Ways to be creative Bill Hunt Public Relations

Ways to be Creative
Bill Hunt Public Relations

Ways to be Creative
First comes strategy, then comes creativity
• This presentation is intended as a guide to coming up with ideas
following the formation of the overarching strategy – here’s a quick
reminder of what constitutes strategy…
• Strategy is the art/science of formulating, implementing and
evaluating cross-functional decisions that enable an organisation to
achieve its objectives
• A strategy is your plan for how you will get from A to B - how you will
achieve the OBJECTIVES
• From forming your strategy you are then in a position to come up
with a ‘creative platform’ out of which comes your ideas…

• What is creativity?
• Some myths debunked
• The creative process
• Brainstorming
• Green light thinking
• Red light thinking
• Obstacles to creativity
A taste of things to come
Ways to be Creative

• A term widely used – and abused.. often easier to detect than define…
• As an individual talent
• As a process
• As a product
• As recognition by others
• Arthur Koestler (in 1964) defined it as “two disconnected notions
accidentally coming together”
• “Disconnected notions” may be the raw material of creating ideas, but it
does not automatically equate with generating “creative ideas”…
What is creativity?
Ways to be Creative

What is more creative?
Ways to be Creative

• It could be argued both are equally creative, because they each offer added
value in their respective tasks
• Professor Morris Stein: “creativity is a process that results in novelty which is
accepted as useful, tenable, or satisfying by a significant group of others at
some point in time”
• When faced with the task of ‘being creative’, we are in a world that is constantly
changing (think digital media, guerrilla marketing, iPhone apps, etc)
Defining creativity
Ways to be Creative

• PR work creates or manages change. A working definition must
therefore contain some form of process and end product
“Creativity is the ability each of us has to create something new by
bringing together two or more different elements in a new context,
in order to provide value to a task.”
“A creative task consists of not only originating but also evaluating
the added value it contributes. It is not novelty for its own sake, but
it must produce some form of value that can be recognised by a
third party.”
A definition for the PR practitioner
Ways to be Creative

• In public relations, we don’t have completely ‘free reign’ – the
creative platform / tactic must not compromise the brand or
organisation values
• We all have a level of ‘creativity’ within us
• Creativity vs innovation:
“Creativity is the thinking process that helps us generate ideas.
Innovation is the practical application of such ideas towards
meeting the organisation’s objectives in a more effective way.”
Professor Simon Majaro, Cranfield School of Management
A context for creativity
Ways to be Creative

• Creativity is an incremental process – the Instant Big Idea does not
exist
• The myth of the left-brain / right brain theory
• …but this does help us to categorise:
• Convergent thinking – the intellectual ability to logically
evaluate, criticise and choose the best idea
• Divergent thinking – the ability to think of many original, diverse
and elaborate ideas
• The myth of ‘lateral thinking’ = creativity – it is the not the same as,
or sum of creative thinking, rather a useful tool
Some myths debunked
Ways to be Creative

“What I propose to you is the result of a long time
pondering.. this has brought me to the conclusion that
the production of ideas is just as definite a process as
the production of Fords; that the production of ideas,
too runs on an assembly line; that in this production
the mind follows an operative technique which can be
learned and controlled”.
James Webb Young, A Technique for Producing
Ideas
Incubation
The Creative Process

• Information
• Incubation
• Illumination
• Integration
• Illustration
The Five ‘I’s of the creative process

• There are two elements to this stage of the process:
• Posing the right questions
• Restate the problem in as many ways as you can
• Challenge any assumptions you have made about the
problem
• …this helps you to define the paradigm you face
• And gathering the relevant information to assist with the task in
hand
• Gather information related to the client and market from as
many sources as possible
• Consume as much media as possible to know what is current
Information

“Having by a time of very intense
concentration planted the
problem in my subconscious, it
would germinate underground,
until suddenly, the solution
emerges with blinding clarity,
so that it only remained to
write down what had
happened, as if in a revelation”.
Bertrand Russell, Philosopher
Incubation

