumer demand for clean-label and minimally processed snacks, particularly in functional categories like protein bars, energy bites, and mood-supporting snacks. Retailers are expanding shelf space for “no nasties” and transparent ingredient products.

Sources

Relevance

In the UK, functional snacking overlaps with two big consumer drivers

  1. Value for money (post-inflation shoppers are scrutinising claims).
  2. Trust and transparency (pushback on “greenwashing” and over-processed products).

Brands that can prove both efficacy and honesty will cut through.

Insight

The UK consumer is both value-driven and sceptical. They want functional benefits, but are wary of products that feel “lab-made” or over-marketed. Clean-label signals trustworthiness and justifies a price premium — if positioned well.

Shift

From “engineered for performance” → to “simple and trustworthy.” Claims must be backed by clarity and price must match perceived value.

🎯 Opportunities

Opportunity 1 → 

Trust as Differentiator

Position your snack as the honest functional choice — transparency and clarity as a competitive edge.

Opportunity 2 → 

Accessible Premium

Frame clean-label snacks as worth a small trade-up: not luxury, but “affordable health.”

👩‍💼 Interpretations by Role

Opportunity 1: Trust as Differentiator

The Strategist

  • Position brand as “The Honest Functional.”
  • Highlight ingredient sourcing (local, ethical, transparent).
  • Build comms architecture: benefit → proof → transparency.

The Creative Director

  • Campaign idea: “Nothing to Hide.” Visuals: clear packaging, raw ingredients.
  • Activations: “decode the label” digital tools for consumers.
  • Shopper comms: shelf-edge storytelling (simple, clear).

The Designer

  • Transparent/see-through packaging.
  • Bold typography for ingredient count (“5 ingredients only”).
  • Trust cues → stamps, certifications, UK sourcing badges.

The Copywriter

  • Headlines:
    • “The honest snack.”
    • “Clarity you can taste.”
  • Packaging microcopy: “No junk. Just results.”
  • Claims written in plain language: “Energy from oats, not chemicals.”

Opportunity 2: Accessible Premium

The Strategist

  • Price/pack architecture: affordable trade-up, e.g. 10–15% higher than mainstream.
  • Narrative: “Better fuel for the everyday.”
  • Position simplicity as “everyday wellness,” not elitist.

The Creative Director

  • Campaign idea: “Little Upgrade.” → show daily swaps (crisps → functional bar).
  • Collab with mainstream retailers (Tesco/Asda wellness aisles).
  • Position as small, smart choice vs. indulgent treat.

The Designer

  • Pack cues: balance minimalism with accessibility (friendly colours, approachable fonts).
  • Use contrast between mainstream snack brands (busy) and your brand (calm).
  • Visual cue for “affordable premium” (gold accent, subtle premium markers).

The Copywriter

  • Headlines:
    • “Everyday wellness, one bite away.”
    • “Better fuel. Same snack break.”
  • Copy tone: approachable, not elitist.
  • Tagline: “Upgrade your 3pm.”

📊 Watchpoints

  • UK consumer willingness to pay a small premium for clean-label snacks.
  • Retail space allocation in Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda wellness aisles.
  • Online chatter: “value vs. hype” in functional food claims.
  • Sales mix of premium vs. mainstream snack formats.

What do you think? Pretty cool, right?


As a client of this premium intelligence service, we would set up your account to fit your preferences against your criteria:

Choice of Industries
Choice of Segments (and sub-segments)
Choice Of Regions
Choice of Agency / Consultancy Type and Roles

EMAIL ME FOR INQUIRIES AND NEXT STEPS

I am looking for a handful of Beta clients.

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Written by

Tobias Dahlberg
Tobias Dahlberg
Tobias is the Founder of Original Minds. Tobias started in marketing roles at Nike and Coca-Cola, later he founded a brand consultancy and eight other professional service firms. He has consulted ad advised 1000+ creative entrepreneurs.

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