Key takeaways from Original Thinker, Jayne Andrews

Key takeaways from Original Thinker, Jayne Andrews

Can AI generate truly original ideas, where do the best ideas come from and what does a truly successful creative idea look like?

In our new podcast series Original Thinking we catch up with some of marketing’s best brains to ask the big questions, from how reinventing a brand helped raise huge investment funding to why standing out from the crowd matters when saving lives.

In Episode 2, we caught up with one of our clients, former Fentimans marketing director Jayne Andrews. We know Jayne LOVES a big fun idea, will always back a wildcard idea if she thinks it will generate earned attention, and has a varied career all over the world to draw on for our chat.

We took three takeaways from Jayne every marketer can use in their daily lives…

1. You know when you see a good idea – back it or bank it!

If you are the brand decision maker and you have an idea presented and you just ‘know’ its really great, you should trust your gut and sign it off immediately. If you don’t and you’re still thinking about it, even years later then make sure you mentally bank it and keep your options open to go back to them. The best creative ideas don’t date.

For agencies…just pitch it! If a client really likes an idea, whilst it’s not always true that they have a secret budget, but they may move budget from one place to another because they really believe in the power of what you’ve presented to them.

2. Ideas are for life, not just for Christmas

Elasticity and longevity are universal across best creative ideas. They can work on a campaign level of course but should evolve across products or seasons if they can be iterated in different ways.

They can work for multiple years if they have legs to grow and change with culture, and the truly great ideas can even translate in multiple markets.

3. Fill your cup so ideas can flow

The trick to generating great ideas starts outside of the office – it requires both rest and something to react to.

Being outdoors for example when walking the dog or running, you’ll find your head empties out of day-to-day rubbish and something will come into your head with more clarity. When your busy you just don’t get the ideas, your brain needs downtime to fire up.

But you also need to fill your cup with things you can react to or be inspired by for an idea to spark. Being tapped into culture and delving into the stories behind other creative works, such as art or music, helps you find new ways of looking at the world.