How to judge creative ideas effectively

Look at an ad you love as a consumer. Now ask yourself, would you ever buy it as a client?

Everyone loves new, fresh ideas. In marketing, creative ideas are what get products noticed. They sell. There is a?very?solid business case for creativity.

And yet, the overwhelming number of ideas consumers see are are, at best, mundane. They blend in. If we notice them, it's because they're god awful.

How does this happen?

There's no shortage of creative thinking. On any given day, plenty of great ideas are generated.

But the majority of these ideas die when they're?evaluated.

This happens because creativity, unlike bookkeeping, can't be easily quantified. You can't scan from the top of the creative spreadsheet to the bottom and say 'Yup, that checks out - let's go for it.'

So judgement comes down to personal preference. An idea will live because a client?felt?it was?great. And an idea will die because another client?felt?it wasn't?great.

There?is?a way to judge creative ideas effectively. I've worked at enough agencies that sold a disproportionate amount of great work to know. Like accounting, there are objective (well,?more?objective) standards that make evaluating creative ideas much more effective. They are:

• Evaluate more than one idea,
• Know the problem the idea is solving,
• Confirm the idea is easy to 'get',
• Find the idea that is novel, and
• Assess whether that idea 'sticks'.

Evaluate more than one idea

In 30 years of developing and selling creativity, I have never presented a?single?idea. There is?always?more than one way to solve a problem, and creative thinkers thrive when they're allowed to come up with multiple, lateral solutions (if you're fuzzy on what?lateral?means, check out Edward De Bono's groundbreaking book?Lateral Thinking).

On the other side of the table, clients need to see different approaches to evaluate which approach best solves the problem.

This does not mean the creative thinkers should just present every scrap of paper they scribbled on. Effective presentation of multiple ideas is an art form unto itself. I'd be happy to take you through my methodology - you can book me here.

Know the problem the idea is solving

An idea is only great if it answers a tight, clear brief. Without a brief, the people generating (and judging) the ideas are wandering in the dark. They may hit something good - or they may just fall in a ravine.

A great brief answers all the tough questions, and forces everyone involved in the project to come to a meeting of minds before getting creative. These questions include:

• What business problem are we trying to solve?
• Who is having this problem?
• What's the best way to help them solve it?
• What could we do or make?
• What would make people share it?
• How can they participate in the experience?
• What's the context for engagement?

If you'd like to get a deeper understanding of creative briefs and how to use them effectively,?check out this story.

Confirm the idea is easy to 'get'

I champion a process for evaluating creativity called?peer review.

This process begins with the creatives hanging their concepts on the wall in the roughest form possible - ideally a sharpie sketch on a piece of paper. In this way, the ideas will be judged in their most basic form - no cheating with adornment!

Next step is bringing in people with no connection to the project, and showing them the scribbles with no introduction.

Is there an idea they 'get' without having it explained to them? That's probably worth taking to the next round.

Find the idea that is novel

Once you've landed on a few ideas that are self-explanatory, you need to find the ones that sparkle.

This is all about creativity built on discipline. Arriving at a conclusion that both makes perfect sense, and feels like nothing you've ever seen before.

Assess whether that idea 'sticks'

By this point, you've probably thinned the herd significantly. There may be two or three ideas that have made the final cut.

Now it's time to turn your back on them for a day or two. Which ones stick in your brain? Which come back to make you smile? Which headlines can you recite, which visuals would you like to hang on the wall?

Is your team going through this process? Are they involving you?

If you're a client, you can bring this process to the creative thinkers working on your business. Even better, you can ask them to involve you in the process.

If the steps above are being followed, there will be an element of objectivity that ensures the best ideas?do?see the light of day, regardless who is evaluating them.

Getting better work is about putting a framework in place that enables defence of ideas without sinking to the subjectivity of 'I like this'?or?'I hate that'.

I hope these tips deliver the goods for you.

If you enjoyed this story, please forward it to a colleague who might enjoy it.

Need help evaluating ideas? Let's talk.

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Marc Stoiber Enterprises, 312 Irving Road, Victoria, British Columbia V8S4A2, Canada