Ideation: How to
go beyond the
first idea
Katy Powell
BOTTLED IMAGINATION
Speakerdeck.com/katyvpow
@katyvpowell
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“WE NEED SOME NEW IDEAS BY TOMORROW”
BrightonSEO
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COMING UP WITH A UNIQUE PR
CAMPAIGN IDEA IS REALLY HARD
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COMING UP WITH A UNIQUE PR
CAMPAIGN IDEA ON DEMAND IS
BASICALLY IMPOSSIBLE
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BrightonSEO
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KATY POWELL
PR DIRECTOR +
CO-FOUNDER
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WE’VE HUNG OUR HAT BEING CREATIVE
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THIS MEANS WE’VE GOT TO GET OUR IDEAS
RIGHT FIRST TIME
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STRATEGY. IDEAS. CREATIVE.
EXECUTION. MEASUREMENT.
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STRATEGY. IDEAS. CREATIVE.
EXECUTION. MEASUREMENT.
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THE SITUATION IN PR WORLD
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CREATIVITY IS BEING STIFLED
LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTRE
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KPIs
MORE
COMPETITION
HARDER CUT
THROUGH
INTERNAL
PRESSURES
WHY?
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I’M A PR I’M GOING TO REVEAL SOME
SHOCKING STATS
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2 HOURS
52% spend less than 2 hours on campaign ideation
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70
%
of PRs feel they don’t have enough time for ideation
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MORE THAN HALF
of PRs don’t have enough support or training with ideation
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70
%
spend more time on campaign execution over
ideation and strategy
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SOLO IDEA GEN BRAINSTORMS
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MORE THAN HALF
of PRs are in brainstorms they don’t work best in
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STRATEGY. IDEAS. CREATIVE.
EXECUTION. MEASUREMENT.
BrightonSEO
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Remember this…
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STRATEGY. IDEAS. CREATIVE.
EXECUTION. MEASUREMENT.
BrightonSEO
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Remember this…
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WHO
SHOULD BE
INVOLVED IN
IDEATION
CAMPAIGN OWNER
Decides on the best idea and protects it throughout
VOICE OF THE CLIENT/BRAND
Know what the client/brand likes and their priority
A CREATIVE
Decides on the best format
EXPERT ON THE TOPIC
Knows what the audience likes
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IDEATION SHOULD BE ONGOING
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Internal
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IDEATION
MORE
KNOWLEDGE
EXECUTION
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CARVE OUT ‘DISTRACTION FREE’ TIME
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AVOID PERFECTION PARALYSIS
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THINK IDEA THEN FORMAT
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BUDGET SHOULDN’T LIMIT CREATIVITY
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LET’S TALK HOW
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SPEND TIME ON RESEARCH
1. Common themes + theme analysis
2. Target publications
3. Audience that you’re talking to
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THEME ANALYSIS
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ON BRAND
OFF BRAND
HIGH PRESS INTEREST
LOW PRESS INTEREST
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ON BRAND
OFF BRAND
HIGH PRESS INTEREST
LOW PRESS INTEREST
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X
The dream for you and your
client/brand but pretty
impossible to be unique.
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ON BRAND
OFF BRAND
HIGH PRESS INTEREST
LOW PRESS INTEREST
BrightonSEO
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X
A more realistic
expectation of
where you want
your ideas to be.
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ON BRAND
OFF BRAND
HIGH PRESS INTEREST
LOW PRESS INTEREST
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X Not a
dealbreaker, just
a challenge.
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YOU’RE A TRAVEL BRAND
LOOKING TO DO SOME PR
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BrightonSEO
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START
ANALYSING
THEMES
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ON BRAND
OFF BRAND
HIGH PRESS INTEREST
LOW PRESS INTEREST
BrightonSEO
Ideation: Thinking beyond the first idea
Best beaches
Honeymoon
destinations
Holiday
disasters
Holiday outfits
Travel tips
TikTok travel
hacks
Skincare on holiday
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WOAH, WE DON’T WANT OFF-BRAND
CAMPAIGNS DO WE?
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THINK ONE OR TWO STEPS REMOVED
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INSTEAD OF
‘HOW TO USE
PROTEIN POWDER’
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IT COULD BE
‘TIKTOK NUTRITIONISTS:
FACT OR FICTION?’
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INSTEAD OF
THE BEST PC
FOR GAMING
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IT COULD BE
THE MOST RE-CREATED
RECIPE FROM THE SIMS
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WHAT DOES YOUR TARGET
PUBLICATION COVER?
