5 Ways To Level Up Your Ideation Process

As PRs, ideation can often be a tricky part of our jobs. We feel like we have to be ‘on’ 24/7, and when push comes to shove, and we need a ‘good idea’ within a time constraint, ideation can feel like the M61 to M6 slip road: stressful and grinding to a halt before you get anywhere. (IYKYK)

I truly believe that ideation is one of the best elements of our jobs. We get to explore the coves of our mind, use our lived experiences, tap into human connection, and get ‘creative’ (and sometimes a little bonkers); what more could you ask for in a job?

I have been working in Marketing, across Content and PR, for 10 years now, with ideation always being a crucial element. And, just like everything in the industry, evolution has created a force for change. I have seen the evolution firsthand, from whiteboard scribbles and Post-its to what it is today: a mix of data, cultural insight, remote calls, AI, audience research, 700 open tabs, and someone saying, ‘I know this sounds crazy, but what if we…”.

With that, I want to share 5 ways to level up your ideation process to create strong ideas and unlock the best potential from your team of ideators.

1: Facilitate creativity and shape a culture of ‘creativity’

I recently ran a poll on LinkedIn, where 64% of respondents said that the hardest thing about the ideation process is ‘feeling creative’. 

And this is something I struggle to get my head around because it's subjective. What even is creativity? Everybody has their own definition; we all experience it differently, so it's tough to really nail down. 

This is why I think it's so important that the responsibility doesn't just sit with the people or person being asked to come up with ideas. I believe that as a leader of any ideation or in managing a team, you have a vital part to play in making ‘creativity’ easier for all.

Sure, you could just give your team a URL of a brand's site and give them free rein (not saying this can't work for some brains), but by guiding people, giving some stimulus, encouragement, and some structure, you can often get the best out of them.

Key source of information document

Call this a brief, a pack, a deck, a cheat sheet, whatever you like, but providing an all-you-need-to-know can really get the team off on the right foot. Think about different learning styles and what information the team could benefit from, including the target audience and crucial client dos and don’ts.

Structure to your session 

Raise your hand if you've been a victim of the Google Meet tumbleweed? (Sea of hands) Whilst I've learnt to embrace the silence, I have found that some structure really helps. It doesn't need to be a rigidly structured session, but prompts and planning can support how people give and take in information.

For example, 65% of people are visual learners and 30% of people are auditory learners, meaning you could really get the most out of these people with some visual prompts and lots of discussion. We all love a ‘deck’, so why not put your skills to use, but don't overdo it; nobody likes death by PowerPoint. Loads of other tools such as Miro and Canva can do the same job for different purposes.

Always do a ‘creative icebreaker’ 

We get so hyper-focused on what we were doing before said ideation, whether it be a client report or admin; it can be hard to switch into instant ‘ideas mode’. A plane can't just take off; it needs a runway!

Guide the team into their creative zone with a smoother transition - and make it fun!

I have been known to get a bit ridiculous with these, but that's partly the point. We are literally trying to get people to use a completely different part of the brain (Doctor Mortimer says Google it), so you need to lend a helping hand to the cogs upstairs.

Previously, I have used a ‘Supermarket Sweep’ exercise (a 1-minute timer to grab an item in your house; we come back to discuss the item and discuss potential ideas relating to the object). I have also used visual stimuli as a creative icebreaker, or simple prompts such as activating senses: ‘Look around you. What do you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell? One rule: you can only use adjectives.

-

However, we can't embrace creativity and help facilitate it without a wider cultural awareness in the workplace.

Everybody plays a part in this, but especially more senior members of the team. Beyond facilitating spaces for ideation, we should do our best to have open team conversations across all seniority levels, cultivate a willingness to express ideas, and inspire creative boldness and bravery.

• Have a Slack channel (or whatever software you use) to just share ideas, motivation, inspiration, or just cool ideas you've seen and like

  
  

• Allow for capacity and time within the team to freely explore what is happening in the industry and the sectors you are working in

  
  

• Have an inspiration space/space for stimulus - This can be just a Google Doc or a more solid spreadsheet; whatever works for you.

  
  

• It starts at the top - Having senior members on board when it comes to this culture element is crucial, and often being the example is what it takes. If possible, these people should be sharing, not afraid to blurt out ideas, and encouraging everyone else to do so

  
  

• Investment in creativity - Whether this be training or book budget or monthly dedicated ideas sessions, having investment in creativity can make people feel supported and know that this is important to the agency/place of work and as an investment into you and your brain

2: Creative thinking tools and ideation techniques

Having a structured approach can often help unlock creativity - especially when we feel like we live and work at 1000mph. Using dedicated ideation techniques allows you to offer enough guidance toward facilitating great ideas.

