The Four-Leaf Clover of Creativity

Advertisers are expected to be brilliant idea-thinkers.  Creativity drips from their lips, glows in their aura, and sparks in their touch.  Right?  I wish.  Creativity takes work.  Finding the Big Idea takes work.  Here are some tips from the BYU AdLab alumni to help you find your next Big Idea.

BIG IDEA, NOT BIG EXECUTION.  “The most important thing that I learned is how to come up with a Big Idea [rather than] one of executions.  What’s the thinking, what’s the strategy, what’s the problem that we’re trying to solve--how all those things come together to solve that bigger problem and kind of create that lasting, overarching campaign that umbrellas the idea, and all the other pieces that will then fall into that.”  -Danny Streadbeck, Assoc. Creative Director at Kastner & Partners

“Thinking about the Big Picture, I almost think you’re thinking as a Creative Director right out of the gate instead of as a junior.  I feel like juniors can think about a cool execution, whereas I think that the AdLab helped train me to think of the brand of the big idea of the big message we’re trying to communicate and then cool executions kind of underneath that.  That definitely helped me when I became a professional.” -Chad Ford, Art Director at Kastner & Partners

LEARN HOW TO DISAPPEAR.  “The best creative can take on any tone, they can take on any voice, they can take on any product, they can take on any demographic or target.  Those are the best creatives, because what they’re good at is ideas...The best creatives--they disappear and they look at the problem and they use their creativity to address the problem.  And that’s very different.  The answer’s very different tonally and visually and executionally for different brands.  And if you can show that you deliver, that you can use your creativity to deliver a breadth of answers, those are the ones we want.”  -Matt Miller, Executive Creative Director at BBDO

PUSH YOUR BRAIN. “push and push until that idea is found and that idea is there....Above anything else--Creative is King.  Creative is key.  The Idea.  The big idea we can all execute until the cows come home and create comps and mock-ups of things, but if there isn’t an idea there that can and will be seen immediately--first and foremost--my advice would be: continuously push your brain and your work and your ability to find that big idea.  Because when you do, everything else will fall into place.  It’s invaluable  It will be the first thing that people look at and the first thing people judge you on, is your ability to think, and to discover creative solutions to problems.”  -Chris Rodriguez, Creative at TBWA/Chiat Day

LEARN HOW TO SELL.  Work on your presentation abilities.  What I tell all of our creatives is, ‘half of your job is to create the work, and half is to sell it.’  Because, what was the point of the first half if you don’t fulfill the second half?  If you don’t sell the work there was no point in what you just did.  And there’s a big issue with quality presenters in advertising right now, especially with creative.  It just hasn’t been developed and as a result a lot of great work doesn’t get sold because they don’t know how to articulate it, they don’t know how to build the deck in a way that sells it, they don’t know how to get through the hurdle of their CD and then their ECD and sometimes their CCO, because A) they’re not confidently and articulately explaining the idea, then B) they are also giving in too quickly...And, see, a lot of that comes back to presentation.  How are you selling the idea?  And how are you thinking about it in a strategic way that allows it to be bought.  Build your presentation skills with the goal of knowing that you need to sell that thing...You have to get through many gates to get that thing out into the world, and if you’re a good presenter and a good salesman, it’s more likely to happen.”  -Matt Miller, Executive Creative Director at BBDO

THE BIG TAKEAWAY.  First, get yourself some structure.  Find the overarching concept.  Then, become your client’s voice--not your own voice.  If you’re not striking gold, keep digging.  And, take some tips from your local used-car salesman.  Learn how to sell.

You may never have fire shooting from your fingertips, but with these tips, you just may find your spark, your Big Idea.

How do YOU get out of the mire of mediocrity?  What’s YOUR lucky clover?