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👈
👉
PROTEIN
NUTRITION
DIET
WELLBEING
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PUBLICATION FIRST
👉
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TOPIC FIRST
👉
“NUTRITION”
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THE AUDIENCE YOU’RE REALLY
TALKING TO
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PR CAMPAIGNS ARE GOING TO BE CONSUMED BY YOUR
BRAND’S AUDIENCE
THEY MIGHT NOT BE *THAT* EXCITED ABOUT YOUR CORE
PRODUCT OR OFFERING
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LET’S SAY YOUR BRAND IS IN A NICHE
WITH A PASSIONATE AUDIENCE
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YOU’RE A TRAVEL BRAND, IS YOUR
AUDIENCE REALLY PASSIONATE
ABOUT THE AEROPLANE ITSELF?
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NOT
DESTINATIONS THE INNER WORKINGS OF
AN AEROPLANE
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Introducing…
THE OBVIOUS VS. THE IMAGINATIVE
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THE OBVIOUS:
The Simpsons
The World Cup
Superheroes
BrightonSEO
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THE IMAGINATIVE:
Duff Beer
Retro Kits
Marvel vs DC
👉
👉
👉
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THE OBVIOUS
THE SIMPSONS
CHARACTERS
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THE IMAGINATIVE
DUFF BEER
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THE OBVIOUS
WORLD CUP
KIT COLOURS
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THE IMAGINATIVE
RETRO KITS
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THE OBVIOUS
CONSOLES
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THE IMAGINATIVE
GAMES REMASTERED
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SOCIAL IS A GOLDMINE FOR THIS
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YOU CAN MAKE
CAMPAIGN OUT
OF A COMMENTS
SECTION
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DO YOU WANT AN EXAMPLE
OF WHAT I MEAN?
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THE OBVIOUS
GAMBLE RESPONSIBLY
MESSAGE
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Public
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THE IMAGINATIVE
JORDAN REECE
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JORDAN REECE IS ONE OF THE MOST
PROLIFIC ENGLISH STRIKERS IN THE
GAME
ALL THE INFLUENCERS ARE
TALKING ABOUT HIS 10/1 CHANCE
OF MAKING THE ENGLAND TEAM
FOR QATAR
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ALL THE FANS WANT
THEIR SAY ON THE
FUTURE ENGLAND
PLAYER
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SO MUCH SO THAT THEY ARE
CLICKING THROUGH TO THE
PAGE TO PLACE A BET
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THE THING IS, HE ISN’T REAL, WE MADE HIM UP
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BrightonSEO
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WE HIRED A MODEL, WE BOUGHT A KIT, WE DID A
PHOTOSHOOT
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WE THEN USED THE TRAFFIC
TO THE SITE AS THE PR HOOK
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BrightonSEO
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1M
Reach on
social
5K
Pageviews
MOST GAMBLING CAMPAIGNS
ARE THE SAME, THEY JUST
TELL YOU TO GAMBLE SAFETY
INSTEAD WE CREATED
JORDAN REECE
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WHAT ABOUT FOR A B2B
BRAND?
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IT’S BEEN LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO AVOID TALKING
ABOUT AI, WHATEVER THE SECTOR
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WE COULD’VE DONE A CAMPAIGN WHERE WE USED AI TO
WRITE A BLOG, OR GOT MIDJOURNEY TO MOCK
SOMETHING UP…
…BUT THAT’S THE OBVIOUS
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MEET AIMEE
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AIMEE WAS OUR NEW DIGITAL MARKETING
MANAGER FOR A WEEK…
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WE INTERVIEWED BOTH CHATGPT AND BARD FOR A
ROLE AT BOTTLED IMAGINATION
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SOME THINGS SHE
WAS GREAT AT,
OTHERS NOT SO
MUCH
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SHE DIDN’T THINK
BEYOND THE
FIRST IDEA
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SHE EVEN RECKONED SHE WAS
COMING TO WORK DRINKS
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UNFORTUNATELY IT DIDN’T WORK OUT
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WE’VE JUST
PITCHED THE
EXPERIMENT TO
PRESS
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REACTIVE? SAME RULES APPLY
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THE OBVIOUS
BLACK PANTHER 2 WAS THE MOST POPULAR MOVIE
RELEASE OF THE YEAR
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THE IMAGINATIVE
1000 PEOPLE WANT A FLIGHT TO WAKANDA
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NO, SERIOUSLY
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SO, MY KEY TAKEAWAYS?
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@katyvpowell
PROTECT YOUR
THINKING TIME
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BrightonSEO
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@katyvpowell
DON’T STOP AT
THE FIRST IDEA
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BrightonSEO
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@katyvpowell
USE YOUR
IMAGINATION
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BrightonSEO
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KATY POWELL
THANK
YOU
@katyvpowell