Tag Archives: ideas
Head Banging: Listen to Your Characters
In Stephen King’s “On Writing,” the novelist compares writers who map out the plot points of their books to those who observe and follow their characters. Plot points lead to more predictable results, King observes. But breakthroughs happen when you follow your characters or ideas.
This is a common problem for planners and creative alike. We pressure ourselves to develop strategies based on data and insights. But creative brilliance or abject failure comes from following ideas and their development. The solution is the willingness to set strategy aside, and be willing to fail over and over before you succeed. And that’s a test of real character.
Head Banging: Deviation from the Mean
The Bell curve provides an excellent metaphor for why unusual ideas make us uncomfortable…and why they work. That big meaty section at the top of the curve is where all the C ads are clumped. Deviate to the left, and you’ll find the screamers, the juicers and pocket anglers, and to the extreme right are marketers like Target, Apple, and Hebrew National Hotdogs. In idea land, the center is where we naturally expect our advertising to reside. It’s comfortable here. Unfortunately, your customers are very comfy, too. So much so that they’re probably asleep. So if you want buzz, quick awareness, changes in behavior, you better plan on deviating from the mean.