Guide to Brainstorming(public)

GUIDE TO BRAINSTORMING
1
ALEXANDRA KARUL
SPRING INTERN 2016

2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What
do
to
Before
the
Meeting

3

Create
an
Agenda

4

What
to
do
After
the
Meeting

4

Types
of
Structure

5

Tips
for
Facilitator

6

Tips
for
Scribe

6

Employee
Evaluations

7

Information
for
Evaluators

8

Sample
Creative
Brief

10

Sample
Agenda
Structures

11

Sample
Agenda

12

Creative
Exercises

13

**For
this
public
version
of
Guide
to
Brainstorming
certain
sections
have
been
removed

for
confidentiality**

PURPOSE
This
project
serves
as
a
comprehensive
guide
to
lead
employees
through

the
entire
brainstorm
experience.
The
purpose
of
this
guide
is
to

improve
G7
Entertainment
Marketing’s
brainstorming
process
by:

• Adding
a
structure
to
improve
focus
and
idea
organization

• Ensuring
employees
are
prepared
&
creative
briefs
are
efficient

• Increasing
idea
variety

• Sparking
creativity

• Increasing
diversity
among
personalities
&
seniority

• Keeping
participants
updated
on
events
post-‐brainstorm

3
What to Do Before the Meeting
1.
Set
meeting
goals

• Portray
client
objectives
without
being
too
specific
that
it
limits
creativity

• Include
broad
client
focus
such
as
awareness,
sales,
reputation,
sustaining
loyalty,

data
collection

• Include
make
or
break
qualities
such
as
stunts,
1-‐1
meaningful
interactions,
a
lot

of
quantity
in
a
short
time

• Include
length
and
season

• Do
not
include:
budget,
example
ideas,
how
simple
or
complex
it
should
be,

number
of
staff,
personal
opinions

2.
Create
and
Send
Creative
Brief

• See
page
10
for
sample
brief

• Highlight
client
objectives
without
specificity
that
reduces
creativity

• Keep
brief
concise

• Typically,
brief
does
not
need:
budget,
exact
scope
(national,
international,

southeast,
etc.
are
fine),
deliverables
and
deadlines,
previous
events,
challenges

(such
as
timing,
staffing,
client
biases)
**this
information
can
be
brought
up

throughout
the
brainstorm

• Send
out
at
least
24
hours
before
meeting

3.
Determine
participants

• Invite
employees
to
the
meeting
with
different
perspectives

• Individuals
who
have
previously
worked
on
this
account
or
have
a
certain
specialty

will
have
a
different
perspective
than
an
individual
in
a
different
department.

• People
not
part
of
the
G7
team,
such
as
those
who
are
part
of
the
target
market

4.
Set
the
agenda

• See
page
4

• Bring
a
variety
of
ideas
to
give
people
new
inspiration
if
they
have
focused
on
the

same
type
of
topic
for
too
long

5.
Prep
the
room

• Write
categories
on
paper,
whiteboards,
post
its,
or
computer

• Optional:
bring
snacks,
drinks,
candy

4
Create an Agenda
See
page
12
for
sample
agenda

Step
1:
Creative
exercise

• Starting
the
session
with
a
creative
exercise
helps
participants
step
out
of
their

everyday
tasks
and
approach
problem
solving
in
new,
out-‐of-‐the-‐box
ways.
These

enjoyable,
five
minute
activities
energize
participants
and
boost
creativity.

• Keep
it
short

• See
page
13
for
examples

Step
2:
State
the
goal

• See
page
3
for
guidelines
to
develop
goals

• Do
not
review
the
entire
creative
brief
or
brand
deck

Step
3:
Ideation

• The
bulk
of
the
session
should
be
devoted
to
developing
ideas.
It
is
important
to

balance
structure
with
free-‐flowing
creativity

• Choose
a
structure:
Individual
ideas,
categories,
shotgun
and
laser
beam

• See
page
5
for
structure
details

Step
4:
Refine

• Use
this
time
to
review
all
ideas
pitched

• People
might
have
new
ideas
once
they
go
back
the
second
time

• Scale
down
extravagant
ideas,
make
ideas
more
realistic

• SCAMPER:
Substitute,
Combine,
Adapt,
Modify,
Put
to
another
use,
Eliminate,

Reverse

• Allot
more
time
if
you
want
participants
to
vote
on
favorite
ideas
or
choose
which

ideas
to
pitch.
While
this
tactic
removes
individual
biases,
some
participants
may

not
have
enough
knowledge
to
choose.

