Creativity is defined as ‘the use of imagination or original ideas to create something’. Simple, no? Gather some people in a room, toss around some concepts and - voila – an idea is born.

Or not, as is often the case.

The biggest barrier people face when tasked with coming up with a creative idea is fear. What if I sound stupid? What if people laugh?

Another barrier, which we are not going to delve into in this article, is where there is a person(s) in control of content who does not seek out ideas from others. Either because it has never dawned on them to or because they don’t feel they need any help.

That’s an entirely different conundrum that requires a separate, more “top-down” approach.

Volunteer or ‘voluntold’

Willing participation is always the best way to get enthusiastic buy-in to anything you want to achieve. If there are people across the company who will happily volunteer, that’s a great place to start.

Top tip: Volunteers should not automatically be selected to take part in the idea generation session(s). While this may seem counterintuitive, volunteers are generally more extraverted. By “requesting the participation” of introverts and quiet voices, you maximise the chances of uncovering some truly distinctive ideas.

The people tasked with coming up with ideas should be as much of a mixture as possible. Group think is the enemy of creativity. You want people who have been with the company for a long time and possess varying degrees of institutional memory, as well as new joiners who are less fixed in their ways of thinking.

You want people from different departments. Inviting colleagues from sales, marketing and distribution is a no brainer but also think about your digital and back-office teams. Their insights will likely surprise you.

In person or in writing?

Broadly speaking, there are two ways to approach idea generation. Either gather everyone in a room and encourage a free-flowing discussion or request that people submit their ideas in writing.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages and are dependent on the people involved.

In person:

Pro: people can build up and bounce off the ideas being shared in the room. They can generate lively debate and help connect the dots between various suggestions to produce some engaging content ideas.

Con: louder voices tend to dominate, which can make it difficult for less confident people to share their ideas or voice a dissenting opinion. The person(s) in charge need to actively include them.

In writing:

Pro: the submissions can be reviewed by the head of content or an established content panel who will identify interesting and appropriate ideas. They will have a deeper understanding of the company’s business goals and can prioritise ideas that support those objectives.

Con: there is a loss of cross-pollination, where an idea can be enhanced with input from others.

Creating clarity

Regardless of the route chosen, it is imperative that the people involved in the process have a full understanding of what is expected of them and why. It’s the latter part that tends to trip people up.

Why does the company need new content ideas? In what ways is the current suite not up to scratch? Have the company’s business goals changed? Are there new (or even existing) products or capabilities that are not getting enough airtime?

Knowing what you want to achieve is half the battle. The other half is being clear on why you want to achieve it and, equally importantly, what success looks like.

Controlled creativity

While the above sub-heading is an oxymoron, every project needs parameters. There is no point in getting really excited about developing a video series if your company does not currently have video capability.

Having a framework of topics and formats is useful in helping people come up with actionable ideas.

Ideas can be big or small. Tweaks to existing content can have as much impact as producing something brand new - and take a lot less time and resource.

The person(s) running the session is ultimately responsible for establishing any boundaries, encouraging participation, collating the ideas and making decisions about which to pursue.

At Alpha Agency, we truly believe that creativity can flourish everywhere, but few companies fully draw on the resources they have at their fingertips.

If you are interested in discovering how we can help your team can shake off its creative cobwebs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.