Questions and ideas to get you started on your next big idea with excerpts from Stefan Mumaw's book "Chasing the Monster Idea"

1. CREATIVE STRATEGY IS
NO LONGER ABOUT
INSPIRING THE CREATION
OF ONLY AN AD
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
© Hunter Territo / Xdesign, Inc - If duplicating please reference appropriately

2. STOP FORCING
MESSAGES…
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

3. START MAKING
STUFF PEOPLE
WANT TO SEE.
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

4. THE CONCEPT IS
THE THE BIG IDEA
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

5. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

6. FRESH
ORIGINAL
UNEXPECTED
BEAUTIFUL
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Edward Boches - EdwardBoches.com

7. SHAREABLE
INTERACTIVE
CONTINUOUS
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Edward Boches - EdwardBoches.com

8. “Bring the brand to life by any means
necessary for a consumer.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Luke Sullivan - Hey Whipple Squeeze This

9. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

10. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

11. BEFORE YOU BEGIN
MAKE SURE YOUR
HAVE A BRIEF
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

12. “You cannot be creative without purpose
and restriction. They are the only two
requirements for creative thought.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Creative Boot Camp

13. DON’T THINK OF A
CONCEPT ONLY IN
TERMS OF EXECUTION
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

14. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

15. DON’T THINK OF A
CONCEPT ONLY IN
TERMS OF A MEDIUM
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

16. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

17. “Always adapt the technique to your idea.
NEVER adapt your idea to the technique.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Bill Bernbach

18. IMAGINE THAT NO
MEDIA EXISTS
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

19. THINK IN TERMS OF
A ‘TRANSMEDIA
NARRATIVE’
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

20. “Stories presented this way give an
immersive experience you can’t get using
one medium alone and begin to
complement one another forming one
overarching narrative.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Luke Sullivan - Hey Whipple Squeeze This

21. A FEW TIPS TO GET
THE PROCESS
STARTED...
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

22. START WITH A PEN
AND PAPER
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: George Lois - Damn Good Advice

23. ESTABLISH A TONE
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

24. GET OUT ALL THE
TERRIBLE IDEAS
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

25. “They [your ideas] may not all be of value,
but you’re assured that you’ll never
generate original ideas that have value
if you’re not willing to generate ideas
that don’t.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Creative Boot Camp

26. SHARE YOUR IDEAS
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

27. GET ALL OF THE
CLICHES OUT
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Luke Sullivan - Hey Whipple Squeeze This

28. MAKE SURE YOUR
IDEAS ARE DO-ABLE
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Luke Sullivan - Hey Whipple Squeeze This

29. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

30. MAKE SURE YOUR
CONCEPT IS ON TARGET
WITH YOUR AUDIENCE
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Luke Sullivan - Hey Whipple Squeeze This

31. CONCEPT & STRATEGY
BRAND AGENCY

32. CONCEPT & STRATEGY
BRAND AGENCY

33. NOVELTY +
RELEVANCE =
CREATIVITY
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Creative Boot Camp

34. DON’T BE
DIFFERENT JUST
TO BE DIFFERENT
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Luke Sullivan - Hey Whipple Squeeze This

35. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

36. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

37. “Be honest with yourself and stay from
irrelevant brilliance.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Luke Sullivan - Hey Whipple Squeeze This

38. YOU’RE GOING TO
SUCK
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Luke Sullivan - Hey Whipple Squeeze This

39. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

40. TAKE A STEP BACK
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Luke Sullivan - Hey Whipple Squeeze This

41. WHEN YOU’RE NOT
SUCKING DON’T
STOP
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Luke Sullivan - Hey Whipple Squeeze This

42. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

43. !
• Gather information
• Digest the info (seek mashups)
• Let your subconscious mind work
• The birth of the idea
• The polish and shaping of the idea
!
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
!
!
Source: James Webb Young - A Technique for Producing Ideas

44. !
!
Another way to look at it, “4 I’s”:
• Intuition
• Information
• Incubation
• Inspiration
!
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
!
!
Source: Google Re:Brief

45. KEEP IT SIMPLE
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

46. YOUR CONCEPT
SHOULD WORK AS
A SENTENCE
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

47. “Ideas that stick tend to be simple,
unexpected, clear, credible, emotional
and story driven.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

48. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

49. SIMPLE IS HARD TO
MISS AND EASY TO
REMEMBER
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

50. “The challenge is no longer coming up
with how many ideas to use, it’s coming
up with how many things we can do
without.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Google Re:Brief

51. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

52. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

53. “I’m sorry I could not have written a
shorter letter, but I didn’t have the time.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Abraham Lincoln

54. REDUCE YOUR IDEA
TO IT’S SIMPLEST
FORM
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

55. “When reviewing your ideas ask yourself
if you what you are creating adds
something to someone’s life.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: R/GA - Agency’s House Rules

56. WHAT MAKES
GREAT IDEAS
GREAT?
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

57. IS IT EMOTIONAL?
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

58. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

59. DOES IT CREATE AN
EXPERIENCE?
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

61. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

62. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

63. DOES IT
ENTERTAIN?
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

64. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

65. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

66. IS IT NOVEL?
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

67. “It’s finding the novelty in what we
already find familiar that makes
something original and interesting.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Leo Burnett

68. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

69. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

70. “Creating restaurants or even recipes is
like composing music: there are only so
many notes in the scale from which all
melodies and harmonies are created. The
trick is to put those notes together in a
way not heard before.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Danny Meyer: Setting The Table

71. IS IT AUTHENTIC?
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

72. CONCEPT & STRATEGY Stefan Mumaw: Chasing the Monster Idea

73. BRAND EVANGELIST
VS. STEALTH
MARKETERS
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

74. HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN
YOU FIND OUT YOU’VE
BEEN LIED TO?
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

75. DOES IT TELL A
STORY?
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

76. CONCEPT & STRATEGY

77. “A really good story has a sense of truth
and resonates with some basic universal
aspects of being human.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Chris King - Storytelling Power

78. DOES IT SCARE
YOU?
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

79. WHEN WE WERE
YOUNG SUCCESS WAS
ACCOMPLISHING
SOMETHING NEW
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

80. AS WE GET OLDER
SUCCESS BECOMES
THE ABSENCE OF
FAILURE...
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

81. RATHER THAN THE
PRESENCE OF
INNOVATION.
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

82. CONCEPT & STRATEGY Stefan Mumaw: Chasing the Monster Idea

83. YOU HAVE TO BE
WILLING TO FAIL
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

84. SMART FAILURE vs.
DUMB FAILURE
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Chasing the Monster Idea

85. “We don’t want fear to debilitate us, but
that fear is a sign we are probably on the
right track.”
CONCEPT & STRATEGY

86. IMAGINE THE IDEAS YOU
COULD PRODUCE IF YOU
WEREN’T AFRAID OF THE
CONSEQUENCES.
CONCEPT & STRATEGY
Source: Stefan Mumaw - Creative Boot Camp