Is the dystopian future of creativity approaching? Will AI take our jobs? Are these rhetorical questions nothing more than click bait? Probably. Regardless, if you’re looking to brighten up your ideation process, here are 8 techniques that I’ve found helpful when collaborating with the team at Bounce Creative over the years*
*See full terms and conditions below.
1. OVERCOME BARRIERS – Imagine your audience are the ultimate devil’s advocate. Think of all the things they might say to avoid engaging with your brand and use these quotes as creative sparks to prove them wrong.
2. PROVOKE – List your brand’s Reasons To Believe (or proof points) and create ‘how might we…?’ questions for each. Use these provocations as bold, fun, non-functional goals to aim for with your ideas.
3. BE UNEXPECTED – Generate a list of words from RandomWordGenerator.com and use each as a spark to develop lateral thought starters that might in some way relate to your brief (no matter how much of a stretch). Don’t over think it, keep moving with pace and only rate the potential of your ideas after the list is complete.
4. BORROW FROM OTHER CATEGORIES – List some of your favourite brands from any category other than that of your current brief. Take an execution style, tone of voice or tactic and make it your own.
5. DO THE OPPOSITE – Instead of trying to solve the problem, ask yourself how you might amplify the problem (no matter how wrong it might seem). Write down as many insanely wrong ideas as possible and then go back through the list, attempting to make them right with a very minor tweak.
6. SPRINKLE IN SOME SARCASM – Watch some Ricky Gervais clips, just because.
7. GO FOR A WALK – Trying to solve a problem by staring at a screen or piece of paper will only get you so far. We’ve all had an idea hit us in the middle of the night, in the shower, or on a drive to work. Recreate that environment of ‘un-thinking’ and let the power of your subconscious mind take over.
8. QUESTION YOUR WHOLE EXISTENCE – Take a moment to reflect on your life choices and how you ended up in this soul crushing industry. Scrunch up some paper and throw it in the bin, pace around the room and declare everything that’s wrong with the brief out loud.
9. REPEAT steps 1-8 until you see results. If symptoms persist consult your Chat GPT.
* Breaking the glass with the above shouldn’t bypass the strategic process. Use your creative sparks to develop insights or refine your strategy further. Don’t forget to assess your ideas against a creative scorecard (see previous post).