How to avoid a stormy brainstorm

With PR campaigns I think it’s fair to say that most of the time what we do is fairly prescriptive, we receive news from a client about an upcoming product, service or event they’d like us to promote, we choose the best medium to convey the message and then target the most important influencers to ensure great coverage. The thing is that every so often we are briefed to come up with a more creative campaign. One of the main reasons we get asked to do so is to engage people in a different way, so the company stands out even more.

There can be real benefits, for instance, smaller companies can sometimes struggle to capture the attention of top national journalists. Targeting them in a different way can be hugely effective and help to ‘win over’ otherwise tricky journalists. Alternative style campaigns can also increase the impact of a major announcement, helping to raise the profile of a company even further. 

The actual process of coming up with such a campaign can, however, be quite tricky. Once you’ve got the brief from the client – which can be quite vague – especially when it comes to creative briefs – it’s time to put together some ideas. But putting together a good brainstorm isn’t just about sitting down with a group of people and talking about the brief.

It’s all too easy for teams to sit down without any real initial talk about goals and aims for the campaign. Having this conversation first will ensure that ideas that are put forward are more likely to be useable rather than just aspirational (though there’s nothing wrong with coming up with ‘crazy’ ideas that can be re-worked into something more realistic).

There is also value in a structured approach to brainstorms rather than just sitting in a room and debating ideas. Starting off with key aims is good, but think about other key elements that will be valuable to the client that you can focus on – such as re-usable video content.

All this being said, you’ll still need your client to approve your idea so it’s always worth keeping that in mind after the initial stages. Having the best idea in the world is no good if it’s too controversial or risky for your client to implement. It’s always worth fighting the corner of a good idea if it’s on the fringes of what a client will do – after all if it is likely to get some fantastic coverage, your client is sure to be thankful at the end of the campaign.

As such we’ve put together some short key tips on running a great brainstorming session:

• Always have a goal in mind - It doesn’t matter what the brainstorm is for, always have a basis for the meeting and make sure it’s circulated in advance
• Have a leader for the session - Someone should be put in charge of the session to take down ideas and run the brainstorm 
• Bring in outsiders - Sometimes it takes someone with an outside view to come up with a new idea or approach, so make sure other people are involved
• Split the meeting - Sometimes you need time to think things over, coming back to a brainstorm after a few hours following an initial 30 -45 minute session can give people time to develop their ideas or those that others had in the session
• Consider a virtual brainstorm - Sometimes it can be difficult for people to find the time to brainstorm together, so why not create a Google doc that anyone can edit and ask everyone to put down 3 ideas by the end of the day – then discuss the results with the core team when possible – it can be a great way to get the creative process moving
• Make sure it’s an open environment - Brainstorms are pointless if people shoot down ideas for being ‘stupid’ or not totally thought through. In order to produce the best ideas it needs to be a relaxed atmosphere which means that everyone in the session should be open to more ‘wacky’ ideas without laughing at them

Although there’s no absolute formula to success when it comes to brainstorms, adopting a structured approach and creating the right environment will contribute towards the overall creative process.

If you’ve got any other great tips, why not share them in the comments section below and we will create an updated blog showcasing the best tips in the future?