How to get an idea
A few weeks back I wrote a post about how to build a brand for free, in which I (jokingly) suggested that in order to come up with an idea you could go to a website, choose a couple of words, and string them together. This technique might prove interesting or even fun, but of course it rarely produces more than a random phrase (examples I gave were “Sensible Passion” and “Solid Library”). If you really want some instruction on generating good ideas, I recommend looking into the work of James Webb Young.
I became interesting in Young, of JWT fame, when I read about him in a book by Jeremy Bullmore. I picked up “A Technique for Producing Ideas” on Amazon.com and just finished it this morning. It’s more of an essay—actually a speech—than a book. 48 little pages that could easily be reformatted into a 15-page whitepaper. But Young gets his point across efficiently (as you’d expect of an advertising copywriter), and I enjoyed the read, more because of the references and name-dropping throughout than because of the content the title alludes to.
His process, to remove any suspense, is essentially:
- Gather “raw material” (importantly, raw material includes both information specifically relevant to the topic at hand as well as general information gathered throughout life)
- “Chew” on the material—think about it systematically
- Stop thinking about the problem entirely
- Make an unexpected connection (this is the idea)
- Refine the idea and share it with others
It’s the “general information” part of step one that makes Young’s point of view appeal so much to me, and references such as an Italian sociologist and Sherlock Holmes prove that he practices what he preaches. His stance is that in order to be creative and have good ideas, one must be able to become interested in nearly any topic. This idea is echoed in Russell Davies’ more recent post, “how to be interesting” (by being interested). It’s a license for ad/branding people (strategists, designers, copywriters, planners, etc.) to act as sponges, absorbing everything they can—reading seemingly unrelated books, watching movies, listening to music, perusing Wikipedia, and so on. I think Bullmore wrote that this same idea is carried through into one of Young’s more famous efforts, “How to Become an Advertising Man,” which I haven’t read yet (please get in touch if you own a copy!).
So there’s a good excuse for reading or watching a movie when you’re supposed to be “working.”
I was also personally pleased that one of Young’s suggestions for ways to stop thinking about the problem (step three) is to “read…a detective story.” I may not be blessed with Young’s creative genius, but at least I know we would’ve had something to talk about. (Just started James Ellroy’s “The Big Nowhere” and looking forward to Joe Gores’ “Spade & Archer.”)
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If you’re looking for ideas I’d stay away from books on advertising. When you’re looking for a fresh idea the worst thing you can do is pick up an ad annual.