MarCom Corner: Where Do Ideas Come From?

MarCom Corner is a monthly feature that brings you tips, insights and answers from your fellow Chamber members on marketing and communications topics. This month, Dan O’Boyle, associate creative director at IMPACT Award Finalist Park&Co., has tips on fostering that elusive “next great idea” that can lead to business success.

Ideas are tough to get a handle on. Sometimes you hit on one so easily; other times you rack your brain for days or weeks and have little to show for it. Very few great ideas come in the form of an “Ah ha!” moment. The problem is, those are the ones you remember most. It’s this kind of rare creative lightning strike that instills the popular belief that that’s how an idea is born. Then when it doesn’t happen on demand, it’s so frustrating you want to chuck it all and take up data processing for a living. Don’t do it! You have your whole creative life ahead of you. All you need are a few simple idea-generating techniques. And while they won’t guarantee success, they should greatly improve your odds.

Don’t Just Sit There, Be Brilliant

The creative mind works best when in motion. The absolute worst thing you can do is sit in front of a blank screen or piece of paper waiting for great thoughts to come. Just start spilling. Pour out every notion you have on the subject without critiquing them. Then walk away and do something else while your subconscious mulls it over. These initial thoughts will germinate other thoughts that will get you closer to the idea you’re after. So even if your first ruminations don’t blow you away (and they usually won’t), they’re valuable stepping-stones to a solid idea.

Borrow Some Brains

Very few good ideas are created out of whole cloth. They usually start with a kernel of something good that’s built upon, modified or turned upside down until it’s something great. Bouncing your ideas off others is the perfect catalyst for this process. In our agency, we do a “Brain Drain” exercise where five or ten people gather to throw ideas or thoughts against the wall. The interaction and momentum generated by all those opinions, experiences and points of view always takes us in surprising directions. Even if you have only one or two people to throw things at, take advantage of them.

Connect the Unconnected

Many great ideas don’t involve anything new at all. They’re simply a new application of an existing concept. Find a fresh context for the things you see every day or something cool you happen upon and it can pay big creative dividends. Surfing the internet is an ideal way to kick start this kind of thinking. We have an internal blog at our agency where we post interesting items to share with coworkers. It’s a great vehicle for sparking creative inspiration. Even with the best techniques, great ideas rarely come easily. By spilling, bouncing and connecting, you can coax lightning into striking sooner and in greater quantities.

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