I HATE group brainstorms. Just not how my creative process works, being put on the spot. Any tips for how to actively participate in client + creative brainstorms when it doesn’t come naturally?

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It's all in the pre-meeting prep. Knowing what we need to accomplish in the room, thinking on our own, bringing ideas proactively together as an internal team even if it's a general direction to go and what to avoid.

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Brainstorms are the worst way to concept and I have serious reservations about any agency that uses them on a consistent basis.

Good creative rarely comes out of a committee.

While you should welcome builds from your teammates, you shouldnt have to sit in a room for 2 hours aimlessly throwing ideas into the air.

likesmart

Use it as an opportunity to squeeze out a better, more actionable insight than whatever generic, unhelpful thing they wrote in the brief. Then do the real concepting afterwards with only your partner.

likehelpful

My current agency is big on them. I’ve recently updated our agency process to ensure that:

1 - there is an actual brief / problem to solve for the brainstorm.

2 - the team involved is given ample time to review / read said brief

3 - participating members are expected to come to the meeting with a couple of ideas

Not the easiest to change that process as a participator but if you ask for one and two above it will help.

likesmart

I agree 100%. That said, my agency doesn’t.

So rather than just get a bunch of people on a call and giving them 30 minutes to learn about the project and come up with ideas on the fly, I got the agency to adjust to a process that required a real actual brief and for everyone to bring ideas to the table.

I’m in a weird spot because I’m not a traditional creative but I’m expected to have ideas. I don’t like thinking on the fly and I prefer to have time to shape my ideas.

Come with an idea or two already sort of baked beforehand, deploy, sit back and relax.

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Studies say they’re useless and not how people actually have ideas. They also promote the loudest and most senior voices, not necessarily the best thinking. It’s likely an opportunity for everyone to share thoughts to feel included. Show up, be positive, and look for things that spark your imagination.

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group brainstorms are the worst. i also prefer just coming up with ideas by myself or with a partner. seems like a lazy way for people not in the creative department to feel like they’re part of the idea process.

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Having worked at both media agencies and creative agencies, I’m wholeheartedly with PHD1. Who is saying a media placement is an idea? Too many creative agencies are way too short sighted as they spin wheels on a 30 sec TVC and billboards for a digital savvy consumer. Media agency brainstorms may be lacking in creative richness but they make up for it by the way they’re naturally able to orient their thinking around engagement first and foremost.

How I’ve seen it work well is like this:
1. Creatives come up w big idea concept
2. Big all-hands brainstorm (great for mining germs of ideas or fodder for creatives to use as inspo. Not great to returning polished ideas. Above all, required to foster ownership across all stakeholders, otherwise the big idea often gets politicized and abandoned by media teams who feel left out.)
3. Creatives use output from brainstorm as fodder for independent build out.

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Agree with all of this. People think ideation is the only step in brainstorming. There's prep, setting the stage, ideation, aggregation/culling, and the most oft overlooked... Follow up. And that's simplifying. Brainstorming is a skill not just an activity that anyone can do well.

Yep, if you can get an understanding of the output, “pre-brainstorm” on your own and then bring the thinking in your back pocket. It also helps you to steer the groupthink in the actual session to a more desirable territory.

Just say that to the planner and CD. Hey, as an introvert, this isn’t how I work best. I’d love to either get the brief early so I can come with ideas, or email you ideas a day or two after the brainstorm.

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