You have been looking at the white sheet for the second hour. Leaf stared back at you. The pen knocks nervously on the table. Creativity doesn't work. You can, of course, sit for another hour in anticipation of a sudden inspiration. But during this time, the deadline has already burned out, and the time will come to hand over the project.
When we ran the international interval training studio F45, the team set itself a challenge - to come up with extraordinary ideas for publications every day. We aimed to make an account that would not be similar to competitors in the fitness industry.
Read what methods we used to generate ideas and what happened in the end.
Unobvious connections
This is a simple technique where you combine contrasting ideas to create a new one. Some of these combinations give unexpected results.
How do I apply it? Make two lists of unrelated things on the sheet. Pick two items at random and try to combine their properties. The method of non-obvious connections often gives wacky results, but ultimately helps to overcome the creative block.
Understanding the nuances of Internet acquiring and online payments for business:
How to choose a reliable payment provider;
Why customization of acquiring is important;
What the market leaders offer;
How to connect online payments for the site;
How to achieve maximum payment conversion.
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Practice
In quarantine, brands competed in creativity. We did not stand aside - there was not much live content, so memes, motion and challenges were used.
The random linking method is great for generating such ideas. Let's give an example. At one of the brainstorms, we placed items associated with sports in one column. In the second - everything that perfectly viruses on the Internet. The leading position, of course, was taken by pets. So memes with cats and dogs of trainers, sports equipment and funny signatures appeared in the studio's account.
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Another successful creative is a video that helped to gain subscribers. In the first column, we wrote down sports exercises, and in the second - the most relevant jokes of the month. A video was born where the trainer performs a dynamic bar, shifting rolls of toilet paper - the one that everyone zealously bought before quarantine.
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Mind mapping
After many hours of research, a mess of thoughts often forms in my head. It is difficult to put together a single concept from these disparate parts. The brain tries to organize a large amount of information, so it cannot cope with generating new ideas. The Mind Map method structures heterogeneous concepts and builds relationships between them.
How do I use it? Write your main question in the center of the sheet. Then place elements around it that will help solve a problem or clarify a topic. In this way, you structure the situation in order to consider it from different angles.
Don't forget about visualization - sketches and colored markers make it easy to navigate ideas.
Practice
We like to describe our brand promotion strategies this way. Below is an example of a sports studio.
Promotion strategy for brands - an example of a sports studio
Reverse thinking
Instead of thinking about how to achieve your goal, you need to think about how not to achieve it. Thinking backwards suggests that instead of taking a logical, normal view of the problem, you turn it inside out and think about counterproductive ideas. For example: "How can I double the number of clicks on a link?" may change to "how to make sure that no one ever even hovers over the link?". Most people find it easier to come up with “bad advice” simply because it's so much more fun.
After the brainstorm, they wriggle out again: "I will never update any of my social networks" is replaced with "I will write one post on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook every day." As a result, solutions to problems are obtained that are quite adequate and applicable to reality.
Practice
Once we thought about which videos in the accounts of sports studios everyone was already tired of. And they found the answer: videos with a predictable plot - exercises that everyone has already seen a hundred times. Next, we discussed what trainers never associate with their wards, and realized that it seems to everyone that they do not eat junk food at all.
Thus, we came up with scripts for short funny videos. According to the scenario, one of the trainers is constantly taken by surprise while eating fast food. Users actively liked and saved these videos.
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Disney Method
Walt Disney, the creator of Mickey Mouse, was not only a creative dreamer, but also the harshest critic of his ideas. This is what made his creations famous all over the world.
The methodology that Walt Disney used in the creative process is based on three roles: the dreamer, the realist and the critic. They must be applied to oneself in turn.
Practice
In the first stage, all that matters is an idea: dreamers let their creativity run wild. So, before the unscheduled shooting of the video, which should have passed already four
After a couple of days, we got together for a brainstorm and started coming up with different concepts. It was important to remember that even the most absurd idea is valuable.
In the second step, ideas are tested. It's time for the realist: what do I need to implement? Are there any more gaps? And in general, is it possible to do this? This is how you filter out original ideas and develop new ones.
We had a lot of ideas: to shoot a story in the manner of the mafia, to use pet trainers ... But they all required a lot of resources, and there was not much time left before shooting. Therefore, we chose a scenario about how a client first comes to interval training. Often people who used to go to a rocking chair find it very easy to work with their weight or small equipment. But this is not at all the case if you do a lot of reps at a fast pace. We decided to play a trick on this situation and shoot a video about the first lesson.
Finally, the critic appears. He turns the idea inside out and tests it for risks. What are the disadvantages? Does it suit the company or the customer? Does the idea fit with the goals of the project? Could this cause a negative reaction from the audience? If the concept passes this test, proceed with implementation.
We asked all these questions to ourselves. The idea went through the filter - on the one hand, we could show several exercises from the workout in the video. On the other hand, to convince potential customers that they will not be given mercy, which means that they will be able to change their body faster. The video turned out to be funny and vital.
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The Walt Disney Method not only creates creative freedom but also establishes a solid grading scale. It leads to interesting solutions that can be realistically implemented.