How to Be More Creative in Marketing and Life by Following Four Steps
Everyone has moments of being a creative genius. Moments where ideas are as big as life and their outcomes even bigger. So, how can you make the creative process and it outcomes more consistent. That's what this blog post is all about. You will learn four simple steps or stages to tap into your creative genius on a regularly basis.
Howie Cohen and Alka-Seltzer
In 1972, Alka-Seltzer launched one of the greatest ad campaigns in history. It was called, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing". The ad campaign really spoke to the problem Alka-Seltzer solved. It was a big idea that had legs. It helped Alka-Seltzer triple sales and put their brand on the map.
One of the main people involved in the idea was Howie Cohen. Howie says, "People need to be communicated in an emotional way and storytelling is the best way to do that. Howie teaches that creativity has stages and that each stage builds upon each other. Here are Howie Cohen's four stages of creativity:
The Four Stages of Creativity
I - Intuition - You kind of have an idea, but you don't have much information.
I - Information - You collect all the information. You need to understand the real problem. You find what it's all about. You understand every angle.
I - Incubation - Now you let it incubate. Forget about it. This is when the creative soup happens. This is when the big ideas come.
I - Inspiration - Then your creative ideas will come. They will come when you least expect them. Write down them down quickly or they will disappear.
I agree with Howie on his four stages of creativity. Many of my best marketing ideas do not occur at the desk or in a creative brainstorm. They occur after I have done the hard work and incubated them. Then I wait for the creative inspiration. From me, these are the shower moments, the moments when I first wake, the GYM moments, or running moments.
The four stages of creativity will help you develop creative ideas on a more consistent basis. Give it a try. You will thank Howie later.
There you have it. The four steps to be more creative in everything you do.