Creative Advertising Strategies You Should Be Doing (Part 1)

According to Adweek’s Tim Nudd, asking creative people where they get their ideas from is a bit of a pointless exercise. But when it comes to the creative process, the plot thickens. At an Advertising Week panel, top creative directors shared their personal approaches to the ideation process, and what they came up with might surprise you. Include these 6 strategies in your ideation arsenal when tackling your next project or campaign.

Strategy 1: Think Inside the Box (the Sandbox, that is)

According to Amy Hodgins-Carvajal, creative director at Publicis Kaplan Thaler, the creative process should be a lot like play, and creative directors and advertisers should think more like children.

“Kids aren’t self-editing,” she said at the Adweek panel. “They have a very fresh perspective. They’re proud of their ideas. They want to share them. We come up with our ideas in the same way that children play. It’s a playful environment, and we make it a really fun atmosphere, where people are encouraged to share and aren’t overly criticized.”

The take-away, make your environment more fun. Many creative agencies employ this tactic, which is why bean bangs, pool tables, indoor games and even trampolines have become industry mainstays.

Strategy 2: Use Constraints Creatively

You know that client brief? It’s not just a set of fixed guidelines meant to curb your creative process down to the specificities of the project scope. According to Sam Cannon, executive creative director at Razorfish, it’s actually an underrated idea driver.

“The creative brief, if it’s good, will constrain you and lead to insights about the target audience that go beyond the superficial,” Cannon said.

Cannon also mentioned turning yet another constraint we’re all familiar with, the infamous comfort zone, into idea fuel. “If you tend toward comedy, stop yourself with the next assignment and try to do something a little more serious. If you tend to start with a social idea, or TV, or whatever it is, don’t go there. Take a different turn, and see where it takes you.”

Strategy 3: Get Out of the Office

Although you might think you get your best work done at the office, a change of scenery can be a great tactic to get creative juices going.

“Get away from the computer; get out of the office as a team; socialize together; hash out problems over a beer; be open to being lucky; do things outside of digital (if you work at a digital agency like Huge); go see a film or a play and learn how those people solve problems,” said Conor Brady, Chief Creative Officer at Huge.

Well, it’s time to put some of these ideas to practice. Next time, we’ll find out why you should bring a total stranger into your next brainstorm meeting, and more!