• Poincaré defines incubation as ‘simply the facilitation of
problem-solving by the passage of time’
• Incubation is essentially harnessing your subconscious
mind into problem solving
• It occurs at a deep subconscious level, but also when
what is commonly referred to as ‘daydreaming’
• The incubation phase is often neglected (which is why it
pays to send out a brief the day before the brainstorm)
Incubation

• The most famous example of illumination, which has since
become the symbol of scientific discovery is Archimedes cry
of “Eureka!”
• Illumination often consists of seeing two previously
unrelated items and making a link between them for the
task in hand
• Illumination often occurs during times of ‘low cortical
awareness’
• Psychologists have also identified the ‘alpha state’ – the
period while just falling asleep or waking
• Make sure you’re always able to record your ideas
Illumination

• Poincaré highlights a final verification stage, to check out
that the idea actually works
• Ideas are generated while the creator is working in the
integration stage of the creative process
• The integration stage involves using the incremental
nature of the creative process to develop possibly a
completely new creative product
• Eg while writing a press release – you might think of a
useful alliteration or metaphor, and further ideas will
emerge
Integration

• Ideas are often enhanced by the way in which they are presented
• Selling the idea is a critical stage - don’t believe that an idea will
somehow sell itself
• For us working in PR, consider:
• Legitimising the source of the idea
• Timing
• Translating the idea
• Keeping within the brand values
• Presenting within the context of a relationship
Illustration

• There are two
fundamental
approaches in the
selling of an idea that
are often overlooked
• The preferred
Thinking Mode
• And the personality
profile of the decision
maker
Illustration – Translating the idea

Preferred Thinking Modes
• Visual thinking
• People whose thought processes makes pictures in their minds
• Thought to be around 35% of the population
• Auditory thinking
• Used by people who like to listen to the way you say things – the pitch,
the pace and intonation
• Estimated to be 25% of the population
• Kinaesthetic thinking
• People who decide on ‘gut instinct’ or hunches
• Accounts for the remaining 40% of the population

Personality Profiles
• ‘Headline’ types or ‘directors’
• Strong on leadership and control their emotions, likely to
be independent, energetic, assertive and lively
• Like to be in control and making decisions
• ‘Illustration’ types or ‘enthusiasts’
• Strong on leadership but also willing to show emotions
• Can be thought of as competitive, dynamic excitable and
optimistic

Personality Profiles - continued
• ‘Logo’ types or ‘team players’
• Low in leadership skills, but high in showing
emotions
• Likely to be polite, sensitive, accurate and realistic
• ‘Body copy’ types or ‘analysts’
• Low in leadership skills and also control their
emotions
• Perceived as thoughtful, calm, reliable and steady

Effective creativity must not
compromise the brand values
of the organisation or product
To guard against an over-
protective ‘brand guardian’, use
the ‘Inoculation Effect’
By stating a potential negative
to the creative idea at the
outset, you effectively inoculate
the proposals against being
evaluated negatively by the
recipient
Illustration – Keeping within brand values

Green Light Thinking – Creative Techniques

• There is no magic wand for coming up with
ideas, but there are a number of creative
techniques
• These techniques, coupled with a
knowledge and understanding of the five
‘I’s can aid in the creative process
• Rather than trying to learn every
technique, think about the process behind
each one
• Test them out, see which ones you’re
comfortable with using – and which are
effective
Green Light Thinking - Introduction

THE CREATIVE RANGE
Safe Bet Option Extreme
Option
• You are not looking for the elusive ‘Big Ideas’, but rather
small ideas to fit within the Creative Range
• This also helps to suspend judgement because you are not
automatically screening every idea, but merely filling in the
Creative Range
Green Light Thinking – 1. Establish the Creative Range

Work backwards from the future
• Visualise the end objective and work backwards from that point
Create an imaginary person
• Possibly based on someone in real life, and ask ‘what would they think about this?’
Snakes and ladders
• Uses the incremental nature of creativity to quickly establish an overview of a
situation identifying strengths and weaknesses
Using a metaphor
• People can be persuaded to look at something very familiar in a new way by the
metaphor technique
Green Light Thinking

