Recently we invited one of our favorite clients in for a brainstorm session. We thought we knew where their marketing strategy was pointing, and we wanted to share some new ideas with them and get their reaction.

The meeting ran pretty true to form -- we did a lot of talking and they did a lot of nodding -- until we began talking about a major Flash application, which we envisioned as a kind of eye candy -- something to compliment the experience you generally have when using one of their luxury products.

They surprised us, though, by taking our initial thoughts for this application and morphing them into something far more utilitarian, and more bottom-line useful: an electronic pricebook that would allow resellers and others to punch in a few user-based statistics and be presented with recommended products and options.

Were we taken aback? Frankly, yes, a little. Did we love the idea? Absolutely -- all the more so because we knew, based on the client's excited reaction as we began to explore how it might work, that it would have genuine value for them.

The lesson learned? Keep a conversation going with everyone involved in your Web site or interactive project -- and always be prepared to be surprised. Clients and their marketing vendors can learn a lot from each other, if only they're open to new ideas and listening.