1. Katie Fetting
@KatieLFetting
katie@portent.com
7.5 TIPS FOR BECOMING
A BRAINSTORMING GENIUS
The Portent Webinar Series

2. http://portent.co/storm-genius
(Yes, use .co, not
.com)

3. Tweet questions now & later
#PORTENTU

4. First things
FIRST

5. Just who is this
ÒKatie FettingÓ?

6. In the beginning...
I was once a child (with
dubious fashion sense,
obviously)… My
brainstorming began
early when I was called
upon to explain a variety
of odd occurrences in our
home… for example why
there was a puffy Cheeto
in my brother’s nose… or
who was playing in the
car, left it in neutral and
walked off… True story.
They found it in a ditch.
Anyway, back then the
results of my
brainstorming were
referred to as “lying,” but
now I like to call it
creativity.

7. Editor / Designer
I was a journalist from
sophomore year of high
school until I was about
23.
I worked for a syndicate
of small newspapers in
the Chicago area after
college – which is most
noteworthy because we
had very few resources…
meaning I had to be very
resourceful, which
included a lot of
brainstorming.

8. Screenwriter Then I became a
screenwriter. I wrote two
amazingly derivative sub-
par movies.
On the other hand,
Hollywood LOVES
amazingly derivative sub-
par movies, so you would
have thought I’d be more
successful.
I DID however, write
some unique scripts,
which I brainstormed on
non-stop… I’m hoping to
see them produced and
released in honor of my
90th birthday.

9. Brand Manager
Content Dynamo
And now, I’m the Brand
Manager at Portent, and
a Content Dynamo. (One
of those titles is official…
I leave it to you to
determine which.)
But MORE THAN ANY OF
THESE THINGS… I am

10. Someone who has
never given a webinar.

11. Instilled with confidence?
Let us continue.

12. Notes on this webinar

13. Notes on this webinar
• Brainstorming
Brainstorming is for
everyone. Not just
content people. And
not just marketers.
Brainstorming is about
problem solving.

14. Notes on this webinar
• Brainstorming
• MacGyver
If you think about it,
MacGyver was an
amazing brainstormer,
constantly coming up
with new and exciting
ways to build bombs
out of bubble gum
and paperclips.
While MacGyver was a
one-man brainstorm,
brainstorming in
groups often presents
better results – a
variety of viewpoints
and ideas generally
leads to the best
outcome.

15. Notes on this webinar
• Brainstorming
• MacGyver
• Marketers
While brainstorming IS
for everyone, this
presentation will focus
on brainstorming for
marketers –
campaigns, blog posts,
branding, videos,
speaking topics –
because I’m a
marketer and I’m
guessing you are too.

16. BUT WHY THIS WEBINAR?
WHY ARE YOU HERE?

17. There are no new ideas.
So this is a
slight
exaggeration,
but I come
from
Hollywood,
remember?
For every
Inception,
there are a
zillion Pirates
of the
Caribbean 17’s
and Ironman
43’s.

18. For example, Batman as
an idea, as a character, is
Batman, no matter how
many times they remake
it. Same alter ego, same
tragic backstory, same
skills, same core
“product”… Even the
villains are often
recycled.
So what’s the difference
between Tim Burton’s
Batman films and
Christopher Nolan’s?

19. THE
POSITIONING
OF BATMAN
Burton’s Batman is fairly
upbeat and certainly less
tortured – more in line
with the 60s TV show –
and his alter-ego Bruce
Wayne is downright
nerdy.
Nolan’s Batman is
damaged, dark,
sorrowful… his Bruce
Wayne is a suave
womanizer who seems to
always know what to
say…
Same core product,
different interpretation
and positioning.

20. Product
Positioning
Messaging
Content
To differentiate your product or
service from your competitors’, you
need to carve out a unique position
in the market…
Christopher Nolan’s unique
positioning? This is a complex,
gritty take on the Batman tale for
fans and film snobs alike.
Then messaging needs to support
this positioning.
The messaging that supports gritty
Batman: The Batman character is
tragically damaged and dwells in a
world not unlike our own. The
horrors of his world are merely
heightened versions of our own.

21. Product
Positioning
Messaging
Content
BRAINSTORMING
Content is then generated
around that messaging.
In this case, the content is
the film itself – the script,
art direction, lighting,
cinematography, editing,
music, you name it. It’s a
unified delivery of a newly
positioned Batman
product.
But it all begins with
brainstorming… trying to
see something familiar in a
new light.

22. BRAINSTORMING:
One method of generating
a fresh position or message

23. SO WHAT?
Why do I want a
fresh position?
Remember when I said
brainstorming was basically
problem-solving?
Well, for marketers, that
problem is often: how do I
separate myself from the
pack? How do I convince
consumers that my widget
is the best widget, all
widgets being fairly equal?
A fresh position or message
is often the only way to
differentiate yourself from
your competition – which
leads to greater visibility,
likeability, and sales.

24. CHARACTERISTICS
OF A GOOD BRAINSTORMER

25. • Open-minded
• Creative
• Educated
• Collaborative
• Secure
• Curious
Open-minded: Willing to hear others’
opinions and evolve their own
Creative: Able to see from new
perspectives
Educated: Not necessarily in the academic
sense, but they have a wide and broad
background of experience to draw on
Collaborative: Isn’t overly obsessed with
“putting their stamp” on everything… this
is the enemy of good brainstorming
Secure: Doesn’t see every amendment to
their initial concept as an attack
Curious: Constantly striving for something
new and better… the impression of new
and better are two core necessities for
brand positioning

26. 7.5 DEADLY SINS
OF BRAINSTORMING

27. #1
Not verbalizing
everything

28. #2
Dwelling in
preconceived notions

29. #3
Pulling rank
Brainstorming is a
democracy. If only the
top exec in the room was
entitled to voice their
opinion, the brainstorm
would be unnecessary.
Let everyone’s ideas
breathe… Then evaluate
and categorize them
LATER.

