Why offering ‘Earth, Moon, and Galaxy’ concepts challenges the status quo in financial services

In financial services, the appetite for bold ideas often gets filtered through layers of risk, compliance, and caution. The result? Work that’s well-executed but safe. Familiar. Expected.

We’ve seen how hard it can be for even the most ambitious Clients to break free from what they’ve always done. That’s why we use a concepting framework called Earth, Moon, and Galaxy. It’s a way to push past “good enough” and get to what could be.

Here’s how it works:

Earth is what the Brief asked for. A concept that solves the challenge cleanly, hits the mark, and would be considered a successful execution by any team.

Moon is a step beyond. It’s still on Brief, but it stretches expectations. Maybe the voice is more human. Maybe the message is sharper. Maybe it reframes the value prop in a more direct or unexpected way.

Galaxy is the big swing. It’s where we say: What if we stayed focused on the business challenge but rethought the ask entirely? What if we solved the problem sideways? What if we launched something the category hasn’t seen yet?

Why go that far? Because sometimes the problem actually starts in the Brief itself. The Brief begins to reflect what was allowed in the last campaign – or more specifically it was just the same brief as the last campaign with one or two tweaks. They rarely ask for that big swing – instead aiming for incremental changes to create a new “control buster.” And sometimes the right solution to drive more audacious results is to push beyond what the Client thinks is possible.

This isn’t about being edgy for the sake of it. It’s about giving Clients real choices:

• Play it safe and launch something strong
• Push a little and differentiate
• Be brave and shift how people see the category

Each concept comes with a POV. A rationale. A strategic foundation. And we always provide what we call The Three Reasons—three simple, direct explanations for why we believe a concept will work. It keeps us honest and helps Clients see our vision with clarity. Together, that structure helps decision-makers do something rare in large organizations: choose boldness with confidence.

We don’t do this to show off. We do it because too many campaigns die by incrementalism. A few soft edits here, a quick compliance adjustment there—and suddenly the work is just… fine.

But fine doesn’t make someone stop scrolling. Fine doesn’t build emotional connection. Fine doesn’t get remembered.

You don’t reach that audience with fine. You reach them by cutting through.

“Earth, Moon, and Galaxy” isn’t just a concepting tool. It’s a permission slip for your team to think bigger—and a structured way to show leadership what ambition can look like on the page.

Want to break out of your own gravity? Ask your agency for a Galaxy. You can always orbit back to Earth. But at least you’ll know what’s possible.