Chapter 6: Ideas The currency of the 21st century

James Webb Young’s 5-Step Technique 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”?

Campaigns Reflect the same big idea Have a similar theme and attitude Transcend different media

Ads in campaigns often have the same format

Some questions that may spark an idea…

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)

Can you borrow from the pages of history?

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 is your target reading? Watching?

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!”

Can you say it with just a picture?

Can you say it without a picture?

Is there an ideal spokesperson? Or spokescritter?

Is there an idea in the brand’s name? For example: Geico’s talking gecko Aflac’s quacking duck

What’s the opposite of what you’re trying to say?

Discussion Which of the following ads do you think is the most creative? The most effective? Why?

(Refer to pages of Creative Strategy in Advertising for body copy)

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