CREATIVE IDEATION IN ADVERTISING AGENCIES

If you’ve read my previous Marketing buzzwords blog, you know that I’m really not a big fan of the word ‘Ideation’. It’s a word that I think has outstayed its’ welcome but as circumstances would have it, I have to try and talk about it (at least on this particular occasion). Personally, the process of idea generation is both dependent on experience, knowledge, personal intuition as well as input from others. And you can’t get really good at it instantly, no matter how many marketing blogs you read or lectures you attend. So, I will try and talk about what to do, when you think you have a good idea.

Protect it : It’s yours. You came up with it. And whichever way the pendulum swings, you’re going to have to own it and be responsible. Fair enough. So ensure that you’re actively involved in making all the decisions regarding your idea and stand by it through stick or thin. If it works, it benefits you. If it doesn’t, you still got it out there. So you won anyway.

Develop it : It’s nice to have a group of talented colleagues/ mentors around than can nourish your skills and it’s important for you to ensure that you have friendly relations with as many of them as you can manage. Their advice and expertise will only help you develop your ideas as you go along and get better at your job.

Make it comprehensive : Even if your idea is fully developed and out of its’ gestation period, at some point or the other, you will have to gather enough strength to have the will to present it. And for that you have to find a way to do it in the most concise, easily understandable way possible. You have to forgo all the subtext that you may have conjured up in your brain for a while and make sure that everyone around you gets it.

As I mentioned before, all of this is in supplement to the idea itself. So make sure, you come up with a great one first before you start rationalizing everything around it.