If time waits for no one, where does that leave the slow-roasted lamb shank or the stickiest of steamed puddings?

We live in a world that values the instant hit over the labour of love. When every plate has to be Instagrammable, what do you do with the good old casserole? Its picture may not earn many shares, but this slow-cooked comfort dish is many times more tasty.

The fate of slow foods set me wondering whether the effect of all this here-and-now consumption be a reduction in our levels of gratification?

When I recently watched The Bookshop with my kids, for example, I noticed how disengaged they were: no patience to watch the story unfold or the characters develop. It’s a shame because the rewards of patience are so much greater: a heart-warming casserole, a film of depth and subtlety, a proposition that adds longer-term brand value.

None of us is immune to the pressure of time. At Wildhorse we work at a constant gallup because clients have their own tight schedules to meet, and because experience shows that we’re good at it.

But I’m well aware that we do even better work when time is on our side and we can let our thoughts marinade. A little extra slack gives us a chance to develop a comprehensive strategy for clients – one that covers everything from answering today’s immediate challenge as well as having to future-proof campaigns for tomorrow’s competitors. Each individual campaign is stronger when it is part of a well-considered unifying whole.

At the very least, time generates better content. The creation of content that outlasts a five-second Instagram hit requires research, data, and testing. The bonus is that in these moments of calm, curiosity flourishes. Who knows what you might discover as you idle in the backwaters or paddle the tributaries of the great meandering river of ideas. Somewhere in those hypnotic swirling eddies is an idea that will last – an unexpected and potentially disruptive concept that adds depth and longevity to a brand.

For flavour that lasts, I recommend the slow-cooked option every time.