Lack of brand
awareness
Personality
of MD
Lack of brand
credibility
Interesting photography
Competitor activity
Media
apathy
Forthcoming events /
exhibitions
News value of story
Limited budget
Green Light Thinking – The Snakes & Ladders Technique
Credit: Andy Green CIPR, Creativity in Public Relations Fourth Edition, Kogan Page
To read more about this technique in context, please click here

Forced combinations
• The Matrix Technique can help practitioners generate 36 ideas in 36
seconds. This can be extended even further by combining elements (see
over)
Random word technique
• Good to use by yourself or in small groups. Very quickly generates a
range of new connections leading to either specific ideas or suggestions
The checklist (SCAMPER) technique
• Alex Osborn, a pioneer of creative thinking, used a checklist of ‘change’
words to compare with the situation at hand

Ceremonies Celebrities Location Message
Tape-cutting Mayor Front of building New era for company
Tree planting Sports celebrity Top of building No change for company
Plaque unveiling Managing Director In foyer Landmark for company
Gift Oldest employee Unusual part of building Celebration of success
Handshake Child In front of city landmark Commitment to customer, etc
Prop Showbiz celebrity In front of company sign New products
Green Light Thinking – An example of forced combinations

• Substitute
• Combine
• Adapt
• Modify (make bigger /
smaller)
• Put to other uses
• Eliminate
• Reverse
Green Light Thinking – The SCAMPER Technique

The focusing Method
• In contrast to the ‘Creative Range’, this method involves concentrating
on the one key element within the situation we are working with
Attribute Listing
• A great technique for ensuring all possible aspects of problem are
examined – it breaks the problem down into smaller and smaller bits
to ensure all possible aspects of a problem are examined
Paradigm Busting
• A method to avoid being ‘bound’ by certain assumptions in our
analysis

Components
Medium
Print quality
Images
Photographs’ subject
matter
Financial information
Binding
Existing attributes
Print
Full colour
Throughout
Photographs
Board members,
site locations
Stock Exchange
minimum
Information
Stapled, stitched
Potential ideas
Internet, audio, video, etc
Printing in black & white, company colours,
etc
Line drawings, computer-generated imagery,
etc
Products in use, customers, etc
Breakdown of costs of key products, etc
Bound with ribbons, metal bolts in hole-
punched pages, etc
Green Light Thinking: Attribute Listing for an Annual Report

• Although we rely on many methods of communication in
everyday life, in problem-solving situations, we too often
rely too heavily on one approach
• So try using different types of communication
• Visually
• Verbally
• Numerically
• Sequentially
• Conceptually
• Emotionally
Green Light Thinking: Paradigm Busting

Using Six Hats
• Edward de Bono developed the ‘Six Hats’
method, designed to break down the
thought process into structured stages:
• Information gathering
• Idea generation
• and Critical evaluation
• Each stage is marked by a different coloured
‘hat’. Pictured here as six windows.
Green Light Thinking: Providing a structure to idea generation

At the outset, focuses on the information needs
Represents fire & warmth of feelings. Think of any emotions,
intuitions and feelings about the task & express them
The stage for caution, risk assessment and criticism, where the
emphasis is on what can go wrong
Characterised by a logical, positive look at the task and looking
in parallel for benefits and values
Judgement is suspended and the new creative effort is focused on
the search for alternatives and new ideas
The ‘blue sky’ stage, which aims to establish an overview and seeks
to orchestrate the thinking process
Green Light Thinking: Edward de Bono’s Six Hats
WHITE
HAT
RED
HAT
GREY
HAT
YELLOW
HAT
GREEN
HAT
BLUE
HAT

Mind Mapping
• 1. Start with a drawing to act as a central image (and use a selection
of colours)
• 2. From the original central image, order your thoughts so that they
radiate out in sequence of their importance Highlight keyword in
capital letters
• 3. Highlight the importance of key thoughts with the thickness of
lines
• 4. Show further connections between your thoughts be connecting
lines to each other, linking and associating ideas with loops and
arrows. Use happy and sad faces for positive & negative points
• 5. Help your memory by using graphic elements or words relating
to the senses where possible
Green Light Thinking: Mind Mapping

