The document outlines strategies for creating relevant digital advertising by thinking like inventors and storytellers. It emphasizes the importance of understanding diverse experiences to foster creativity, advocating for solutions rather than traditional ads. Techniques such as divergent thinking, hindsighting, and being interactive with the audience are recommended to enhance idea generation and ensure relevance.

1. How to come up
with digital i e s
d a .
A talk for Melbourne AwardSchool 2012
By Ben Keenan | Clemenger BBDO
Twitter @warmcola

3. T e i t r e i a r l
h n e n t s e evance engine

4. So any advertising idea must
be relevant.

5. And since people don’t like ads.

6. You should try to do
SOLUTIONS not ADS.

7. Think like an
INVENTOR & STORYTELLER.
stolen from @damianroyce

8. A d m n t a i n
e o s r t o
A c l e t v a t o
o l c i e c i n
A c e t v p a f r
r a i e l t o m
A p o e a p
h n p
An i t r c i e v d o
n e a t v i e
A t o
o l
A p o u t
r d c
A g m
a e
A c a a t r
h r c e
A w r d
o l
A v s l s t o
i u i a i n
An e p r e c m n y c n
x e i n e o e a ’t buy
B t....
u

9. Use technology simply.
D n t s m l u e t chnology.
o ’ i p y s e

10. Do s m t in R L V N to the medium.
o e h g E E A T

11. TI I AT A .
HS S V D
TI I ADGT L
HS S II A
EEUINO T E
XC TO F H
SM TOGT
AE HUH

12. B i t r c i e.
e n e a t v

16. Pu t e a d e c i s de the idea.
t h u i n e n i

19. Do a product demonstration.

22. Show, don’t tell.

24. Create a game.

26. Bring data to life.

28. Be useful.

31. Think small.
Not big.
Watch: Rory Sutherland: Sweat the small stuff

34. Create a product.

37. Remember the web is super niche.

38. So make your idea super
RELEVANT
to who you are talking to.

40. So how do you generate
relevant digital ideas?
(Some techniques)

41. An idea is a new
relationship forged
between two or more
existing thoughts.

42. Creativity is just connecting things.
When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel
guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something, it
seemed obvious after a while. That’s because they were able to
connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.
And the reason they were able to do that was that they’d had more
experiences or they have thought more about their
experiences than other people.
Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our
industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have
enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions
without a broad perspective on the problem.
The broader one’s understanding of the human experience,
the better design we will have.
- Steve Jobs.

43. 50 BOXES.
Put down fifty boxes on a page, and fill each with a thought,
an idea, an insight, something that might solve the problem.

44. + +

46. Boxes is
Divergent Thinking
It’s creating choices.
It takes you beyond first thoughts.
It gives you a beginning and an end.
More boxes, more dots.

47. You don’t think up ideas.
You merely recognise them.
Watch: Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity

48. HINDSIGHTING.
Jump six months forward and look back at everything that may
have happened. Calendar events such as Mothers Day, football
season, winter weather. What trended, succeeded, failed, become
popular, fell from favour. What might happen?
What are your predictions/hunches?

49. Predictions/Hunches?
We get our music/software off the cloud
International Austerity
Australian TV is awful.
Kony2012 debacle - Selfless acts now selfish acts?
The personal information gap?
Bookstores/record stores dying off.
Myki system is going to make Melbourne riot.
News media is competing with social media.
Tweeting & TV are now normal.
You can now buy 3D printers for home.

51. Hindsighting
How can you make the problem you are trying
to solve relevant to what is going on around you?
Start conversations, instead of making statements.

54. Make decisions*
____________________
Convergent thinking
*The simplest solution is the best solution

55. Be objective.
Don’t take criticism
personally.
Remember,we recognise
ideas, they are never
‘ours’to begin with.

56. A Summary
The internet is a relevance engine.
SOLUTIONS not ADS.
Be part INVENTOR part STORYTELLER.
Be relevant to the medium.
Be relevant to the audience.
Be interactive
Put the audience inside the idea.
Show don’t tell.
Be useful.
Think small. Not big.

57. Closing Thought.
Everything I have just
said may not be relevant
in week’s time.

58. This is the idea we came up with for the NBCF (from the 50 boxes example).
A tribute idea with an online group donation mechanic. Can you see the dots we connected?

59. Good Luck.
You can download this talk in the blog bit of...
www.thethoughtpolice.com.au
Follow me on twitter here:
www.twitter.com/warmcola