• Discuss
next
steps
in
the
process

What to Do After the Meeting
1.
Submit
employee
evaluations

• See
page
7

2.
Send
participants
the
client
proposal

3.
Keep
participants
up-‐to-‐date
on
client
opinions

• Help
employees
learn
what
went
well
and
better
understand
clients

5
Types of Structure
Individual
ideas

• Ask
participants
to
develop
ideas
individually
to
share
at
the
meeting

• Allot
an
equal
amount
of
time
for
each
participant
to
voice
his/her
ideas

• The
remainder
of
the
time
is
spent
building
upon
all
ideas

Categories

• Predetermined
categories
increase
variety
by
preventing
participants
from

spending
too
much
time
on
one
topic

• Category
types
include
(but
are
not
limited
to):

o Objectives
of
client
goal

§ **If
organizing
agenda
by
client
objectives,
spend
time
in
the

beginning
determining
themes
to
center
ideas
around

o Client
values

o Different
demographics

o Inspirations:

§ View
the
challenge
from
multiple
perspectives
such
as:
pop-‐culture

trends,
music,
statistics,
psychology
principles,
fashion,
television,

travel,
history,
food,
different
cultures,
etc.

Shotgun
and
laser
beam

• Participants
shout
out
any
idea,
or
partial
idea,
that
comes
to
mind.
The
scribe

writes
them
down
and
participants
uncover
themes.
These
themes
turn
into

categories
that
become
the
focal
points
of
the
session.

6
Tips for Facilitator
• Consider
all
ideas:
Those
that
originally
seem
unreasonable
can
be
scaled
down

• Enforce
categories
and
time
limits:
Allow
for
free
flow
of
ideas
but
know

when
to
cut
it
off
and
move
on.
Do
not
spend
too
much
time
on
one
topic.

• Challenge
participants/play
devil’s
advocate:
Ask
difficult
questions
to

encourage
people
to
view
different
perspectives

• Encourage
equality
among:

o Personality
types:
if
someone
has
been
quiet,
ask
if
he
has
anything
to

contribute.
Often
it
is
the
loudest
personalities,
not
the
best
ideas,
that

dominate
conversations.

o Seniority:
do
not
let
participants
with
more
seniority
control
conversations

o Ideas:
make
sure
all
ideas
are
written
down
and
possibly
built
upon,
do
not

let
ideas
fall
through
the
cracks

• Have
participants
improve
and
build
upon
one
another's
ideas

• Keep
an
eye
on
the
scribe:
Make
sure
his
task
is
not
detracting
from
his

contribution

• Remind
participants
of
the
goal
throughout
the
session

• Prep
before
the
meeting:

o Send
out
creative
briefs

o Invite
participants
with
different
perspectives

o Set
up
the
room

• Keep
participants
up-‐to-‐date:

o Let
them
know
the
next
steps

o Inform
them
of
client
opinions:
this
is
important
for
them
to
better

understand
client
needs
and
prepare
for
the
next
brainstorm

• Do
not
dominate
the
conversation

• Do
not
judge
any
ideas

Tips
for
Scribe

• Capture
every
idea:
including
different
variations
of
same
idea,
unrealistic

ideas

o You
do
not
need
to
capture
client
goals
or
objectives

• Organize:
group
similar
ideas/general
themes
together

• Set
and
enforce
the
timer

• Try
to
not
let
this
task
distract
you
from
contributing

• Idea
location:
can
be
written
on
whiteboards,
post-‐its,
computer,
etc.

o If
the
idea
is
written
on
your
computer,
make
sure
to
put
it
on
a
screen

7
Employee Evaluations

After
the
session,
fill
out
an
employee
evaluation
based
on
employee

preparedness,
present
in
the
moment,
and
critical
thinking.