Copyright: Paul Foreman
mindmapinspiration.com

• An idea is a ‘new combination’ which establishes a
relationship between two apparently unconnected
facts
• The ability to make new combinations is
heightened by an ability to see relationships
• He then outlines a process similar to the 5 ‘I’s:
• 1. Gathering raw material – specific & general
• 2. The mental digestive process
• 3. Drop the subject and put it out of your mind
• 4. “The idea will appear…”
• 5. The cold, gray dawn of the morning after
James Webb Young: A Technique for Producing Ideas

The Disney Strategy
• A technique inspired by Walt Disney also uses a set of distinct
stages to encourage creativity
• ‘Dreamer’ stage: visualise a place in front of you to step into
– you are free to create without any restraints
• ‘Realist’ stage: choose a different place, sift the dreams,
organise them and act upon them
• ‘Critic’ stage: select a place to be a critic, or to evaluate
• Now you have created three places, or states of mind, as
‘anchors’ for a particular thought process, and you can visit and
revisit all three places at any time
Techniques for Encouraging a Creative State of Mind

• After 40 minutes or so in a meeting, simply get everyone
to stand up, and do anything different
• Can include just looking out the window, playing with
Lego, swapping seats, swapping gossip about next-door
neighbours, etc
• Some great writers testify to the merits of giving yourself a
break and a change of activity – from going out for a walk,
relaxing in a bath, watching a bull terrier frolic in the
snow, to taking exercise
• This allows for an Incubation Rest or low-cortical-
awareness break, during which further illuminations are
likely to emerge
Stand up, Incubation Rest, low-cortical awareness break

Green Light Thinking: Brainstorming

• The word brainstorming is often used as an umbrella term to
describe the process of ‘being creative’
• Here it is used to describe a formal group technique to generate new
ideas
• Pioneered by Alex Osborn in the 1950s in his book Applied
Imagination, he suggested it should follow two principles –
• The deferment of judgement and
• Generating quantity of ideas breeding quality
“We tried brainstorming once, but nothing came from it. All we got
was a lot of far-out ideas.”
A not uncommon response to a suggestion for a brainstorming session
Green Light Thinking: Brainstorming

• Brainstormers are placed in an informal setting
• Brainstormers are encouraged to run wildly intellectually
• No one should criticize any one else’s idea
• The more unusual or crazy the idea the better
• The more suggestions the better
• Ideas can be combined and recombined
• All brainstormers views are sought
• All brainstormers are of equal status
• The process of generating ideas should be separate from the
process of evaluation
Green Light Thinking: Brainstorming – Osborn’s Rules

• Process needs someone who ‘owns’ the problem, wants to solve it,
and can do something about it
• Can be a self-indulgent waste of time if the session tackles the wrong
kind of problem or is unstructured
• Some participants tend to be ‘wall-flowers’, while other ‘talkers’ can
completely dominate the process
• Pressures to conform, deference and organisational politics can
influence the extent that people take part
• Despite the ‘rule’ of avoiding negativity, ideas are often evaluated,
with discussion switching to arguing the case rather than looking for
new insights
Green Light Thinking: Brainstorming – Potential Issues

A senior manager analyses the brief
• Situation: describe task & put it into context, with the key outcome stated as
clearly as possible
• Problems: raised by the brief that need solving
• Objectives: Identify any new issues & add to if needed
• Audiences: all groups you need to reach – you can be creative by extending
the target groups or being more specific & targeted
• Messages: Include ones & the brief & think creatively about any you can add
• Channels: communication routes to your audiences
• Resources: As well as the budget outlined, is there additional funds for extra
creative ideas?
• Threats: competitive activity, environmental developments, consequences of
inactivity
Green Light Thinking: A New Way: Structured Brainstorming

• Opportunities: specific events or topical issues that can be used to
advantage (adding value by linking to it):
• seasonality – winter / spring / summer / autumn
• events – theme weeks, days, sports or political events,
commemorations, exhibitions, etc
• topicality – film, television, arts or fashion
• VIPs – visits, endorsements or links with an organisation
• the local area – cultural strengths / weaknesses
• Programme: distill strategy & ideas into a coherent campaign
• Evaluation: Think up benchmarks and measures, working creatively
• Illustration: What ideas will help to sell the programme?

