What do you do if you're struggling to brainstorm creative brand ideas?

Facing a creative block? It happens to the best of us. When the well of ideas seems dry, and innovation feels elusive, remember this: inspiration lies beyond the familiar. 1. Relax and Breathe: 2. Clear the Mental Clutter 3. Embrace Distractions 4. Look Beyond Your Industry Remember, creativity isn’t confined to boardrooms or brainstorming sessions. It’s a dance between curiosity and courage. So, step outside your comfort zone, seek inspiration in unexpected places, and let your imagination soar. 🚀✨

I have two ideas that work well for me. The first is reading newsletters like Ad Age or Marketing Brew to get inspiration from what other brands are doing. The second is to review case studies of successful campaigns. Then I reconfigure this information to meet the specific goals of my clients.

One interesting technique I have used in the past to great effect is Picture Storming. Go through magazines / newspapers and tear out pictures you think are relevant to the task in hand. Get everyones input and assemble the pictures into groups of similar images. You would be amazed at the inspiration and insight this technique brings to help provide solutions

When short of ideas, go for a walk, talk to friends, family and relax. The best ideas in my experience come from kids. So spend quality time with them and check how they would respond in particular situations. You will be amazed by their responses. Trust me the new generation is much more aware and have brilliant thinking capacities as compared to what we were at their age.

Sometimes all it takes is a simple change of scenery to get those creative juices flowing. Reading books and watching movies are great ways to stimulate your imagination. Try reading between the lines and interpreting the scenes in your own way. Another great option is to go for a walk and observe the world around you. Pay attention to people's body language, conversations, and how they interact with their surroundings. Ideas come to those who are present in the moment, not lost in their own thoughts.

I have found that spending time with customers and consumers, observing them buy/use the brand (when possible), getting to know them and their needs more intimately can be very beneficial in jump starting creative ideas around a brand. Also, spending time on the factory floor or with development teams can be hugely inspirational. I have stumbled upon amazing new insights observing consumers serving and drinking tea in tiny sidewalk coffee shops in the streets of Cairo, and preparing tea cups with different blends with Tea Tasters in the Lipton Jebel Ali factory. Nothing beats the thrill of immersing yourself in genuine Brand experience.

Your ideas are just as good as your experiences. Our brains have a way of continuously picking up information from our surroundings. We mess up when we start focusing too much on the “ work” part of it and that’s when our brain reaches a creative block. When you feel this is happening- go for a walk, listen to a new album, see some art or just talk to a friend. Ideas are free flowing they’ll come and go, you can’t force and idea or control when you’ll reach the eureka moment! But what you can control is what you’re exposing yourself to. So don’t hyper focus on the task at hand, just go with the flow.

An interesting input by an actor for upcomers was to study the role of the Oscar winning actors to see what worked for the top performances of the year. Seeking inspiration for what has worked for others is a great start. Awarded creatives will give you inspiration and methodologies of what is working in the real world. What you add as a value when you create art is what will distinguish you from the mass.

The first thing to do here is to change the narrative - change your environment completely. By that I mean, when you're trying to be creative, you can't do it in a board room, in company attire, writing in the same notebook in the same way. Stop what you're doing, do something creative for a bit. If working alone, I use my guitar to just play some nonsense (completely unstructured) just to change my thinking. If in a group, I prefer to get outside somehow, maybe some sort of unstructured event that requires little thought, and then bang around ideas. If they survive to the next day, you're on your way and have your start.

To me, this has been the significant most important aspect While, the saying "Too many Cooks spoil the Broth" holds, but a balanced approach and Process of receiving, verifying and classifying inputs from multiple stakeholders, cross functional departments is quite important and can surprise with many valuable quality inputs

If struggling to brainstorm creative brand ideas, try these strategies: 1. Collaborate with team members for diverse perspectives. 2. Research competitor strategies and industry trends for inspiration. 3. Engage in activities like mind mapping or mood boards to stimulate creativity. 4. Take breaks and revisit ideas with a fresh perspective. 5. Seek feedback from trusted peers or mentors. 6. Experiment with brainstorming techniques like reverse thinking or lateral thinking. 7. Embrace experimentation and don't be afraid to explore unconventional ideas. If anything mentioned above don't works, do what gives you mental peace, like I do solo traveling. It will re-energise your mental well-being to rejuvenate to rethink creatively.

One thing I have found helpful in brainstorming creative brand ideas is to foster a collaborative environment where diverse perspectives are encouraged. Start by defining clear objectives and constraints, then leverage techniques like mind mapping, reverse thinking, and role-playing to stimulate creativity. Engage team members from different departments and backgrounds to bring fresh insights and ideas to the table. Additionally, draw inspiration from outside sources such as industry trends, customer feedback, and competitor analysis. By fostering a culture of creativity and embracing experimentation, you can unlock innovative solutions that resonate with your audience and differentiate your brand.