Rate
on
effort,
not
on
how
great
an
employee’s
ideas
were.

The
last
box
has
a
section
for
additional
comments.

8
Information for Evaluators
Andre
and
Peter
have
access
to
edit
form
&
view
responses.

View
responses:
Go
to
the
form
in
your
Google
Drive
(if
you
click
the

link
on
the
previous
page
you
can
only
fill
it
out)
and
click
Responses

above
the
title
to
the
right.

Add
an
employee:
Click
the
+

option
on
the
right
side.
Write

the
employee’s
name
as
the

question,
make
the
type
of

question
“Checkboxes”,
and

make
the
three
options
1=
Below

Average,
2=
Average,
3=
Above

Average

Delete
an
employee:
Click
the

garbage
can
on
the
lower
right
side.

Grant
access
for
people
to
see

responses:

Press
the
vertical
three
dots
in
the
right

corner
and
click
“Add
collaborators…”

9
Understand
responses:

**These
scores
do
not

illustrate
real
responses

and
were
created
as

examples.**

To
view
a
summary
of
all

brainstorms:
click

summary
on
the
top
left.

The
graphs
show
an

average
of
all
brainstorms

that
employee
participated

in.
For
example,
Adam

participated
in
3

brainstorms
and
was

ranked
above
average
for

all.
Andre
participated
in

three
brainstorms
and
was

ranked
average
for
2
and

above
average
for
1.

To
view
individual

brainstorms:
press

individual
on
the
top
right.

Delete
responses:

To
delete
responses

from
one

brainstorm,
press

the
garbage
can
on

the
right.
To
delete

all
responses
(to
start
a
new
year
of
evaluations)
press
the
three

vertical
dots
on
the
right
and
then
“Delete
all
responses.”

10
SAMPLE MATERIALS
Sample Creative Brief
Copy
and
paste
brief
and
add
your
own
information

Potential
Client:

Goal:

Scope:

Timing:

Target:

**Please
begin
brainstorming
ideas
to
bring
to
the
session**

(Sample
information
removed
for
confidentiality)

11
Sample Agenda Structures
Individual Ideas Example
11:00-11:05: Creative Exercise
11:05-11:20: Individual Ideas (5 people, 3 minutes each)
11:20-11:45: Build Upon Individual Ideas
11:45-12:00: Refine, Sum Up, Next Steps
Categories Example: Company Values
11:05-11:45: Core Values (10 minutes each)
Family, Nostalgia, Comfort Food, Diversity
Categories Example: Inspirations
11:05-11:50: Inspirations (15 minutes each)
1. trend: conferences attendants view the entire city as the venue
2. psychology of persuasion: people more likely to be persuaded by authority,
people they know and like, or if they already agreed to something
3. pop-culture trends
Shotgun and Laser Beam
11:05-11:15: Any ideas or partial ideas
11:15-11:20: Determine theme
11:20-11:50: Speak about each theme
(ex. 3 themes, 10 min each)

12
G7 BRAINSTORMING SAMPLE AGENDA
Creating
one-‐of-‐a-‐kind
solutions
for
clients

Meeting
Date:

Time:

Facilitator:

Scribe:

Subject:

Goal:

11:00-‐11:05:
Creative
Exercise

11:05-‐11:15:
Determine
themes
to
discuss

11:15-‐11:25:
Brainstorm
potential
events
or
event
types

to
sponsor
and
activate

11:25-‐11:35:
Brainstorm
potential
footprints

A.

More
substantial
event
footprints

11:35-‐11:45:
Brainstorm
potential
footprints

B.
Nimble
event
footprints

11:45-‐11:55:
Brainstorm
potential
fun
activities
that
can
occur

at
footprint
other
than
sampling

11:55-‐12:00:
Open
discussion,
refine
ideas,
next
steps

13
Creative Exercises
Unrelated
to
the
topic

• Write
down
an
activity
and
an
object
on
two
separate
pieces
of
paper.
Pass
the

activity
to
the
person
on
your
right,
and
the
object
to
the
left.
Each
person
needs
to

explain
how
he/she
could
use
this
new
combination.

