chapter 6: ideas the currency of the 21st century
TRANSCRIPT
James Webb Young’s 5-StepTechnique for Producing Ideas
1. Immersion. Do research on your brand, your target audience and the competition.
2. Digestion. Play with the information. Write lists. Draw doodles. Brainstorm.
3. Incubation. Put the assignment aside. Relax your mind.
4. Illumination. Write down all the ideas that pop into your head.
5. Reality Testing. Test your idea on your target audience. Is the idea on strategy? Is it “campaignable”?
Where will your ad run?
Find inspiration in the unique characteristics of the ad medium.
(newspaper ad)
What’s the context of your message?
What will your target audience be doing when they see your ad?
(ran in symphony playbill)
What’s the timing of your ad?
Holidays serve as inspiration.
Examples from Tide: The only way to wear white
after Labor Day (ran on Labor Day)
It takes a wee bit more than luck to get green beer out of your clothes (ran on St. Patrick’s Day)
What’s in the news?
Tap into current events to make your brand seem timely.
For example:
Hilary Clinton ran a spoof of the final episode of The Sopranos shortly after it aired.
(Go to YouTube.com to view)Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BEPcJlz2wE
What are the negatives about your brand?
Can you turn the negative into a positive?
“No backseat. No backseat driver.”
What if your product was something else?
Make an analogy.
Pretend your product is a person, a tree, an animal,etc.
What does the product look like?
American Standard saw
a face in one of its fixtures.
The ad’s headline reads:
It’s seen you naked
It’s heard you sing
Where is the product made and sold?
For example:
Pace Picante Sauce promotes its Tex-Mex heritage by poking fun at the other brands that are “made in New York City!”
Guidelines for Brainstorming
• Don’t think you must come up with the big idea all by yourself
• Start a swipe (ideas) file for springboard
• Pay attention to life’s experiences
• Exercise your creative mind regularly
• Give yourself some down time
• Come up with a lot of ideas
Use criticism to improve ideas
• Make “I” statements• Be clear and specific, commenting on the
work, not the person• Never say, “This is great, but …”• Control your emotions and speak in a normal
tone of voice• Show some empathy, understanding• Offer practical suggestions• Be honest
Non-verbal behavior guidelines
• Make eye contact with the person• Show your interest through a warm and
expressive tone of voice• Use facial expressions that are consistent
with your message• Don’t slouch or slump• Stand or sit an appropriate distance from the
other person• Choose appropriate time, place for discusion