Try to think of these techniques as a kind of lens, or a pair of glasses. Put one on, try it, explore, take it off, try another if you want. Sometimes they work and really help, and sometimes they don't. You don't need to know techniques by heart; it's about knowing which one could suit a certain session and just trying these things.

Some of my favourite tools or techniques include:

• Forced connections - Taking two things that naturally don’t ‘belong’ and finding connections is one of my favourite things to try. I find this can shake things up when ideas seem to get a bit ‘samey’. I have sometimes used a random image generator to make it even more random and slightly unhinged.

• Empathy Mapping - Step into the customer's shoes (rather than thinking about what you would do), explore what they could be thinking, feeling, saying, and doing in certain situations.

  
  

  It's a bit of a reminder that we often base things on our own assumptions, and if we aren't necessarily the target audience, this can skew our ideas in terms of relevancy and relatability for your key audience. Research across forums such as Reddit and social media could also change your perspective and help you see things differently.

• One Word (or often called distillation) - Sometimes we think we need to add more and more to something to make it better, or to understand it more, when in reality, sometimes clarity comes from reduction. Write down your problem in one sentence, then reduce it to a word, then start thinking about what synonyms you could use. What do you mean by this word? What else could describe your problem? You can repeat this or use it as a springboard for more until you have a collection of words.

  
  

  For example:

  
  

  Problem - “People are struggling to get to sleep at night”

  
  

  Distill to one word - sleep

  
  

  Other words - recovery, recharge, slumber, nap

  
  

  You can also use AI to help you come up with more synonyms here and use those as a springboard for ideas.

  
  

• Do The Opposite or ‘The Worst’ - This may sound counterintuitive, but people can often find it easier (and less pressure) to generate deliberately ‘bad’ ideas. But this is the great thing about creativity anyway: there are literally no rules; it's just a reason to explore.  Instead of asking ‘how could we add more?’ or how could we make this better? ' ask how we could make this the worst possible idea. Flip the idea and ask what the opposite could look like. You can always then chip away and work your way to the perfectly balanced idea.

3 books I would recommend:

• Thinkertoys - Michael Michalko

• A Whack on the side of the Head - Roger Von Oech 

• The Creative Act - Rick Rubin (This is more around getting better at noticing ideas around you, paying attention, making connections)

3: Make Time and Space for Ideation

From my LinkedIn poll, 27% said finding time was the second biggest blocker to ideation. This is an interesting one, because ideas are the root of everything we do, so the fact that we don't prioritise them and make time for them seems unproductive.

On the one hand, I am a fan of blocked-out time for ideas, but I also agree that you can't schedule creativity. I couldn't tell you when I am going to feel at my most energised for ideas, and I certainly couldn't tell you whether my ideas will be worthwhile or not. 

To ensure I get the most out of both of these scenarios, I recommend:

• Block out time in your diary (even if you don't use it). I have a weekly hour blocked out, which I tend to just let float around. I rarely stick to this, but it's my weekly reminder that I need to fence some space to ‘get creative’ and see what happens; and if nothing, that's fine too.

  
  

• Have a space where you can jot down any idea at any time, no matter what. Even if it's just a topic, a burning question, or something that you want to revisit later. Don't let that seed go, as you may want to build on it. Sometimes ideas, much like a good pasta sauce, need to sit and marinate.

  
  

• Give yourself (and your team) permission (or grace may be the better word) - to have ‘bad’ ideas, to go into a hole of ideas and research (more broad research, not direct), and remember that spending your time on ideas isn't wasted. If your manager questions why you have logged time on research or ideas, then I would politely remind them just how important that time can be for the end result. Frogs don't become frogs overnight; they start as tadpoles (can you tell I enjoy a metaphor?).

  
  

• Create boredom - I know this sounds silly, but our lives are so busy and bursting at the seams that it can be hard to stop for a second, but ‘nothing’ can often be the key to letting thoughts free. We try to fill every gap too, scroll on TikTok thinking of the next idea, or listen to a podcast for some inspiration, and whilst all this is great, sometimes you need to create space for thoughts to connect, and protecting unstructured time can be valuable.

Time seems to always be against us, and ‘finding time’ is easier said than done, but you can find those pockets of inspiration when you look for them and remember just how important (and fun) it is.

