The idea is to an ad agency, what breathing is to a human being.

The moment you say ‘idea’ in an agency everyone thinks of the creative department. That is natural. But what most people don’t know?is how ideas drive the entire agency business. Not just the creative department. Account managers.?Planners. Media heads.?Film production. Outdoor.?Accounts. Every nook and corner of the agency must breathe ideas. Because anyone can have an idea and it can come from anywhere.?

Imagine this scenario. The Chairman of a client?company briefs the account executive. He wants the agency?to present a 60?cc recruitment ad for the Times Of India, the next day. The agency presents a full-page advertisement instead. Audacious? Yes. Crazy? Yes. Angry client? NO.

The agency had thought through the client’s needs?and created a full page instead. The ad doubled as a corporate ad as well. The ad was helpful to?prospective employees. It not only asked them to apply but also showed?them how to?succeed in the written test and the interview. It guaranteed an appointment letter within 24 hours.?If?they cleared the test and the interview. The client had always done this but never talked about it. It was the agency, which spotted an opportunity here and made a courageous recommendation.?

As the agency team was leaving for the meeting, the media guy had an idea. Make the ad in 45cm X 8 columns instead 54 cm X 8 columns. No other ad could?be placed in the space above the ad - only editorial content could appear. We would get the impact of a full-page without paying the full price. This little extra proved to be the clincher.

I have spent 30 years in the agency business.?I have found out that the agency is truly democratic when it comes to ideas. Winning managers have their antennae up all the time. An idea could pop up in the lift, in the canteen and sometimes… I leave that to your imagination.

Successful agencies go beyond the client brief and think of ideas that make sense for the brand. It is like a veritable idea factory. Ideas that move forward always?do things for the brand. Get visibility. Generate trial. Build loyalty. Build reputation. Whatever.

The idea is the most valuable currency in the agency business. Ideas appear anytime, anywhere to anyone. Staying tuned is the name of the game.

Ideation teaches you to keep looking. Stay tuned. Pick up?ideas with potential and make them big. Not every idea comes from a formal ideation session. In an agency almost every conversation is like an ideation session.?

You keep hearing the wackiest of ideas with a prefix.?“What if..”.?“Why not..”.?“Suppose…”.?“If only..”.?“Just imagine…”.?These prefixes give everyone a license to think of the most bizarre possibilities.

And it is not enough if you had a great idea. You have to have a plan?of how you are going to pitch it to the decision-maker and get it through.

Ideation in the agency is about the ability to think of an idea at the press of a button. Almost. Ideation is also the ability to get up before the count of 10 and think of new ideas if your idea is rejected.

It is a different world out there.?