• How
would
you
draw/describe
your
perfect
car?

o Would
it
have
a
golf
course?
Would
it
run
on
chocolate
milk?

• Create
a
sandwich
that
describes
your
personality?

o Would
it
include
a
beer?
Sour
patch
kids?
Thanksgiving
turkey?

• Describe
a
new
type
of
watch

o Cute
puppies
that
bark
every
time
15
minutes
go
by?
Would
it
have
only
two

times:
coffee
and
wine?

• Groups
of
participants
receive
a
person,
two
locations,
and
an
object
and
tell
a
story

about
their
day.

• Create
a
retreat
on
the
top
of
a
mountain
with
all
the
features
you
would
want
in

your
utopia?

o A
tree
with
chocolate
and
money
leaves?
A
treadmill
that
burned
calories

without
having
to
use
it?

• How
would
you
solve
a
huge
topic
(such
as
world
hunger)
with
a
random
object
in

the
office?

• Make
as
many
sentences
as
you
can
with
a
4
letter
word
such
as
SCAM,
HATS,
BALL

• What
would
an
activity
(ex.
getting
dressed,
driving
to
work,
cooking
dinner)
be
like

in
the
year
2095?

• Participants
write
down
an
object
that
begins
with
the
first
letter
of
their
last
name,

they
hold
it
up
for
everyone
to
see,
and
need
to
pair
with
another
word
to
create
a

new
invention
or
solve
a
problem.

o Ex.
Google
Pens:
Pens
that
look
up
information
and
write
it
onto
a
paper.

Kangaroo
Hammock:
a
hammock
for
the
fatigued
kangaroos
at
the
zoo.

• Think
of
a
new
name
for
common
objects

o Ex.
Rainbow=
painted
sky,
mountain:
pointed
plains

• Draw
or
describe
if
an
object
in
the
office
came
to
life

o Recycling
bin
that
yells
when
you
don’t
recycle,
coffee
pot
that
gives
pep
talks

• If
you
could
have
a
superpower
that
fixed
an
everyday
problem
what
would
it
be?

o Ex.
Always
Makes
the
Green
Light
Woman,
Never
Run
Out
of
Milk
Man

• Pass
a
mundane
object
around
the
room
and
have
each
person
try
to
creatively
sell

it
in
only
a
few
sentences

• Divide
into
teams
and
build
a
tower
with
paper
and
tape

Related
to
the
topic

• Describe
the
product
if
it
were
a
person.
Where
would
it
live?
Shop?
Work?
Eat?

What
would
it
wear?
What
would
it
do
in
its
free
time?

• Partnership:
if
the
two
companies
were
going
on
a
dream
date,
what
would
they
do?

Wear?
Talk
about?

14
• Just
by
reading
the
goal,
what
is
the
weirdest
idea
you
can
come
up
with.

o Ex.
Take
every
Ram
dealer
to
the
moon
to
play
baseball
and
have
a
live
band

perform
while
puppies
serve
everyone
freeze
dried
ice
cream

• Write
down
every
word
that
comes
to
mind
when
you
think
of
the
client

• One
person
gives
a
solution
to
a
problem
and
each
person
in
the
circle
adds
on
to
it

in
order
of
how
they
are
sitting.
Once
you
get
to
the
first
person
again,
another

person
gives
a
solution
and
everyone
adds
on.

• If
this
client/product
was
a
person
or
trend
in
pop
culture,
what
would
it
be?

• Plan
the
perfect
party
for
the
target
audience,
do
not
restrict
yourself
to
reality

• If
the
client/challenge/product/target
audience
was
a
fruit,
vegetable,
Italian
dish,

dessert,
breakfast
food
what
would
it
be?

**To
find
additional
creative
exercises,
simply
Google
“creative
exercises
or
ice

breakers
for
brainstorms”

Guide to Brainstorming(public)

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