Steele Communications

Brainstorming on a new initiative is one of the most exciting, frustrating, exhilarating and rewarding stages of creative development. Ideas and approaches bounce around in our heads like the silver ball in a pinball machine – careening from point-generating "ding" to another. 

The challenge is how to corral these ideas and narrow them down to the big idea that becomes the cornerstone of a campaign?

We use the rip wall.

Everyone starts with the same creative brief and push pins every idea – rough pencil, napkin drawing, headline, single word and doodle – to one giant wall.

And then we rip into them. We rip down the bad ideas (literally, it's great effect) and rip on the good ones to make them stronger.

We debate, ask questions, defend, attack, explore, compromise and advance. We may dive deep into a doodle to try and understand what was being considered. We have seen seemingly throwaway ideas spark great creative solutions.

This exercise can be brutal but effective. We get exasperated, angry and frustrated. We laugh, pout, and stomp out of the room. And we repeat the process at each stage of concept refinement until we have a strong creative direction to present.

The rip wall, once filled with dozens of pushpins and ideas now starkly displays the strongest concept ready to do battle for our client's products or services.

Steeling from the Tip Jar is a free, monthly eNewsletter sharing a single item of interest about marketing and advertising. Articles are culled from a variety of industry resources and include Steele insights and/or editing. Steele Communications is a creative agency that can help you keep your marketing efforts on target, on time and on budget. Learn more at steeleweb.com or contact Scott Steele at s.steele@steeleweb.com or 630.968.5106.

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