Brainstorming Big Ideas on Tight Timelines
Post on 05-Dec-2014
148 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
Transcript
1 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Mirren Live New York
Rapid Ideation: Big Ideas On Tight Timelines
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
To learn more about bringing this training program to your agency, contact cara.kombol@mirren.com.
2 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Cover a small number of principles that will have the biggest impact on getting to bigger pitch ideas – more quickly
OB
JEC
T
IVE
3 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
A Few Challenges With Getting to the Bigger Ideas
Time 2 Bandwidth 3 Insight 4
Reflection 1
Brainstorming sessions delay responsibility 5© 2014 Mirren Business Development
4 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Inspiration: Mark Levy
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
5 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
“It’s a myth that big creative ideas just happen in one big aha moment… they are a process.”
Alex Bogusky
6 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Let’s look at a few principles that will set up a more powerful brainstorming session
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
7 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Preparing for the Brainstorming Session Improving the Session Itself
AG
EN
DA
8 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Preparing for the Brainstorming Session Improving the Session Itself
AG
EN
DA
9 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Principle One: Put an End to the Lawless Brainstorming Sessions
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
10 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Set some ground rules
Effective brainstorming requires some discipline
And unfortunately, many agency cultures don’t always have a lot of it…
11 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Set some ground rules: participants must agree to
Arrive on time
Don’t leave early
In some agencies, people always arrive late, wasting the time of others… because it’s tolerated
12 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Set some ground rules
Brainstorming sessions that start late and fizzle out early are a complete waste of time
Address this head on or expect mediocre ideas
13 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Select your participants accordingly
14 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Preparing for the Brainstorming Session Improving the Session Itself
AG
EN
DA
15 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Principle Two: Start Brainstorming Before the Session
16 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Start brainstorming before the session
It is almost impossible to produce groundbreaking ideas in a one hour session alone
Particularly when they start late… and people leave early
At least several days prior to the session, participants must actively engage in the process, if even for just a few minutes each day
17 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Two exercises you can have participants spend just a few minutes each day on…
18 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Prep Exercise 1: Journaling
Put pen to paper and let it flow
19 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Prep Exercise 1: Journaling
Removes your internal editor/
critic
Allows your thinking to flow more naturally and creatively
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
20 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
You just don’t get the same experience from typing
21 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Write for a set time (ie, 5 - 10 min’s)
Write quickly, without stopping
Open up, don’t hold back
Roll with the tangents
Don’t worry about neatness, grammar
Prep Exercise 1: Journaling
And don’t stop
22 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Start with a good question
What is an issue you’re trying to solve?
Trying to uncover a consumer insight…
A big creative idea…
Or just a new system to make your RFPs more efficient…
23 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Let’s give this exercise a try… we’re going to put you to work
24 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Right now… pick a question or issue
Write for 3 minutes Write quickly, without stopping
Open up, don’t hold back
Roll with the tangents
Don’t worry about neatness, grammar
And don’t stop
25 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Prep Exercise 2: Mind Mapping
Again, start with a good question or issue
26 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
27 © 2014 Mirren Business Development © 2014 Mirren Business Development
28 © 2014 Mirren Business Development © 2014 Mirren Business Development
29 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
An example: “Why our brainstorming sessions are not as effective as they could be…”
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
30 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Preparing for the Brainstorming Session Principle One: Set Some Ground Rules Principle Two: Start Brainstorming Before the Session Improving the Session Itself
AG
EN
DA
31 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Preparing for the Brainstorming Session Principle One: Set Some Ground Rules Principle Two: Start Brainstorming Before the Session Improving the Session Itself
AG
EN
DA
32 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
And Now, The Brainstorm Session
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
33 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Attendees will arrive stressed and distracted
Transition Everyone Into the Room
Help them focus on the subject at hand
34 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Transition Everyone Into the Room
On a piece of paper, have each attendee write the reason down why they are distracted
Hand to facilitator who returns the list at session end
Proven to help attendees relax knowing they will be able to review their distractions later
35 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Brainstorming Exercises to get to Bigger Ideas
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
36 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Projective Exercises are the Key
Answering a question directly never leads to an innovative answer
Projective exercises separate people from their intellect (their filters)
Stretch your creative thinking… come at the answer inspired from many directions
Think projective photo collages, for example (cutting pic’s from magazines to represent how you feel about something)
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
37 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
“To be truly funny or creative, you have to stop your intellect from getting in the way. It wants to filter everything.” Mike Myers
38 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
“Projective techniques make it easier to delve into participant’s less conscious, less rational, less socially-acceptable feelings by way of indirect exercises.”
Margaret Roller
A basic projective exercise: the sentence completion exercise
You can focus this on your client and the brainstorming objective… maybe to uncover an insight about retail banking “When I think about going to a bank, it makes me feel… it makes me hate… it makes me want…
39 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Here’s a few good brainstorming examples
There are many, these are three good examples
40 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Exercise One: The Disruption Exercise
Identify and break the “rules” of the category or brand
41 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
On a white board or flip draw, sketch out a large “proverbial “ box
Within the box, list those rules. Many may be myths or long-held beliefs/traditions
Next, outside the box, list ideas that break / run contrary to each rule
While many of the ideas may not be possible, capture the few gems that would be
Exercise One: The Disruption Exercise
42 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Exercise Two: “The Mirren Three Year-Old Exercise”
What about the product would be most important to these people before they’d be willing to buy? What would they consider before purchasing the product?
Read through the following list of people, stopping at each one to write your ideas:
Bob Dylan, an engineer, a 3 year old child, an ambulance worker, a single parent, a professor, a college student, a comedian, a Consumer Reports editor, George W. Bush, Donald Trump, a PR professional
43 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Exercise Two: “The Mirren Three Year-Old Exercise”
Once complete: Summarize the handful of new creative ideas that could realistically apply to the situation
“How is the brand like a…”
Exercise Three: “The Mirren Analogy Exercise”
Bank, 7-11, meal, family, pet, house, song, bottle of Pepto-Bismol, poem, credit card, computer, the AAA, Big Brothers?
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
“How is the brand like a…”
Exercise Three: “The Mirren Analogy Exercise”
Bank, 7-11, meal, family, pet, house, song, bottle of Pepto-Bismol, poem, credit card, computer, the AAA, Big Brothers? Once complete: Summarize the new emotional and functional benefits these items provide that your brand could possibly provide.
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
46 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Preparing for the Brainstorming Session Improving the Session Itself
Transition Everyone Into the Room Three Projective Exercises
AG
EN
DA
47 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
Set some ground rules
Start brainstorming before the session
Transition everyone into the room
In Summary
Creativity requires just a little discipline and process
Projective exercises are the key
© 2014 Mirren Business Development
48 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
What are some action steps you can take right now to improve the effectiveness of
your brainstorming sessions?
Go to your books…
49 © 2014 Mirren Business Development
top related