4: Experience and Emotion, Always

As PRs, we often get bogged down in data, surveys, facts and figures, and yes, this is all vital stuff and helpful for ideation and getting juicy links and coverage, but in the midst of it all, I think we often forget what people care about: the story and emotion. We aren't selling a report or an index or a study or survey; we are selling a feeling, and this is so important to remember in ideation, especially.

This is also so important: why conversations and group sessions to interact are important too - to see reactions and whether it sparks emotions in the room. 

I have found that some of my best and most creative ideas have come from my lived experiences, feelings I have actually felt, or things I have encountered in day-to-day life. 

I have a note on my phone for jotting down questions I have, things I see, seed ideas that aren't quite anything yet (but could be). It could be from things I've seen on TV, news articles, conversations in the pub or over coffee with a friend, discussions and debates I have had with my ‘mum community’ (there's a lot of them), learnings from a yoga class; the list could go on. I truly think that living and experiencing, learning, and most importantly, being curious are the best forms of ideation.

We are trying to tell stories and relevant news that resonate with people and make them feel, and what better way to validate that than to have felt or experienced it yourself, knowing it will be impactful.

Some things you can do to embrace this:

• Notice your reaction to conversations - and take note of what conversations you remember vividly and why

• Be curious; let the PR become the journalist. No, I don't mean interrogate your nan, but I mean just ask questions, learn, be inquisitive

• Get outside your norm - watch something you may not normally watch. If you're not a fan of fishing, go read Angler's Weekly. Your brain needs different colours to be able to mix and make new ones!

• Who gives a s**t? There, I said it: take yourself out of PR mode. If you saw this on the news or told someone about this, would anyone care? Would they react? Would you share the story in the group chat? If the answer is no, would anyone else care?

• Collect stories and moments, not stats - your brain is a powerful tool, and so is your memory. Use those moments that have taken a special hold in there and think about why they are so special to you and what is at the core of it.

  
  
  
  

5: Look outside of PR and ‘connect the dots’ (borrow, remix and combine ideas)

The great paradox of creativity is that to create original ideas, you must know the ideas of others. Thomas Edison said, “Make it a habit to keep on the lookout for novel and interesting ideas that others have used. Your idea successfully needs to be original only in its adaptation to the problem you are working on.”

The perfect example of this is the Mr Clean Magic Reach (bear with me, I do have a point). One designer, while on vacation in Puerto Rico, saw a housekeeper use a flat broom to reach high into the shower's corners. The designer went on to develop the Mr Clean Magic Reach and now sells around 150 million a year.

Most ideas are rarely completely 100% ‘new’. They are a combination of things that already exist. As Steve Jobs said, “Creativity is just connecting the dots”.

We often think of looking for inspiration for a certain sector in publications or campaigns in a similar vein, but what's to say you can't just completely go off track and look in places you may not think of?

We can often find inspiration in the most unlikely of places, and you can use another article, video, or campaign and ask the right questions; ”What is this doing that works? How can I apply this execution to my problem?“ or “What is it that is resonating with people?” and apply it to your sector theme at hand.

For example, they take Spotify Wrapped. Don't say, let's do something like Spotify Wrapped. Ask yourself: why does this work? Why does it make people feel understood and excited? Why do people share this? How could you use this for, let's say, a sports brand? Could you start thinking about a ‘runner's year’ and let people share their longest route, % of time spent running, earliest run, etc. It uses the same mechanism but applies it elsewhere.

Task: Try an ‘inspiration safari’ - Take your topic or problem you are trying to solve and deliberately go look in the wrong place (everywhere but that industry), look at campaigns in other languages and countries, look at an unrelated subreddit, look at experiences or pop-ups from a completely different industry. See what happens. What have you got to lose? Don't search for an answer; search for something to spark the fire.

---

Ideation is the root of our jobs as PRs. And just as you can't build a house without the foundations first, you can't see the coverage and success without the idea to start with. 

I think we genuinely forget, amongst the chaos of the industry sometimes, that we are allowed to enjoy this part, and the fun surrounding it can often bring to life some of the best ideas. Let yourself be curious, go down that rabbit hole, create space and time, let in the ‘bad’ ideas, and see where it takes you. Cause you never know what seed could turn into the biggest tree yet.

This post was written by Emma Mortimer, Outreach Lead at Digitaloft.

Enjoy learning more about Digital PR? Subscribe to The Digital PR Observer Newsletter to stay up to date with all of the latest Digital PR news and tips!