Every marketing professional has experienced it at one point or another: Sometimes the big idea effortlessly occurs, while at other times the process is like an old radio straining to find that one clear channel amidst all the noise and static. Creativity and innovation can be difficult to muster at times, particularly under pressure. But gaining insight into how creative ideas are generated and what methods are used to facilitate this process can help the marketing practitioner uncover the big idea.
Idea Generation Begins With Information
In his book, Principles of Advertising and IMC, published in 2004, Tom Duncan suggests that creative idea generation begins first and foremost with the acquisition of information. With this information, the marketing professional has the ingredients with which to build big ideas. Without a foundation of information to utilize, his mind would remain a barren landscape from which no creativity would spring: hence the age-old adage “food for thought.”
For the marketing practitioner, there are many kinds of materials that can be used to stimulate creativity and innovation. These include industry research, consumer reports, company and product-specific information and advertising by competitors touting similar products and services. Additionally, immersing one’s self in the culture of the target market is also another very important part of fueling creative idea generation. Marketing to a Mexican audience, for example, necessitates the use of big ideas that Mexicans can identify with, and this requires a deep understanding of their values.
Techniques for Generating the Big Idea
Drawing from information gleaned from research and the world around her, the marketing professional can blend this knowledge into something new and, hopefully, exciting. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, sometimes the creative spark doesn’t always materialize on command and a more methodical approach is required for the development of the big idea. To assist in this effort, Duncan outlines some helpful techniques to stimulate insight:
- Changing patterns—unexpected juxtaposition
- Looking at things in different ways—making the strange familiar and the familiar strange
- Adaptation—changing the context
- Imagining—asking “What if?”
- Reversal—looking for the opposite
- Connection—joining two unrelated ideas
- Comparison—building a metaphor
- Elimination—subtracting something or breaking the rules
- Parody—making fun of something, looking for the humor
Sometimes these techniques can lead to the big idea, and sometimes not. As Duncan notes, it may be necessary for the mind to enter an “incubation stage” where it is allowed to focus on other things while the big idea subconsciously grows on its own. Like they say, “a watched kettle never boils,” and taking one’s mind off the problem might be just the trick for arriving at the next great big idea.
Making the Aha Moment Happen
In essence, arriving at the big idea for marketing campaigns entails gathering information and refiguring this information into something “unique” that touches the hearts and minds of the target audience—a message that people can identify with and that moves them toward a desired action. But, as noted, big ideas are often illusive and their creation might require using the aforementioned techniques and giving the mind a rest before that aha moment finally occurs.