Criteria are established
• Use Red Light Thinking to establish criteria for evaluating ideas
An initial plan is devised
• Draft proposal for action, if you need more ideas, circulate to colleagues
before the brainstorming session. They should read asap so as to capitalize
on their incubation of ideas

Brainstorming session
• Only at this stage should a brainstorming session be prepared for.
Grab a flipchart, coloured pens and a set of post-it notes or cards
• Appoint a ‘cheerleader’ and ‘scribe’, the cheerleader encouraging
outrageous ideas, and the scribe (or recording device) recording
them
• Use Green Light Thinking to generate ideas, allocating a set amount
of time to each section of the draft PR proposal
• Work through each section described in stage no.1

Brainstorming session / continued
• If there are enough people, split them up into groups to tackle specific
issues – working independently encourages competitiveness
• At the outset, set a strict time limit, and stick to it – Andy Green advises
on 25 minutes for an optimum brainstorming session
The next day…
• The coordinator follows up with all participants to gather any further
ideas – again capitalising on the incubation stage. The brainstorming
session invariably stimulates new thoughts and ideas after the session

Red Light Thinking
• The next stage is judging and evaluating the ideas. Place the criteria
(established in stage no.2) alongside the ideas noted. Rather than
subjectively evaluating individual ideas, the criteria help to introduce an
objective appraisal
Establish the plan
• Using your strategy, and the relevant ideas, begin to establish the
programme. Give everyone who took part in the brainstorm a copy for their
feedback

Gain acceptance
• The illustration stage of the creative process is brought into play as
it vital to gain acceptance from those you need to sell the plan to

• The Nominal Group Technique (from
the IPR Mind Link)
• Stage One: Generate Ideas
• Stage Two: Share Ideas
• Stage Three: Clarify and develop the
ideas
• Stage Four: Select the best idea
• Stage Five: Check the decision
• Stage Six: Confirm / modify the
decisions
Green Light Thinking: An Aside – The Nominal Group Technique

• The ‘spectrum of memorability’ –
‘Kidney Heist’ vs unveiling of a
company strategy
• The six principles of ‘sticky ideas
1. Simplicity
2. Unexpectedness
3. Concreteness
4. Credibility
5. Emotions
6. Stories
Ideas that are ‘Made to Stick’

Red Light Thinking: Evaluating Ideas

• Evaluation of the ideas is often the most critical part
• Green Light Thinking is based on creation, being
uninhibited in thought and stressing the positive
• Red Light Thinking emphasizes judgement, reason,
evaluation and where things may or may not work
• Red Light Thinking focuses on what makes an idea
viable, robust from potential criticism and able to survive
in order to do justice to the quality of the original idea
• Red Light Thinking also prevents subjective judgements
of ideas (“I like that one”, “I don’t like that one”…)
Red Light Thinking: An Introduction

Screening Method 1
• Is the idea compatible with the brand values?
• Is the idea compatible with the PR objectives and
strategy?
• Is it legal?
• Can it be developed within a realistic budget and
timescales?
• Is it likely to provide added value?
• Are the commitments and risks acceptable?
• Does the idea have novelty or has it been used before?
Red Light Thinking: Formal Evaluation Methods

Screening Method 2
• Realistic ideas or themes that can be put into action
immediately
• Intriguing ideas that are still embryonic but that have
potential as a starting point for thinking about at a
later stage
• No-hopers

Second Stage Screening
• More detailed screening is possible
• Rate the ideas against a specific range of objectives such
as ability to promote a certain message
• The criteria should be divided between ‘Essential’ and
‘Desirable’
• rate the elements 1-10 under ‘Essential’ and ‘Desirable’
• From these figures, it is possible to establish a scoring
system for the ideas and come up with a solution based on
the highest score

• Divide a sheet of paper into two columns with the word
‘Pro’ at the head of one column and ‘Con’ heading the
other
“..I put down under the different heads short hints that at
different times occur to me, for or against the measure. I
endeavor to estimate their respective weights; and
where I find two (one on each side) that seem equal, I
strike them both out … Thus proceeding, I find at length
where the balance lies…I come to decision accordingly.”
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin’s ‘Prudential Algebra’ Technique

