Where ideas come from . . .

I am never surprised by the power of a great idea. Simple, powerful ideas are the foundation of our business.  And I get asked all of the time, where do your great ideas come from?  The answer is simple.  They come from everywhere. They come from everyday life, kids playing in the yard, moms doing laundry, the crazy neighbor guy. Some ideas come to me while driving into work. Some ideas show up in the shower. You just never know when they’re going to pop into your head.

But the reality is, great ideas come from old fashion hard work. You have to earn them.  How do you earn an idea?  By doing your homework.  A great idea is merely a solution to an issue. But, before you can solve the issue, you have to understand what’s causing it.

I have a Brand Promise – Relevant Ingenuity, and it’s built on this very premise. Before you can be ingenious, you have to make sure the solution is relevant.

The three R’s

Every idea should be judged on what I call the three R’s. First, is it relevant? Second, will it resonate with the audience and third, does it have a reward? A great idea will answer yes to all three. If it doesn’t, then it’s not considered a great idea.

Great ideas are what agencies sell, its what we do. So, it’s always been hard for me to understand why creative leaders insistent on defending “One Big Idea.” So much so, they are willing and ready to damage the client-agency relationship.

Is “The One Big Idea” the only idea they can think of? If so, then they’re in the wrong business.

An idea is just that, an idea

I believe in treating ideas as just that, an idea.  I enjoy presenting ideas that are outrageous. I enjoy presenting ideas that are expected and I enjoy presenting ideas that are heroic. But, every idea presented is built around one thing. I consider the “One thing” to be the most important, relevant piece of information that the audience needs to make an intelligent purchasing decision.

If a client doesn’t like one idea, we have several more, all different in execution, but the same in strategic direction.

The importance of the brief

When the client doesn’t like any of the ideas, 99% of the time, it’s due to the fact that the information in the creative brief was incorrect or changed somewhere along the way. If the information is incorrect, then the strategic direction is incorrect, the one thing will be off target and the big idea will be wrong.

But, if the research is correct, the strategy is on target and the client agrees with the one thing, the idea will always sell itself. It’s that easy.

I have often been asked, “ Doesn’t the agency process of relevant information gathering create a giant roadblock to being truly creative?”

My answer is always the same – I can’t imagine being creative without it.

It’s where big ideas come from.