Speaking with others can give you valuable insights and perspectives you may have never even considered. Going outside of your normal box can be a true game changer and turn around the future of your entire business.

Contrary to initial impressions, embracing constraints can be a powerful tool to unlock creative potential in brand development. Rather than feeling stifled by limitations, established parameters provide a clear framework and focus for brainstorming. This defined scope eliminates the paralysis of infinite possibilities, allowing brand builders to channel their energy into exploring the specific boundaries set. Furthermore, constraints can foster resourcefulness and innovation. Limited resources necessitate creative problem-solving, pushing teams to develop unique solutions using readily available tools.

As others have said embracing constraints can be powerful and useful. And a logical extension to that is to play a quick game around the anti-problem: ask teams to make the process, experience or situation much harder than it already is. By taking the pressure off to solve the problem, you'll create some great discussion and fun that provides new angles on the current challenge.

It’s a sign that you are probably - thinking more and acting less - consuming more and producing less So I would do this - forget about “creative ideas” - pick an idea (whatever is on the top of my mind or have my interest) - execute / take action on it - pause & reflect - take more action or pick the next idea Action usually gets my creative juices flowing ❤️

One of the bigger mistakes most of us do is missing to look within our work or things we have already done. Sometimes it’s not necessary or even not possible to bring new ideas or being creative on every project, minor tweaks or iterations in the ideas which were successfully implemented, is enough to be creative. Even to do that you need to put all your creative juice and collaborations to deliver the end result.

"There are no bad ideas during a brainstorm." Divest yourself of the mindset that the only ideas you talk about, write about, or sketch out are what you perceive to be the good ideas. Put the garbage out there too. Sometimes what initially sounds silly or ridiculous gets better with age. Sometimes that gem of an idea you had turns into something awful. Don't keep your ideas locked in an iron maiden. Let them all out. Then, once you've put all those good and bad ideas out in the universe, go down the list and weed out the bad, elevating the good.

Reach out to the prospective customers and get their feedback. Then correlates and get a idea with a solution of what the customer is looking for .

The famous Quote from Rumi "What you seek is seeking you" Can come true in the most unexpected places, environments and surroundings Sometimes to disconnect, to take a break and to disengage, can actually a world of wonders to thinking process and help in cleaning the brain fog sometimes that develops

When brainstorming creative ideas, try changing your environment, taking a break, collaborating with others, or using techniques like mind mapping or free association to stimulate your creativity Another effective technique is to immerse yourself in diverse sources of inspiration, such as books, art, music, nature, or even travel. Additionally, practicing mindfulness or meditation can help clear your mind and enhance creativity.

Just Simple... Take a break... Start again. Gather more insights... Deep thinking... And Again Takeaway break ...And Start all over again

As simple as it may sound, a very well spent break away from the full project does the trick. Once done, a fresh mind will start exposing new ideas and will be more capable of effectively brainstorming.

Just let it go! You'll get it when you get it. Force creativity doesn't work. Sometime things comes in unexpected circumstances. Just make sure you grab on to that and don't let that slide away.

Picture where you want your brand to be in the future. Then, work backward to figure out how to get there. This helps spark creative ideas that are focused and help achieve your brand's goals."

The best creative minds have always created ideas which are focused and centric to the main idea/theme/product/service. Being creative is an open page and easy to deviate. Sticking to the essence or the story we want to communicate or deliver will generate the best of results

For me, the part of the question I'm most drawn to explore is the source of the "struggling". What's creating this resistance? Is it something practical - you don't have the equipment you need, you're in the wrong place? Is it physiological - perhaps you're tired, hungry, anxious about something else? Maybe it's emotional - you're feeling overwhelmed, on your own with this task? Or maybe it's more intuitive, and the ideas aren't flowing because on a fundamental level you're struggling with the premise of the problem you're tasked with resolving through your creative work. Be curious about what's blocking you, and be open to loosening up, doing things differently, and prioritising your human needs in this seemingly intellectual space.

Gather inspiration from diverse sources such as industry trends, competitor analysis, and consumer insights. Encourage collaboration by hosting brainstorming sessions with team members or seeking input from external partners. Take breaks to refresh your mind and explore new perspectives. Experiment with different brainstorming techniques like mind mapping or role-playing. Set specific goals and constraints to focus your brainstorming efforts. Don't be afraid to revisit and iterate on ideas until you find the right fit. Try these, you can overcome creative blocks and generate innovative brand ideas that resonate with your audience.

To start with apply the Six thinking hats principle. Think of the role and express all you can think and answer with that hat on. This can be a great start to put all thoughts together at one place and then go ahead via selection or elimination process

After the brain storming between the sane team we have to involve minimum three to four potential customers groups with specific criteria that's will help us to improve creativity

Sometimes all you need is some food for thought. ChatGPT and other AI tools provide these. I wouldn't advise using these exactly as stated in the responses since these may not factor the 'human' quotient as much. But they do help add different perspectives to your thoughts.