HOW THE HECK DO Y’ALL COME UP WITH THESE IDEAS?

 
 

It’s the question I’m asked most often. Early in my career, my answer was “I dunno. I just sit there and wait for them to appear.” And that’s because I did what most Copywriters and Art Directors do at the beginning of a conceptual project: we start out with good ol’, plain ol’ free thinking. While it’s the most obvious place to start, it’s not always the most productive.

What’s free thinking? How many times have you walked by a creative’s desk, and you see them doing absolutely nothing. They’re just sitting there. They’re not buying shoes, watching Dr. Pimple Popper videos, betting on football games. They’re not even trying to hide it. They’re just sitting there with a blank look on their face, staring off into thin air, with their mouth slightly hanging open.

It looks like we’re wasting time, but in reality, our brains are actually hard at work, trying to figure out a creative solution to the current problem at hand. And we’re not using any special brainstorming techniques. We’re just … thinking.

It’s during this stage that we come up with the most obvious, expected ideas. Some of these ideas work. Some stink. Some creatives are great at free thinking. Others (yours truly) – not so much. That’s because this stage only lasts for so long. And then the idea well starts to run dry.

So, now what?

This is where we start relying upon our own personal tricks of the trade. Each of us has different ways to ignite creativity, and what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for the next. But here’s what works for me.

The first thing I do is create a word list. And I don’t mean a small list of 20 words. I mean a REALLY REALLY REALLY long list (this is something that’s not just for copywriters – art directors can do this too). My list is always composed of words in the following categories:

  • Basic words that are associated with the client’s product or service

  • Words associated with the client’s name of business or the proper name of the product or service

  • Words associated with a product/service feature

  • Words associated with a product/service benefit

I then look up each word or phrase on the following websites:

  • Thesauraus.com

  • A good source for idioms and catchphrases, such as Dictionary.com

  • UrbanDictionary.com (warning: you will find NSFW content)

  • RhymeZone.com – Don’t just search for words that rhyme; you can also search for common phrases and Wikipedia pages)

  • Google Images or any stock image site – To make it more interesting, add the word “metaphor” or “abstract” to your search

By now, I’ve built up a reservoir to start pulling ideas from, but there’s one element that I still have to pursue. The human element. And this is where things really start coming together. Because there’s nothing more relatable than real-life stories.

Before I start gathering stories, I go back to the list and pick a topic. Let’s say our client is Mt. Olive Kosher Dill Pickle Spears. Words on that list could include: pickles, snacks, spears, kosher, dill, mount, olive, mountain, crispy, delicious, tart, fulfilling, makes you happy, etc.

For the first round of story gathering, I’ll pick a word that most everyone can relate to. I’ll then reach out to coworkers, family, and friends, and ask them to share a personal story that revolved around – for this round, let’s say “pickles”.  

You may think that not too many people have an interesting story about pickles. But trust me, people have stories about everything – and they love to share them. It’s amazing how a seemingly dull story actually has quite a bit of drama.

Once I gather all my stories, I expand upon them by writing dialogue. I create characters and start writing a script, crafting the story in an exaggerated way. Deciding which story to write out is pretty easy; I just pick the one that has conflict. Because if there is no conflict, there’s no drama. And if that conflict can be solved by a feature or benefit of our client, then I’m now well on my way to a creative campaign, concept, or script. 

But that’s only one story. So let’s pick another story and do it again.

But that’s only two stories. Pick another story. Do it again.

I could do this over and over and over. But ain’t nobody got time for that, so at some point, I have to move on. 

This is when I go back to that word list to pick another word or phrase and start the process all over again. This time, I may ask people to share a story that revolves around one of those words or phrases. This time, I’ll ask people to share a story about … hmmm … spears! Or how about … crispy snacks?

At first, you may think no one has stories about spears. But if you encourage them to dig a little deeper, trust me, you’ll get stories. If I asked people to give me a story about spears, I wouldn’t be surprised if I received stories about actual pickle spears, gladiator spears, or Britney Spears.

This process can be as short or as long as you have time for. Basically, there is no end in sight. However, I eventually have to stop because I’m either approaching our deadline, the number of budgeted hours, or the end of the blog – which is where you’ve arrived!

By now, I should have a large list of potential concepts and campaigns. The next thing to figure out is how we tidy them up and narrow them down. In a nutshell, we look to find which ideas will relate best to our audience, get noticed, entertain them, keep their interest, and communicate that our client’s product or service will solve a problem they are currently experiencing. But that will all have to wait until another blog. Until then … happy concepting! May your idea cup always runneth over.

 
 
John Baumgardner - Creative Director