Thoughts on being creative and finding inspiration. Four chapters: creativity matters more than ever; there's no such thing as an original idea; learn to steal and remix; dissect the formulas in ideas that work. I should note that while the statement in this title has been attributed to Picasso, Oscar Wilde and others, I stole it from Faris Yakob, who has used it for years. Thank you, Faris.
7. New research from the University of Pennsylvania, published in a recent issue of the
journal Cognitive Neuroscience, showed that when the prefrontal cortex, your
command center for cognitive control and a filter for your random thoughts that might
interrupt your present tasks, is inhibited, your ability to tackle creative activities can be
better. This is because your unfiltered thoughts actually offer an advantage.
In other words, the less cognitive control, the better your creativity.
24. “There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot
of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give
them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on
turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same
old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.”
28. A new and curious combination
Illustration interacting with photography
29. A new and curious combination
Illustration interacting with photography
Editorial comment
30. A new and curious combination
Illustration interacting with photography
Editorial comment
A bit of irreverence
31. A new and curious combination
Illustration interacting with photography
Editorial comment
A bit of irreverence
Dash of inappropriate
32.
33.
34. Art director grew up in the country
Copywriter has chickens
Account executive’s kids went on a field
trip to a farm
35. Art director grew up in the country
Copywriter has chickens
Account executive’s kids went on a field
trip to a farm
Google image search
36.
37.
38.
39.
40. “We take ideas from other people, from people we've learned from,
from people we run into in the coffee shop, and we stitch them together
into new forms and we create something new.”
71. Formula: Social media (in the stream)
• Find a relevant cultural or media event
!
• Go where the fans are; what are they interested in?
!
• Take inspiration from the (event’s) content
!
• Connect your product to it
78. Formula: Social media (in the stream)
• Find a relevant cultural or media event
!
• Go where the fans are; what are they interested in?
!
• Take inspiration from the (event’s) content
!
• Connect your product to it
82. Tactics
• No media buy
!
• Volumes of free content across Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
!
• Brand story told by users with followers
!
• Extensive media coverage
83. Results
1000 videos / 5 million plus views / 500,000 FlickR views / 3 million Twitter impressions
37 % brand awareness among GenY / 50,000 new prospects currently not Ford owners
84. Formula: User-generated content
• Create an experience
!
• Invite participation that inspires and enables content
!
• Document everything
!
• Distribute, repackage and encourage sharing
85.
86.
87.
88. Formula: User-generated content
• Create an experience
!
• Invite participation that inspires and enables content
!
• Document everything
!
• Distribute, repackage and encourage sharing
96. Formula: Inspiring action
• Start with something that would be good for
your customer rather than what’s good for you.
!
• Spread joy, not fear (never lecture)
!
• Create a crowd or community (visible)
!
• Reinforce by rewarding (gaming dynamics)
102. Formula: Inspiring action
• Start with something that would be good for
your customer rather than what’s good for you.
!
• Spread joy, not fear (never lecture)
!
• Create a crowd or community (visible)
!
• Reinforce by rewarding (gaming dynamics)
108. Formula: New ways of telling stories
• Think about how to “demonstrate” your message
!
• Create an actual “stunt” that attracts users/prospects
!
• Work across multiple media and technologies
!
• Record reactions and create a story
109. We asked people to upload an image of a friend on our website
115. Formula: New ways of telling stories
• Think about how to “demonstrate” your message
!
• Create an actual “stunt” that attracts users/prospects
!
• Work across multiple media and technologies
!
• Record reactions and create a story
119. Formula: New ways of telling stories
• Break big things into little pieces
!
• Offer a psychic reward for participating
!
• Don’t be afraid to ask, then trust people to do right
!
• Be joyful and enthusiastic
120.
121. Formula: New ways of telling stories
• Break big things into little pieces
!
• Offer a psychic reward for participating
!
• Don’t be afraid to ask, then trust people to do right
!
• Be joyful and enthusiastic