30. #4
Not listening

31. #5
Getting down
in the weeds

32. #6
Making someone
feel dumb

33. #7
Blocking
Blocking is refusing to
engage and putting up
unnecessarily road-blocks
to the detriment of the
brainstorm. The term
comes from comedy
improv… when you’re
working with a partner –
and ‘with’ is the key term
– you need to feed off
each other. A block
would be when one
person begins a story or
character and the other
person refuses to support
them and go along with
the narrative the first
person has created.

34. #7.5
Showing up too drunk...
or too sober

35. STORY TIME:
LetÕs take a
break
As I was thinking up a story to tell here, I
got blocked. Every story I brainstormed
didn’t seem to really fit my topic…
I mean I could tell you about the time I
forgot what ketchup was.
Or why my roommates in college put a
roll of toilet paper outside their closet
with the sign “this is not a bathroom.”
Or the time I told Charlize Theron I
didn’t write a script for her, but if Nicole
Kidman passed she’d be great.
I could tell any of these stories… but
none seemed to fit. So that’s my story.
The point is, sometimes self-referential
works. There’s almost always something
you can write about –
even if it’s just writer’s block.

36. And weÕre back to regularly
scheduled programming.

37. 7.5 TIPS FOR BECOMING
A BRAINSTORMING GENIUS

38. #1
Be self-critical
Anticipate criticisms of your brand
and head them off – use FAQs and
complaints.
Ask yourself, what is it people don’t
like about your product? Or think
they don’t like about it? Is there a
way to turn that into a positive?
We have a client who is only
accessible to Seattle-ites via ferry.
Many people find this annoying –
they want to drive. It seems like a
hassle. So we’ve crafted content
around how fun ferries are – best
board games to play on ferries, X
reasons ferries are romantic, etc.
Answer questions and issues before
they are asked.

39. #2
Think about
your mom
My boss Ian Lurie says when he’s
brainstorming he thinks about the
last person he saw walking into
work that day. Well, we work in
Pioneer Square, so that person may
be a lawyer or a homeless fella, a
bailbondsman or a sandwich
‘engineer’ at Subway – or, of course,
some combo therein.
Generally, I start with my target
market and a goal relating to it and
work backwards.

40. #2.5
Ask a little kid
Little kids are marvelous.
Just look at the AT&T campaign
running right now. (I mean, I want
a puppy brother to take to show
and tell, too.) Kids’ ways of looking
at things are so unique, they can’t
help but inspire some out-of-the-
box thinking.
I mentioned in my blog post how
my 7-year-old cousin said she
wished she had a magnet in her
back so she could sleep on the
ceiling. Amazing. Kids love to be
asked things, and unlike adults, will
give you their unfettered, apolitical
opinion. For example: Me: Do you
like my haircut. Kid: No.

41. #3
Think about Tom
Cruise
Use metaphors. A great metaphor
can make even the most tired topic
seem fresh.

42. What we did
We had a client who wasn’t
grasping a concept our Director of
Accounts was trying to explain. She
asked me how I would explain it to
a layperson.
The concept was 70-20-10… a
content strategy that gives an ideal
ratio for creating various types of
branded content (see chart left).
So I looked for a metaphor – an
easy one that most people have in
common.

43. What we did
Tom Cruise.
And he is a risk-taker on occasion,
but truly someone who generally
sticks to his core competency –
which fit our message.
Turned it into a infographic for two
reasons: 1.) couldn’t get the rights
to the photos themselves and 2.)
we knew more people shared
infographics
And what happened?

45. #4
Research
Whenever I’m jammed up
for ideas, I start surfing.
Ideas build on each other…
Staring at a blank Word doc
on a monitor never helped
anyone. Browse the news
sites, bounce around
Wikipedia, read your
clients’ sites… You never
know where the inspiration
will come from.

46. #5
Use a tool
www.portent.com/tools/title-maker

47. #6
Change your world
One ad agency used to
switch everyone’s desks
every week to keep them
from becoming too
entrenched in one spot,
and thus, mindset. Other
agencies have people
sitting in canoes. Or
conference rooms painted
like basketball courts.
Why? Because
environment affects
creativity. It affects how
you see the world. So
change your perspective.
Go outside, breathe the air,
go to a museum, live in all
of your senses… You’ll find
you’ll approach your
brand with fresh eyes.

48. #7
Borrow
Don’t steal people. That’s
lame. And usually illegal.
Make something your own.
You wouldn’t steal this
sugar from your neighbor…
You’d borrow it and make
something better… Maybe
a cake or cookies.

49. AND 2 MORE
FOR GOOD MEASURE

50. #8
Choose a
facilitator
This guy looks really inspirational.
Note: Not a “leader” – a leader
would defeat the whole purpose of
the democratic exchange of ideas…
but a person who can solicit
opinions, write on the board and
keep things moving along is A-OK.

51. #9
Come in with ideas
Sometimes it’s hard to get
the storm started. If
everyone comes in with a
few ideas jotted down, it’ll
be easier to get the ball
rolling. Even the worst
idea can spark some
discourse that may turn
into a great idea.
In screenwriting, they call
it the “bad pitch” or the
“bad version” – “So, this is
the bad pitch, but there
should be like this mean
girl in the Civil War who
just wants to get home, but
then a lot of stuff
happens.” That bad pitch
is now “Gone with the
Wind.”

52. THANK YOU
FOR ATTENDING

53. LET THE
BRAINSTORM
COMMENCE!
#PORTENTU

54. http://portent.co/storm-genius
(Yes, use .co, not
.com)

55. Me:
@KatieLFetting