• Ask a member of your target audience
their opinion
• Run ideas past a journalist
• Consider who you can develop a ‘beta test’
relationship with
• Formal external groups representing
members of the target audience
• YOU decide
Red Light Thinking: External Evaluation

• The nature of the problem
• Poor Green Light Thinking in the creative process
• Overcoming the fear of looking foolish
• An intolerance of ambiguity
• A preference for judging ideas rather than generating them
• A belief that we are not creative
• Use of poor creative problem-solving techniques
• Stress
• Laziness or lack of effort
• Habit (the ‘we’ve always done it this way’ syndrome)
• A functional fixation
• The ‘early bird’ syndrome
Obstacles to Creativity
Obstacles to Idea Generation

• Poor Red Light Thinking in the creative process
• Confirmation bias
• Lack of motivation
• Following the rules excessively
• A focus on the downside rather than the quality of an idea
• An overreliance on logic
• Lack of consultation
• Excessive reliance on external resources
• Emphasis on doing rather than thinking
• Being critical or negative
• The insecurities of the expert
• Poor management of the creative process
Obstacles to Creativity

Stage in Creative Process Potential Obstacles
Information - Insufficient information to provide raw material of elements to combine and recombine.
Failure to define the problem in an ill-structured situation.
Incubation - Not enough time for incubation.
Illumination - Poor Green Light thinking skills.
- Failure to recognise and record illuminations.
Integration - Poor Red Light thinking skills in sifting ideas, analysing their qualities and identifying their added
value.
- Poor technical and professional skills, which can hamper translation of ideas into reality.
- The context may be inappropriate for the idea – an idea may be ahead of its time, or overtaken
by events.
- Poor organisational skills, resulting in the quality of the ideas not being matched by the calibre
of the practical application.
Illustration - Poor technical; professional and presentation skills, which can undermine the inherent qualities
of the idea. As a result, the concept may fail to gain necessary approval from decision makers.
Potential Obstacles in the Creative Process

1. Be uncomfortable
- Change your attitude
- Limit the risk
- Reframing
2. Be a pig, a mule, and a Zebedee
3. Have a role model and a positive anchor
4. Overflowing your jug
- Read as many newspapers as possible
- Consume a variety of media
- And enjoy a variety of experiences, people, and perspectives
5. Take your hunches for lunch
The Creative Individual

6. Work, work and work
7. Parlez PR
8. See the paradox of situations
9. Speak the language of the positive
10. Keep clear goals in mind
The Creative Individual

• Having read this presentation, you should be equipped
with:
• A working definition of creativity
• An understanding of the nature of creativity
• An awareness of the creative process and how to
manage it to optimum effect
• Ways of overcoming obstacles that limit your creative
abilities
• A knowledge of Green Light and Red Light thinking
• An appreciation of the ingredients that make up the
‘creative individual’
Summary

I have spent 25 years in public relations,
primarily in large agencies including BCW,
Hill & Knowlton Strategies and HAVAS PR.
I’ve held the position of Creative and / or
Digital Director for HAVAS PR, The Village
PR and Catalysis.
Past ideas include a 7ft drag queen touring
clubs to promote a camera for Nikon, having
Helen Fielding write the intro to a press
release as ‘Bridget Jones’ and sending Bertie
Bassett to Sotheby’s to bid on old box of
Liquorice Allsorts. I also suggested shooting
branded dwarves into the River Thames to
launch a mobile game. That idea went
nowhere.
I now work in the UK as an independent
consultant advising agencies and clients.
About Bill Hunt

Ways to be Creative
A quick note
• I have compiled this presentation having read many books on
the subject, but much of the credit must go to Andy Green, and
his excellent book ‘Creativity in Public Relations’. To get hold
of this PR bible containing all you need to know, please click
here, or here to buy the ebook.
• If I have used your material without attribution, and would like
me to add a reference to your book or article, or publish your
article to accompany this presentation, please get in touch with
me: bill[at]topdogpr.com.

Go make some ideas.
Then join me at topdogpr.com

Ways to be creative Bill Hunt Public Relations

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