How can we consider an experiential idea when our planning model favors established channels?
If your planning model favors established channels, an experiential idea still deserves a fair test. Spell out what the channel is meant to do, agree on a bounded test with its measurement limits, and weigh it against other budget uses.
The creative panel included a discussion of balancing modeled recommendations with interest in experiences such as events. A team can look at an unfamiliar channel without assuming either instinct or the model is automatically right.
What the model can and can't see
State the role the channel would play, and define the audience, the experience and the business question. Then identify what the existing model captures and what it may not be designed to assess.
The test has limits, and so does the budget
Agree with finance and measurement owners on a bounded test. Include the full cost and the evidence the team expects to get, and don't promise a level of attribution the test can't deliver. Keep the comparison with other uses of the budget, since an appealing idea still carries an opportunity cost.
At the end, check the result against the original question and decide whether more evidence is worth buying. A fair test lets a new channel earn consideration. Nobody has to abandon analysis, and a hard to measure effect isn't automatically valuable.
What to try this week
Take one experiential idea your team has been wary of and write its question, audience and full cost on one page. Ask finance and measurement owners what a bounded test could and couldn't show.