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| Why Didn't I Think of That? |
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Good ideas don't just occur spontaneously. Sometimes they need a little prodding. Sometimes they get buried under other ideas. That's where brainstorming comes in.
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 Clients frequently ask for help with product names, taglines or slogans (see box). We usually suggest a brainstorming session to generate a number of ideas, and that's the main goal of brainstorming: to foster the flow of ideas, to discuss, and to freely associate about a specific objective. As David Simons, senior consultant at Trendlines says, "the brainstorming exercise gives an opportunity to re-examine preconceived ideas." From the ideas come new perspectives. As the participants in the session throw out words and phrases (most of our brainstorming session are in English), we arrive at a number of good suggestions. As is true with most brainstorming sessions, where we start isn't necessarily where we end up.
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| Two Brains Are Better than One |
A tagline is a short description — about five or six words — describing a company, its philosophy, its position, or its advantage. (For a financial services company that emphasized personal attention, we recommended the tagline, "The service you expect. The attention you deserve.", and for a manufacturer of woven straps and tapes who was looking for a potential partner, we arrived at "Banding together.") Taglines stay static; they last for years and years. In fact, a good tagline truly identifies its company. We often remind clients that their tagline should "travel" with their company name. It should appear on websites, stationery, and e-mails.
Slogans, on the other hand, change from product to product. (Think of "Think small" from Volkswagen). They're short, catchy, and sometimes play on the company's name or product. There is debate whether slogans and taglines are the same thing. Some people use the terms interchangeably, but at Trendlines we differentiate between the two.
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One drawback to brainstorming is time. Experts agree that brainstorming sessions must have a time limit, but there is debate as to the optimal length of the session itself. Some say 25 minutes; others say hours. At Trendlines we generally schedule sessions of one hour, the first 10 or 15 minutes of which are spent just introducing the problem and the client's product or technology. Often the session includes people who are not familiar with the client, so the introductory remarks are important and helpful. The client themselves may or may not participate in the session. Brainstorming sessions that relate to overall business strategy are more likely to necessitate the involvement of the client.
These sessions involve a number of people, so scheduling a block of uninterrupted time is problematic. It's the uninterrupted time that is the luxury. With full schedules, deadlines, and the "no time" syndrome, brainstorming can be viewed as a luxury, but as David notes, "we recognize brainstorming as an essential value-added tool that allows us to bring new insights to a company."
"For clients on limited budgets," David continues, "brainstorming in large groups is not always feasible due to the amount of staff hours it requires." We have often structured brainstorming sessions for those clients and know that they too have benefited from our "discoveries."
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| The Brainstorming Framework |
Brainstorming encourages free thought, but the free-wheeling process does require a framework, or at the end of the session, there are no tangible results. David and Lee Cohen, our director of marketing communications, share the following tips to ensure success in the brainstorming session.
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Set a time limit. The larger and more diverse the group, the more time needed.
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Invite others in the company not directly involved in the project. These "outside" viewpoints will give the session diverse opinions and ideas.
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Appoint a leader to direct and facilitate the session. This is critical, otherwise the free-wheeling discussion can quickly go off track or get stuck.
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Appoint someone to record all the ideas. This might be the leader, but it doesn't have to be.
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State the objective of the session very clearly. "The company wants to change its name because it is entering a new market." This objective keeps the discussion focused and structured.
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Write important words and key phrases on a board or notepad large enough for the entire group to see.
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Do not criticize ideas. All ideas are a "go." There is no right or wrong. Even a "wrong" idea can lead into a discussion or direction that reveals a new train of thought. The leader can move things back on track if necessary.
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Choose the best ideas (at the end of the session) that meet the stated objective.
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Depending upon the particular task, we often send the client a number of ideas. Out of a recent brainstorming session for a medical device client, we sent six or seven ideas for a tagline and another five or six for the product slogan. We hope the client likes one, but if not, then it's back to the drawing board.
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| Recommended Exercise |
Think about — and write down — the words you associate with your company or your technology (or product). Ask others in the company to generate their own lists. Open a thesaurus to see other connections to the words you have on your list. You'll be very surprised to see where you end up. You can also take a look at the Visual Thesaurus. Enter one of the words on your list to see its "network" of relationships to other words. The free trial version will give you a good idea of how it works.
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The Trendletter team welcomes your comments.
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Karen Kozek
Marketing Communications Consultant
The Trendlines Group
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